Artec has released a new version of its Studio application, which handles processing software for the company’s line of portable scanners including the handheld Eva and the tripod-mounted Ray lidar scanner for AEC. Version 13 includes a number of novel updates to improve the scanning workflow.
One update that seems particularly interesting for novice scanners (but valuable for anyone who has failed at capturing a scan on the first pass) is the addition of a 3D Radar function, which adds a feedback mechanism for the scanning process. According to Artec, the software “projects a distance map onto your data capture and guides you to hold the scanner at the optimal distance for capturing the most accurate geometry and vivid colors of your object.” While the user is scanning, Studio 13 will display the data in red (too close), blue (too far away), or green (just right).
Studio 13 also makes a number of changes to the processing workflow, including an update to the processing algorithm to handle data sets up to 500 million polygons “with ease.” The new version also improves Global Registration, a resource-intensive function that converts all data captured in the scanning process into a single coordinate system for automatic registration. Artec says the system is capable of handling 250% more object types, at the double the speed as the last version of the software, even when “scanning conditions were subpar.” This process used to take a long time, Artec says, so it makes sense that the company would focus on improving it with subsequent versions of its software.
An X-Ray Mode feature allows users to examine raw scan data for any problems before users send it through to processing. To do this, the software renders the data as semi-transparent models and removes noise around the periphery of the object scanned, making it easier for users to see holes in the scan or any other problems that would prevent clean processing.
The last new feature is “smart 3D rendering,” which detects the user’s visual processing hardware and “will adjust accordingly to use less RAM, yet still provide the smoothest possible user experience when working with large volumes of data.”
Studio 13 supports all of Artec’s 3D scanners. For more information, see the product website here.
