{"id":231,"date":"2016-06-10T15:15:18","date_gmt":"2016-06-10T22:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/theopenbook\/?p=231"},"modified":"2016-06-10T15:24:43","modified_gmt":"2016-06-10T22:24:43","slug":"archiving-in-3d","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/theopenbook\/2016\/06\/10\/archiving-in-3d\/","title":{"rendered":"Archiving in 3D"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever considered the applications of a 3D scanner? It\u2019s possible depending on your background and interest in emerging technology, however once you past the novelty of being able to scan in 3D, you realize it has many useful real world applications. As the technology becomes more widely available, 3D scanners are being used for everything from engineering to art. In our case, we\u2019ve been tasked with archiving a portion of the Ian Cowan collection.<\/p>\n

Documenting Ian Cowan\u2019s field books can be done with a flatbed scanner or by transcribing, but how do you also document his vast collection of real-life specimens? One option is to photograph them with the right lighting and equipment, but being able to create 3D models gives a hands on and immersive experience that simply can\u2019t be recreated without viewing the specimen in person.<\/p>\n

The scanner we\u2019re working with in the Digitization Centre uses something called \u201claser triangulation\u201d to scan objects. The scanner emits light from three different lasers laid out in a triangular formation within the scanner\u2019s body. The scanner then calculates the distance to the object of interest based on the light reflected back to the scanner\u2019s sensor. The scanner also has an on-board camera to capture the colour of the object and overlays this imagery on top of the, what would otherwise be a plain, 3D model.<\/p>\n

\"3D<\/a>
3D model without and with texture applied.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Close<\/a>
Close up of a standard resolution scan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

New to the world of 3D scanners, I was immediately impressed with not only the detail, but the accuracy which the scanner was able to capture. Even at standard resolution, the scanner was able to pick up small grooves and divots within the specimens being scanned. Not only are the scans it produces high quality, but the scanner itself is quite intuitive and can be handled by anyone with the right instruction.<\/p>\n

However (as it always seems to happen), with new technology comes new challenges. For 3D scanning; these challenges came in the guise of furry and thin objects.<\/p>\n

While the scanner has no difficulty in capturing fine detail and small variations in topography and texture, it struggles with small and thin portions of the object that protrude from the main body. This shortcoming became especially apparent when working with a piece of a porcupine\u2019s jaw.<\/p>\n

With thin objects, the flattest and largest section can be scanned without any trouble. The real problem arises in post-production when it comes time to \u201cmerge\u201d the 1mm thick edges together.<\/p>\n

Any object we scan is done in at least two sections. We scan one side of the object, flip it over and then scan the other side separately. After both sides have been scanned we use a 3D modelling software called \u201cVXelements\u201d to align and merge these two scans together. Larger objects or objects with interior or complex sections may require more than two scans but are processed the same way.<\/p>\n

Normally the software can locate the overlapping portions and smooth out the \u201cedges\u201d without any difficulty (aside from astronomical rendering times, depending on the size of the scan). With thin objects however, the program often struggles to locate the edges of the scan as the edges are so thin there is little to no overlap in the scans. After crossing my fingers and hoping for the best, I\u2019ve so far only encountered two outcomes:<\/p>\n