Wow, that Scanning from Heating paper is a really valuable resource. I was able to find links to other 3D scanners out and about in the market. And guess what? I found information on the API that is used to connect the 3D scanner with the host software too: Nikon Metrology API. Well, that’s 3D scanners for at least one case. I’m going to see if I can find links to more 3D scanners on the market so that I can learn about more software interfaces. This is of course crucial to get right, because doing so will make it dramatically easier to integrate home-grown 3D scanner designs with.
20160604/http://www.nikonmetrology.com/Products/Laser-Scanning/Handheld-scanning/ModelMaker-MMDx
20160604/http://www.nikonmetrology.com/handheld_scanners/mmdx_mmc/
20160604/http://www.nikonmetrology.com/content/download/12579/256644/version/23/file/MMDx-MCAx_EN.pdf
20160604/http://www.nikonmetrology.com/content/download/12579/256644/version/23/file/MMDx-MCAx_EN.pdf
Oh yeah, and “all standard point, mesh and CAD formats, such as IGES, STL, CATIA, UG, Pro/E, STEP, VDA, etc”. I personally note Wavefront OBJ too. As a matter of fact (de facto), Wavefront OBJ seems to have more support across commodity open-source 3D software.
Do you know what’s most interesting about the professional laser scanner product? It looks like the line generator beam size is about identical to that from my cheap laser. Plus, they also use a class 2 laser diode. So, it turns out that my laser isn’t that bad after all. For the other imperfections that I’ve noted, I can just use software to correct for them.
Nikon metrology API? I better seriously search for more information on that. I need a tech spec. What? There isn’t one available?
This is as close as I could get. I guess they really want to sell you turn-key solution software as opposed to trying to create a standard interface. Vendor lock-in, it seems.
So what did you say? You say that without a documented API, they are complicating the matter of getting custom software to directly interpret the output of their 3D scanner hardware? You ask them for a solution? What will they tell you? Oh, they might end up telling you that you can just export to one of the standard file formats, then import the results into your software. But, you say, that isn’t good enough. You need your software to be able to process the point cloud data in real-time when it is being received from the device. Well, then I guess you’re in for quite a problem then.
20160604/http://www.nikonmetrology.com/Products/Software/Point-cloud-software/Nikon-Metrology-API
20160604/http://www.nikonmetrology.com/content/download/11057/228828/version/7/file/Focus_EN.pdf