Industrial Research creates 3D crime scene/movie set scanner

New Zealand's Industrial Research looks to be attracting quite a bit of interest in its prototype handheld 3D scanner, snagging fellow New Zealanders Weta Digital to help put the technology through its paces and now hoping the police will hop on board to put the scanner to more grisly uses. According to the company, the scanner's equally adept at creating a detailed 3D model of a crime scene as it is of a movie set and, what's more, it can be done in only two minutes. The model can then be examined at will by police, presented to a jury, or be used to create the most disturbing Second Life avatar ever. The scanner itself consists of a digital camera with an on-board laser that determines the distance to the object, although it also apparently requires that targets be placed around the scene to properly scan the object -- or person, as the case may be. It also currently needs to be wired to a computer to work, although NZIR says the scanner will be fully wireless by the time its ready to hit the market two years from now.

[Via The Raw Feed]

[andy @ Nov 21st 2006 7:52AM]

scaled down lidar?

[raz @ Nov 21st 2006 9:02AM]

but they already have it... nobody seen Bones on sky one and their 3d holographic scene display? this stuff is out there now man...

Yeah I know - how pathetically unrealistic did that look. Matrix-style green text strings floating down and all too

[srikanta @ Nov 21st 2006 9:05AM]

New Zealand's Industrial Research looks to be attracting quite a bit of interest in its prototype handheld 3D scanner, snagging fellow New Zealanders Weta Digital to help put the technology through its paces and now hoping

[shannon @ Nov 25th 2006 9:02AM]

this looks very familiar i am sure i have seen it in an episode of CSI