Nov 11, 2016 | By Tess
Occipital, the startup that in 2013 launched the portable 3D scanner iPad add-on Structure Sensor, has now released Canvas, an iOS app that makes 3D scanning and measuring spaces easier than ever. The new app is geared towards interior designers, home remodellers, contractors, and designers.
The Structure Sensor, which launched through an overwhelmingly successful Kickstarter campaign a few years back, has consistently been a preferred tool for portable and affordable 3D scanning. In fact, the 3D scanner iPad add-on has even inspired a number of third-party developers to create their own accompanying apps for a variety of purposes, such as 3D body scanning, volumetric video, and more. Now, however, Occipital has launched its very own app which is capable of capturing 3D scans of rooms, processing those scans, calculating measurements from the scanned space, and even converting the scans into CAD models.
The Canvas app will likely prove to be an invaluable tool for architects, designers, and builders who take to digital technologies, as it provides an easy but still high-quality way to digitize spaces. It goes without saying that having a user-friendly app that can scan and digitize a room to scale will make things like furniture layout and room arrangement so much easier than before.
The iOS app, which is powered by the Structure Sensor, allows users to capture full 3D scans of rooms by simply touching a button and walking around said space. As you walk around, the app captures tens of thousands of measurements, compiling them and creating an accurately scaled digital model of the room. How long do the scans take? As little as half a minute. If you want your scan converted into a CAD file, you can receive it in 48 hours—the time it takes the Occipital experts to model it.
Jeffrey Powers, co-founder and CEO of Occipital, sees the app and the Structure Sensor as the future of interior design and home renovations. “I think a few years from now we’ll initiate most home projects by somehow mapping your space and sending it out and not actually having anyone come on site," he said.
While the app itself is free, the accompanying Structure Sensor costs $379, and a requisite wide-angle lens will set you back another $39. For the option of converting your 3D scans into CAD models, you’ll also have to pay $29 per conversion. Considering the time you’ll save by not manually measuring every corner of a space, or draughting blueprints by hand, the cost might just be worth it.
“I think we’ll probably look back at today as a time, just like the 1830s, when we just started to have photographs,” says Adam Rodnitzky, Marketing VP, Occipital. “We’re now entering the era when we’re going to start having a 3D record of the world around us.”
Posted in 3D Scanning
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this is far from new and is not the panacea you think
Kurtis wrote at 11/12/2016 8:30:26 AM:
When they port a Usable app to Android, right now it's an SDK sold as a hacker package. I've had my eye on this for a few years now - cannot bring myself to incorporate it into my business until it becomes truly cross platform.
André Esteves wrote at 11/11/2016 10:22:20 PM:
Tango project already does it all...