Capturing bone details from an ancient species
3D laser scanning has come to this world full force and has offered us many benefits. This technology was initially created in the 1960s but wasn’t fully adopted until the 1990s. 3D laser scanning has changed many forms but is now a handheld device that can scan substantial objects. It collects cloud points all over the object and collects information that is typically hard to gather.
This latest technology has not always been well received in the historical society. Lately, it has been growing in museums and among researchers who gather information to share with the rest of the world. The latest research has been done on an ancient lizard species that has a very long neck that we have never seen before. To piece together the ancient bones, the researchers have adopted 3D laser scanning.
The most fantastic thing about this lizard was that its neck took up almost half of its body! Researchers have been very surprised while studying this creature. Through their research, they believe that they have found this lizard to have lived underwater and hunt small fish with its jaws and claws. They rebuilt the skull using 3D laser scanning and were able to gain great insight.
3D Laser Scanning Benefits for Artifacts and Bones
Though the adoption is slow in the museum and research community, it is growing. 3D laser scanning allows the researchers to gain more insight than ever before and rebuild things, causing no harm. There are so many beautiful benefits of this technology for artifacts and bones specifically.
- Precision- 3D laser scanning is some of the most precise technology in the world. It picks up small discrete details that would take hours for researchers to gather.
- Safety- From the scanners, the information gets sent to the cloud, where it is saved forever. From there, it can be sent to anyone in the world.
- Variety- Once the scan has happened, it can be created into an electronic file, a 3D physical model, or virtual reality.
- Noninvasive- This technology in no way harms the object being scanned. Instead of being handled, the scanner takes rapid pictures and uses a laser beam to gather it.
This technology is impressive because it takes thousands of pictures at once and captures all details in a matter of minutes. All a user has to do is walk around the object, making sure to get all sides. The 3D laser scanning device does this rest. It gathers tiny details like scratches, scrapes, dents, textures, colors, and sizes. It is some of the most extraordinary technology.
Final Thoughts
3D laser scanning is some of the most versatile equipment on the market, and many versions have come out for use. Companies are competing to try to create the fastest and most useful scanning device there is. Due to this, more people like researchers, students, and scientists are using this technology. It has entered many new fields and will continue to grow worldwide. New historical finds will be brought to light using 3D laser scanning, it will let us dig deeper in the past and allow the future to look into the historical finds.
