The Use of a Low-Cost Visible Light 3D Scanner to Create Virtual Reality Environment Models of Actors and Objects

A low-cost 3D scanner has been developed with a parts cost of approximately USD $5,000. This scanner uses visible light sensing to capture both structural as well as texture and color data of a subject. This paper discusses the use of this type of scanner to create 3D models for incorporation into a virtual reality environment. It describes the basic scanning process (which takes under a minute for a single scan), which can be repeated to collect multiple positions, if needed for actor model creation. The efficacy of visible light versus other scanner types is also discussed.