3D Scanning is among the top photogrammetry approaches today. It enables us (as end-users or service providers) to leverage the superfast advancements of Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality in the physical world. 

The technology has made its way to our iOS phones and iPads already. Not only tech-savvy people or IT engineers but normal users can also perform a scan and send/share it to receive or provide essential (or at least useful) services.

3D scanning is used to scan real objects and make digital versions of them. This digital output is then used for important tasks or 3D printing.

Not sure how iOS 3D scanning works or what benefits it can bring? 

Give this article a quick read to get acquainted with 3D Scanning and how it works.

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What is a 3D-Scan?

3D Scanning technology is all about collecting the digital information of a real-world scene or object and thereby reconstructing an image/model resembling its appearance. This output can be used in 3D Model creation, printing, and so on. 

The process may involve different types of scanners, lights, sensors, and mobile applications to scan non-living objects, living beings, their parts, or the environment. So, the quality of output and its precision depends on multiple factors.


3D Scan Mobile App Example

The most famous and easy-to-explain 3D Scan example is Apple’s Face ID. 

Devices like iPhone and iPad Pro use your facial features to unlock the phone, make payments, and access locked apps/data through Face ID. This iOS-specific biometric authentication method functions by head-tracking and eye-tracking. 



Beyond the Face ID

As a mainstream iPhone user, your first interaction with the iOS 3D scan must be with its Face ID feature. We knew it! 

To your surprise, 3D scanning using iOS devices through various sensors and scanners has a much wider scope than the Face ID feature. Various apps and sensors allow 3D scanning of physical-world objects (For example- a toy, a human face, a chair, or a fractured leg). 

Read the next section to understand how iOS scanning works.

How Does iPhone or iPad 3D Scanning Work?

Apple’s current generation of phones and iPads (after 2020) makes use of advanced LiDAR sensors. While mobile 3D scanning apps have existed since iPhone 6, this deployment surely shows the company’s seriousness regarding 3D Scanning.





 

How Is an Object Scanned?

Scanning involves taking one or multiple pictures of the object being scanned. Broadly, iOS 3D-scan can be classified in two manners, as enlisted below:

Method 1: Using Existing Applications

iOS devices let you create real-life 3D models without external hardware – through a LiDAR-powered camera. For this, you will only need an application like modular on your iPhone 12 or a newer version. 

Except for Canvas, there are various other applications for capturing 3D model data, editing it, and creating better final models. The list includes a

Method 2: Occipital Structure Sensor With Your Custom Application

iOS object 3D scanning is possible through various apps when you have an iPhone or iPad Pro. However, for high-end applications that require accuracy, you will need external attachments. use Modular app

3D-Scan in Medical Sector

Imagine having an alternative to X-ray machines that is lightning-fast. Or a dental 3D scanner to assist dentists in clearly understanding a patient’s problem. Or maybe, a millimeter-precise prosthetic limb for a person ready for a prosthesis.

Having precise, reliable, and faster medical tools can reduce the operations’ costs, make healthcare services accessible to more people, reduce the burden of medical practitioners, and do much more. 

3D scanning can make it possible and has already done the same to a great extent. 

The scope of technology is not just limited to the above but is also in ergonomic furniture, dental transplants manufacturing, back brace construction, ultrasounds, CT scans, and MRIs. 

Remote clinics with limited facilities can use iPads or iPhones to enable advanced services and expert assistance for their patients at a low cost. The applications are never-ending.

Let us give you some real-life examples of iOS 3D-scan applications bringing disruptive changes in the medical sector.