3D Scanner App for iPhone

Could you believe that a machine that is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars could be turned into an iPhone app that costs only $0.99? That's what Grant Schindler, the research scientist at Georgia Tech's College of Computing, has done with the iPhone app Trimensional.

Trimensional allows us to create 3D object with just an iPhone 4, iPad 2 or recent iPod Touch. This app could save us a lot of money because it can replace the 3D scanner that is worth several hundred thousand dollars.If you pay more $5 for the latest upgrade so that you can use the app to email 3D video of your models. Designers can also export these objects to some popular 3D file formats that can run on Maya or CAD. Then, we may use 3D printers to print these files and create real objects as prototypes.

Classical techniques in the 1980s enabled the creation of three-dimensional objects, however it must go through a very complicated, expensive and time consuming process. They had to install lighting system, locate positions of objects, etc. Trimensional also uses the same technique but the process is fully automated now.

"There are professional, $40,000 3-D scanners out there; this won't perform like those do, but for anything under $100, this is your best bet," said Schindler.

At the moment, this app is compatible with iPhone 4, iPad 2, and iPod Touch. It is expected to be available on more devices and Android smartphones soon.