I-Corps: Universal 3D Scanning Through Polarization-based Imaging

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是基于能够扫描所有类型表面的偏振3D扫描仪的开发。大多数现有的商业产品都是为扫描哑光表面而设计的，这使得镜面反射/有光泽的表面很难扫描。所提出的基于偏振的3D扫描技术能够通过允许扫描任意表面来解决3D扫描的这一缺点。这项技术可能会改进传统的3D扫描产品，因为它产生了一种低成本和易于使用的解决方案。此外，这项技术预计将显著拓宽3D扫描的应用领域，并使对3D虚拟化有较高需求的业务部门受益，包括制造业、医疗保健、建筑、娱乐和数字媒体。这个i-Corps项目是基于基于偏振的3D扫描技术的开发。这项技术使用了一种新型的智能编码照明，即偏振场，用于3D扫描。核心研究和开发包括：1)识别扫描表面的材料组成；2)基于检测到的表面材料，自动调整扫描硬件设置；以及3)实现高质量的3D重建，而不考虑对象的形状和材料。所提议的原型可以用廉价且容易获得的组件来构建，例如液晶显示器。所提出的技术是低成本和用户友好的，因为它消除了手动切换扫描模式以适应不同类型表面的需要。由此产生的基于偏振的3D扫描仪能够产生高质量的任意表面的3D模型，从纯漫射到高度镜面，具有稳健的性能。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is based on the development of a polarization-based 3D scanner that is capable of scanning all types of surfaces. Most existing commercial products are designed to scan matte surfaces, leaving specular/shiny surfaces difficult to scan. The proposed polarization-based 3D scanning technology is able to solve this shortcoming of 3D scanning by allowing the scanning of arbitrary surfaces. This technology may improve conventional 3D scanning products as it results in a low-cost and easy-to-use solution. In addition, this technology is expected to significantly broaden the application field of 3D scanning and benefit the business sectors that have high demand in 3D virtualization, including manufacturing, healthcare, architecture, entertainment, and digital media. This I-Corps project is based on the development of polarization-based 3D scanning technology. This technology uses a novel smartly coded illumination, namely the polarization field, for 3D scanning. Core research and development includes: 1) identifying the material composition of scanning surfaces; 2) automatically adjusting scanning hardware settings, based on the detected surface material; and 3) achieving high-quality 3D reconstruction regardless of the shape and material of the subject. The proposed prototype may be constructed with inexpensive and easily accessible components, such as liquid crystal displays. The proposed technology is low-cost and user-friendly as it eliminates the need for manually switching the scanning mode to adapt to different types of surfaces. The resulted polarization-based 3D scanner is able to produce high quality 3D models of arbitrary surfaces, from purely diffuse to highly specular, with robust performance.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.