Growshapes Upgrades Its 3D Scanning Software

While Creaform and Artec may be bigger names when it comes to commercial-grade 3D scanning, Silicon Valley’s Growshapes has been making a name for itself since its founding in 2012. What sets Growshapes apart from other 3D scanning firms is that the California business prides itself on its DAVID software that can be used to create accurate 3D scanners from off-the-shelf equipment. With that premise at its back, Growshapes has been able to slash the cost of commercial-grade 3D scanners by an order of magnitude.  

But how do Growshapes’ 3D scanners work?

Well, Growshapes builds “structured-light 3D scanners” that use projected light patterns and a suite of cameras to capture the surface of an object. As the straight lines of the project light pattern come into contact with the geometry of an object, the lines are distorted. The cameras associated with the projector collect images of this pattern distortion and send them back to software, where algorithms can accurately reconstruct the geometry of an object based on its level of variance from the projection pattern. Not only can structured-light 3D scanners deliver accurate results, they can also create 3D geometry in a fraction of the time that laser 3D scanners will do the same job. 

So, what’s new in Growshapes’ DAVID5 release?

According to the company, the DAVID5 software upgrade now supports two-camera scanning and two modes for scanning. The first mode, “Stereo,” can be used to capture more accurate results, and the second mode, “Extended,” can be used to capture the geometry of larger objects.

DAVID5 also comes with new structured-light surface patterns that make it easier to scan reflective objects.

To round out the release, Growshapes has also improved the alignment capabilities of the software and improved the user interface by simplifying menus, allowing for the automatic detection of connected cameras and projectors and a new batch scanning method that’s easier to use.