Cyberware makes a class of nifty (splefty?) devices that convert real world objects into data suitable for use in 3d-modeling applications.
Last summer (1993) I got the chance to stuff myself into one of their devices that was designed to measure heads. I am grateful to the people at the Havard School of Dental Surgery who own the machine (they're researching its usefulness in reconstructive facial surgery).
The device employs two sensors mounted in a large contraption that makes one complete orbit around the subject in about 20 seconds or so. One sensor is a scanner that records strips of color and produces a somewhat unsettling image like this:
The other sensor is a laser range-finder that produces a depth map of the surface of the head like so (notice the errors in the hair and under the chin):
After a little bit-tinkering you load the data into your friendly neighborhood 3d-modeler and you get the final product:
, I just think their machines are neat.
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