The term “Augmented Reality” sounds a lot cooler than the actual thing. It is quite useless most of the time because the reality, as perceived by your phone, does not have one dimension. Occipital is a company that is into scanning and computer vision, and they want to add real depth to the vision of your tablet. They did this with Structure Sensor!
Costing $349, the device is a camera, a lot like Microsoft Kinect. It fits snugly on the back of your iPad, and can also fit on any other device with a little tweaking here and there. Once the bracket is on, your tablet can not only see objects, but also figure out the distance between you and a certain object. It can just do about anything — from turning an object into a 3D model to measuring the distance of a room.
The creators hope that the bundled Structure SDK will go on to become an industry standard for developers and camera makers.
3D scanning is one of the simplest uses of the camera. While it does not display as many details as a stationary scanner, it has speed on its side. So, if you are looking for fine detail, then Structure is not for you. This sensor does not work well with objects that are smaller than a medium-sized stuffed toy.
Two of the good things about this device are that it is quite economical and really fast. The Digitizer takes about 10 minutes to scan an object. But, creating a model with Structure Sensor takes about the same time you need in order to walk around the object slowly. The camera of your iPad can capture and overlay textures on the model, while the software seals the gaps and exports it to be used as a virtual asset or a 3D printing design. A large object looks fantastic, a medium sized object looks like a well-rendered video game character from the nineties, and something as large as a DSLR looks like a camera-shaped blob.
The 3D scanning capabilities of Structure have caught the attention of a printing company called 3D Systems that has offered to create and sell self-branded versions of Structure Sensor. The device’s augmented reality uses, although slightly rough, are brilliant.
The software platform has some loopholes. It is just as strong as the ecosystem that can be built upon it. This means, the company is relying heavily on early backers to make the best use of its work.
Know more about the sensor from their website http://structure.io
Ayyappa Nagubandi is an entrepreneur and co-founder of Possibillion Technologies.
