Typical range maps in our work have dimensions of approximately 500x200 measured points, with measurement accuracy of 0.5 mm for the coarser work down to 0.1 mm or finer with our new sensor design. This range map shows a dorsal view of a skull of the scorpaenid fish Neomerinthe hemingwayi . The skull is about 90 mm long. The intensity of each pixel shows the local surface orientation, using a lighting model that simulates a point light source above the viewer's left shoulder. Hue encodes range from the sensor.
Blue points are further away and red points are nearer the sensor.
Click here or on the image for dorsal, lateral, and ventral views of that skull. Larger objects can be scanned by reconfiguring the sensor. This measurement technique has much promise for the related fields of biological systematics, physical anthropology, and morphometrics. CT or MRI offer some promise, but they are expensive sensing modalities. Our technique gathers a rich data set in a relatively short time at a low cost.