If you were visiting the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, you might have seen 3D Systems new portable 3D-Scanner. Now you can pre-order the „iSense 3D Scanner for iPad“, which should be available in the second half of July.

iSense is part software, part hardware. It’s based on the “Sense”-scanner from 3D Systems, which is already out for a while. The hardware consists of a small mountable QVGA-camera, which captures objects in 3D. The cameras field of view is 58 degrees horizontal and 45 degrees vertical. iSense can capture objects which are 40 centimeters to 3,5 meters away. The biggest object can be 3 x 3 x 3 meters, the smallest 0.2 x 0.2 x 0.2 meters – “from shoes to S.U.V.s”, as the press statement puts it.

https://youtu.be/JDit_SrVc2E

Not very much is known about the software yet. According to 3D Systems, the device provides high quality scans even if you aren’t remaining stationary during the scan – you can walk around an object while capturing it. The software also should provide you with a suitable 3D-Model in seconds. Cropping, enhancement and solidifying tools are provided in the software. The software should be easy to use – but we’ll have to test it first.

iSense works with iOS 7 or later, supported devices are iPad Air, iPad 4th generation and iPad mini Retina. If you own a Cube printer, which come in consumer and prosumer versions, you can print your scans directly from your device. The device doesn’t come cheap: The pre-ordering price is 585 US-$ / 429 €.