A low-cost optical 3D scanner

Automatic 3D acquisition devices (often called 3D scanners) can be employed to build highly accurate models of real 3D objects in a cost- and time-effective manner. The Visual Computing Group of CNUCE/IEI-CNR has experimented this technology in a particular application context: the acquisition of Cultural Heritage artefacts. Specific needs of this domain include: high accuracy, affordable costs of the scanning device and an improved usability of the data produced. We present the characteristics of a new low-cost 3D scanner, based on structured light, and discuss the first results of its use in a project for the 3D acquisition of a bronze statue.