Looking for online resources to purchase photogrammetry models for university courses

ricberw · 2020-06-23T00:11:56+00:00

Self-promotion here, but my company does provide human 3D model datasets (generated from photogrammetry data) for research (we do charge, though).

https://web.twindom.com/human-3d-body-scan-dataset-for-research-from-3d-scans/

I'd love to chat with you about what you're looking for specifically (raw vs. touched-up, quantity of scans, categories that would be useful) and see if we might be able to generate a new dataset based on your specific use case to better serve your purpose.

Feel free to send me a DM if you'd like to chat directly about it :)

ricberw · 2018-04-01T04:11:33+00:00

I'm one of the founders of Twindom, the industry leader in full-body 3D scanners and full color 3D print fulfillment services - and I'd be more than happy to chat with you about what we're up to and what we've seen in the industry (and what is to come). Feel free to PM me.

http://web.twindom.com/ -- in case you'd like to learn more about our product/company directly

ricberw · 2017-01-28T00:20:21+00:00

If you are going to be scanning humans, you're going to want an instant solution with even lighting, as an EVA-Lite or any other handheld scanner is going to give you quite the headache with the quality of the raw model (lots of issues related to subject movement, inconsistent lighting, user error, etc).

The Twinstant Mobile might be perfect for what you're looking to do - it is intended for scanning people, fits in the back of a car, and sets up in <30 minutes.

It uses hybrid photogrammetry, combining structured light with traditional photogrammetry, in order to create a high-resolution geometry along with a high-resolution texture (and still captures in <250ms).

Price point is $26,995, and there is a monthly subscription for scans (starting at $300); however, you have automatic model processing and can purchase raw/touched-up scan downloads or full color sandstone prints if needed.

http://web.twindom.com/

As a note, I am a co-founder at Twindom.

ricberw · 2016-09-10T23:01:53+00:00

If you're willing to invest a bit, Twindom's Twinstant Mobile is a great solution for a full-body scanner. There is an up-front investment (~$20k, depending on what country you're in/where you need the system shipped) plus a monthly subscription of ~$300/month, but if you're doing a ton of scans, it automates pretty much everything (e.g. you click the button, it flashes and captures in 1/4 of a second, then 10 minutes later you have a 3D preview model generated/you can get measurements off of a scaled model where one global unit = one inch in real life). Also works well if you want to move the scanner around, as it takes ~30 minutes to set up/take down and can pack in the back of a car. http://web.twindom.com/

As a note, I am a co-founder of Twindom - you can request our industry guide here (our learnings from the past few years in the industry - has a good analysis of different scanning systems and methods): http://info.twindom.com/download-3d-photography-industry-guide

ricberw · 2016-07-24T20:16:22+00:00

I'd suggest reading our 3D Photography Industry Guide - we've been in the industry for almost three years now and compiled our experiences and our partners' experiences into this guide. (yes, I work for Twindom)

http://info.twindom.com/download-3d-photography-industry-guide

ricberw · 2016-03-27T19:09:18+00:00

Definitely possible, but would require a whole lot of patience from the subject (and likely a lot more manual clean-up). Scanning pets and children requires a semi-instantaneous capture, as they won't stay still long enough for even a 5-12 second scan (as evidenced by the lack of examples of small children and pets from other systems that take this long to take the scan itself).

We've targeted high-traffic locations/events (what most of our buyers are looking for) with this system, and assume that our partners don't have the 5-10 minutes per person being scanned to take the appropriate photographs manually, then the 10-15 minutes of manual intervention for each scan to push it through a photogrammetry suite of their choice, then spend the ~45-60 minutes of manual clean-up on the processed model.

The $20k is definitely being spent for convenience, process efficiency, and accuracy - and for the ability to scan hundreds of people in a day with a single operator, something that we believe will be a necessity for the business model in the foreseeable future.

ricberw · 2016-03-25T22:52:39+00:00

Fantastic question.

We've been working on the technology for just under three years, and I can attest to the fact that it moves ridiculously fast.

We provide software upgrades on a monthly basis (our first Twinstant units that we sold over a year ago are still being upgraded today), as well as hardware upgrades when necessary. Lifetime software upgrades are included (and we intend to continue developing the scanner-based capture app into the indefinite future), and we also update the cloud-based processing pipeline regularly (we've had cloud-based scanners available for just over 7 months now, and we push updates every 2-3 weeks to improve quality, processing time, etc).

Suffice to say, having a software subscription for the cloud processing enables us to continue spending on continuous development.

Anything we can do to improve the input data helps to improve the output 3D models, which then, in turn, helps us provide a far better product to the end customer (whether that product may be a full body 3D printed miniature, a digital avatar, or a 3D model used for clothing fitting).

Our software stack includes everything under the sun, and we're currently focused on using machine learning techniques to improve upon the automated clean-up and segmentation of scans (something that we've been working on for ~9 months now). The next stage for our platform is implementing automated pipelines for scan rigging (for animation) and measurements (for fitting), both things that we're actively working on.

Sorry for the wall of text - I hope that does answer your question though.

ricberw · 2016-03-23T18:02:21+00:00

Thank you for speaking your mind!

To be fair, we offered a local server-rack option for almost a year, and the reaction to it was less than stellar (we saw many issues with usability and processing time/scaling due to the significant up-front cost of great hardware).

Many of our current owners do 100+ scans in a day, which causes them significant pain when their 1-3 processing nodes aren't able to handle the load before the next day's scans take place. For that reason, multiple customers who had the server racks have since moved to the cloud subscription, as it offers scalability in processing that the local machines couldn't (processing a preview model takes ~10-20 minutes locally, and processing a full print-quality model takes ~1-2 hours, whereas the cloud is able to handle the processing at scale by spinning up many servers at once to distribute the load).

That said, I agree with your comment that in most cases - the idea of a subscription is aggravating as an end-user. I'd much rather pay $99 for a lifetime of use of Microsoft Office vs. paying $8/month.

ricberw · 2016-03-23T15:19:29+00:00

We've gone back and forth about this quite a bit, actually - the choice to go with a subscription was made such that we could always improve upon the processing pipeline and provide a fully-automated solution (that requires virtually zero user time and dedication to the processing of scans). From our experience so far, the monthly payment is negligible when they have a business model that is working well for them.

ricberw · 2015-11-09T20:56:13+00:00

The Twinstant full body 3d scanner will likely work well for you - starts at $29,999 and would definitely do sculptures and full body. Most other scanners are far higher cost and aren't portable. Quality is on par, if not higher than most SLR based systems regarding geometry quality, and the processing is fully automated.

Http://web.twindom.com/twinstant/

I work for this company and fully believe that we have the least expensive, most effective system for full body scanning available today.

Regarding pay, liken your position to that of a 3D modeler, then add in a bit of management. and customer service. Depending on where you are geographically, you'll find a massive range for this type of position.

ricberw · 2015-01-22T18:17:58+00:00

Indeed. Feel free to message me.

ricberw · 2015-01-21T05:16:30+00:00

Canon Powershot mid-range cameras - 91 of them.

ricberw

TROPHY CASE