Scandy Pro FAQ

Cole Wiley
CEO, CTO & Co-founder
March 11, 2019

Q: How do I turn on the back camera?

A: Scandy Pro uses the user-facing camera (the one you use for selfies) to capture 3D scans. We utilize the awesome depth map that Apple's TrueDepth sensor provides to mesh the points together to create a great scan. We realize that capturing a 3D scan of an object would be easier with the world-facing camera, but we can't get a good depth map from the dual cameras, so we can give you a scan. Once Apple gives us a depth sensor on the rear-facing camera, we will make Scandy Pro work with it.

Q: How do I export or share a scan?

A: From the 'My Scans' screen, please tap the scan you want to share or export. Then tap the 'Share' icon (the second icon from the right). You will then see a list of file formats. Select a file format and a screen with sharing options will be displayed.  Select the app or location you wish to export your file to. Easy!

Q: How do I export the texture map when I export an OBJ?

A: Scandy Pro captures per-vertex color, so we don't generate a texture map. You can surface per-vertex color with an OBJ file or a PLY file, but we do not export a texture map with the OBJ. However, you can follow this tutorial to create a texture for your 3D scan: https://scandy.link/scandytexture

Q: What is the accuracy and resolution of Scandy Pro?

A: Like so many things in 3D scanning (and life) the answer is: "It depends!"

Let's talk resolution. What is the smallest feature that Scandy Pro can 'resolve' or capture? When set the app to its highest resolution, we have been able to resolve features on an object that are less than a millimeter. However, that doesn't mean that the feature is perfectly captured or that you should consider Scandy Pro a sub-millimeter resolution scanning device. A lot depends on the object being scanned. Some materials (like transparent or highly reflective ones) don't scan well. Other conditions might not make sub-millimeter resolution possible. This is one reason why we made Scandy Pro a free app: we want people to experiment with it.

Accuracy also depends upon what you are scanning and how well you are scanning it. You are not going to get millimeter accuracy if you are scanning, for example, a person or a sofa. I'm betting that you couldn't repeat a manual measurement of a person's height or the length of a sofa with millimeter accuracy either. We typically talk about 1% accuracy when measuring a linear dimension, but cannot offer any guarantees of that spec. For some small object scans, we can be accurate to within a millimeter. For larger objects, we might be within several centimeters. We do suggest that you experiment with the resolution slider to capture only the resolution  you need for the desired outcome and not any higher. That will make scanning easier and faster and more enjoyable.

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