A high-quality video sensor captures this profile from two viewpoints. The system can digitize thousands of these profiles in a few seconds to capture the shape of the entire object. The 3D scanning process captures an array of digitized points, with each point represented by x, y, and z coordinates for shape and 24-bit RGB coordinates for color. Color information in 3D digitizing makes available nearly all the information a graphics application needs to fully describe an object. In addition to enhancing realism in graphic models, color denotes boundaries that are not obvious from shape alone.
Color indicates surface texture and reflectance.
And by marking an object's surface before digitizing, one can use color to transfer ideas from the object to the graphic model. In specialized applications, color can reveal characteristics such as skin discoloration, the grain of a piece of wood, or the locations of fasteners. The MM platform is especially useful for high-resolution color 3D scans because of its small size and precise motion. This results in superb 3D models for a wide variety of applications. One motion system moves objects along the length of the motion platform, while another motion system rotates the object.