2020 Promises to be an Exciting Year for Classroom 3D Visualization

It's the last day of 2019 and I am noticing a LOT of new Depth Cameras coming into the marketplace.  Admittedly, the hot market for depth cameras is going to be something known as SLAM (“Simultaneous Localization and Mapping”) used for things like robots and drones.

But, one of the applications for depth cameras is 3D capture in a form that can be used in a Virtual Museum and printed with a full color 3D printer.  We will be testing some of these new products on this blog and adding them to our arsenal of tools to help students come to really appreciate in 2020 that observation as an essential skill.

OBSERVATION IS FOUNDATIONAL

I was discussing this very fact with a maker of a 3D scanning system today.  Not all students are going to become scientists or historians.  But, we should expect that all students can come to appreciate the skill of observation as a core life value.

The reason why we are so committed to using 3D visualization in the classroom is that the processes required to do so inevitably demand gaining observation skills.  Let's suppose we try to scan an object and we simply cannot obtain a successful scan.

Is that a failure?

Absolutely not.  The mere attempt requires a student to observe, in depth, many things, like orientation, color, shape and size.  Things that could have been overlooked in a casual context.

Choosing an object for scanning is, in itself, an exercise in observation.  Why does this object even exist?  Why did someone want this or need this object?  What does the object say about the person who make it?  The focus required to select a historic inherently increases one observational abilities.

And, it is hard for me to imagine ANY student who cannot benefit by stimulating and growing their observational skills.

THE CHOICES FOR THE BEGINNING OF 2020

Based on what I'm am seeing in terms of new 3D visualization products being announced, I believe this list will become much bigger.  But, for now, here is the list of 3D scanners and 3D photogrammetry applications that we immediately have available for our Virtual History capture initiative.

     3D SCANNERS

•      Matter & Form V2
•      Sense 1 & 2
•      xyzPrinting
•      Einscan
•      HP Z 3D Camera
•      Intel RealSense (Several)

     PHONES & APPS

•      Sony Experia XZ1 - 3D Creator
•      iPhone -  Qlone

     PHOTOGRAMMETRY

•      3D Zephyr

We are actively testing each of the above offerings with the goal of being able to give teachers a wide variety of options for beginning their own Virtual Museum projects.   If you happen to have a 3D scanner not in this list, by all means, please let us know. 

As we close out 2019 and move into 2020, we look forward to more and more museums, schools, teacher and students embracing 3D visualization as a powerful motivator to improve all of our observational skills.