DAVID Laserscanner is a popular commercial software package. There's a free edition available that has limited save functions. We'll be using this one. Combined with some additional hardware, DAVID can 3D scan a variety of objects. The size and quality of these scans will be heavily determined by your choice in hardware. For this recipe, we'll use inexpensive components and set up a simple area for scanning.
You will need to download DAVID Laserscanner from http://www.david-3d.com/?section=Downloads.
Note
This book uses DAVID_Setup_3.5.1. A newer version, DAVID_Setup_3.10, has been released and can be used as well. This version supports only XP, Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.
You will need the following hardware items for this recipe:
A webcam (preferably an HD webcam) that supports WDM Video Capture Driver for Windows and a small tripod or other device to hold the camera. Some laptops have built-in webcams. These may also work.
You'll also need an...