Cyberware, in Monterey California produces a 3D color laser digitizer. It performs a cylindrical or linear scan of an object and produces a data file consisting of up to 1 million points that form a mesh that maps the surface of the object. In the case of the cylindrical scan, the mesh consists of radius values measured at uniformly spaced latitudes and longitudes around the object being digitized. The resulting mesh is identical to that produced by the lines of latitude and longitude drawn on a model globe. The linear scans produce a mesh that resembles the grid on a sheet of paper. It should be noted that the spacing between neighboring points is not necessarily the same along both latitudes and longitudes, nor are the number of samples in both directions.

    A low power laser is directed through a series of lenses and mirrors to create a plane of light that is projected onto the subject. Mirrors view the reflected light from both sides of the subject in order to alleviate any problems caused by shadowing. These images of the surface contour are combined at a half-silvered mirror and reflected into the lens of a high resolution CCD camera. The image is then processed by additional circuitry to extract the contour information and relay it to the controlling computer. The entire apparatus is mounted on a revolving framework so that it rotates around the subject creating a cylindrical scan of the surface contours. Alternately, small subjects can be moved past a stationary camera to produce linear scans of the subject. The most recent version of the camera is able to produce a 512 X 512 grid of sample points at a resolution of 0.7 millimeters in 15-20 seconds. A second CCD camera is used to sample the associated RGB values at each sample point. By using the shading and lighting models on the IRIS workstation, the renderings of these digitized objects are very realistic.

    Some of the special effects in the movie "Terminator II" were created by first digitizing the actors head using the Cyberware digitizer. ILM then used the data as input into their various modeling programs. Also, the pseudopod in the movie "The Abyss" got it's face from Cyberware. Other applications include medical, eg. prosthetic devices, reconstructive surgery, industrial, eg. masks for fighter pilots, art and design, eg. portrait sculpture.

    George Dabrowski

    Cyberware Laboratory Inc.
    8 Harris Court #3D
    Monterey, California 93940

    Phone: (408) 373-1441 8am-5pm Pacific Time
    Fax: (408) 373-3582
    E-Mail: dabro@taurus.cs.nps.navy.mil