THREE-DIMENSIONAL SCANNING DEVICE AND METHODS
A handheld data acquisition system for capturing three dimensional object shape data comprising a user feedback screen and a scanner module configured such that the scanner module may be rotated with respect to the feedback screen and the user may be able to scan objects including hard-to-reach areas while still being able to view feedback about the on-going scanning process.
1 . A data acquisition system, comprising:
a display module;
a sensor module;
a light-emitting module.
2 . The data acquisition system of claim 1 , wherein the sensor module comprises a first sensor and a second sensor.
3 . The data acquisition system of claim 2 , wherein the second sensor has a larger field of view (FOV) than the first sensor.
4 . The data acquisition system of claim 1 , wherein the display module is rotatable relative to the sensor module via a connection member.
5 . The data acquisition system of claim 1 , wherein the light-emitting module comprises at least one of: a projector, an array of light emitting diodes (LEDs), or a light emitting screen.
6 . The data acquisition system of claim 2 , wherein at least one of the first sensor and the second sensor has a primary camera axis and the light emitting module has a primary light emission axis such that an angle between the primary camera axis and the primary light emission axis is approximately 0 to 30 degrees.
7 . A method of scanning an object comprising:
capturing scan data of a first object in a first scan mode;
comparing the scan data to a predetermined threshold; and
capturing scan data of the first object in a second scan mode based upon the comparison to the predetermined threshold.
8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the second scan mode comprises a higher resolution than the first scan mode.
9 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising computing coverage or boundaries of 3D data relative to the first object identified in 2D images.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein comparing the scan data to a predetermined threshold comprises comparing the coverage of the 3D data to the predetermined threshold.
11 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the second scan mode initiates automatically and free of user input.
12 . A 3D scanning method comprising:
capturing a plurality of 3D data sets of an object while the object is grasped and rotated by a hand;
identifying data portions that are not consistent among the plurality of 3D datasets;
removing the inconsistent portions of the 3D datasets to create trimmed datasets, wherein the inconsistent portions correspond to the hand;
aligning the trimmed datasets; and
combining the trimmed datasets to create a unified result that represents the shape of the object being scanned without the hand.
13 . The 3D scanning method of claim 12 , wherein the method is performed without releasing the grasp on the object.
14 . A 3D scanning method, comprising:
capturing one or more images of an object with a sensor;
displaying the one or more images of the object on a display; and
displaying real-time visual feedback while displaying the one or more images of the object regarding at least one of accuracy or data density of the one or more images.
15 . The 3D scanning method of claim 14 , wherein the real-time visual feedback comprises differentiated areas on the object displayed in different colors or textures representing at least one of accuracy or data density.