Digitizing three-dimensional objects

A commenter on this post asked how three-dimensional object can be digitized. Many will use a digital camera to create a two-dimensional representation of the object, and that may suffice in most instances. However, a quick search shows that there are ways of actually creating a three-dimensional image of an object. I found quickly both a book chapter and two pieces of equipment:

• Digitizing the Shape and Appearance of Three-Dimensional Objects (pp. 37 - 46) in Frontiers of Engineering: Reports on Leading Edge Engineering from the 1996 NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering (1997)
• HLS Handheld Laser Scanner (The “Magic Wand” of 3D Laser Scanning for 3D Modeling in Real-Time)
• Konica Minolta Non-Contact 3D Digitizer: For art and cultural heritage
  

Did I find the definitive, best information and equipment? Likely not. Did I find equipment that you might consider? I don't know. But what I did find quickly was information that doing three-dimensional digitization is possible AND that it is being done. I would suspect that the equipment is very specialized and expensive, therefore, this is not something that everyone would do.

If you have something exceptional that you want people to be able to "walk around", you might consider panoramic virtual reality photos, like 360VR does (example). Okay...that maybe overkill, but pretty interesting, huh?!

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Technorati tag: Digitization