Bevel Turns Your Phone Into A 3D Scanner For $49

Here at TechCrunch we’re eagerly awaiting the day when 3D photographs are just as mainstream as traditional ones. We even have an ongoing collection of some TC writers modeled in 3D.

However, like many early technologies, 3D capture devices are mostly too expensive and complicated to cater to the masses.

Canadian company Matter and Form is aiming to change this with Bevel, a device that plugs into your phone’s audio jack and allows it to capture 3D photographs. The device is currently in the midst of a $200,000 Kickstarter campaign, and eventually will retail for $49.

Bevel uses an eye-safe laser that acts as a fixed light source to capture scale and geometric detail, while your phone’s camera captures color, texture and other details. The result is a 360-degree model that you can rotate, zoom and even 3D-print.

Notably, the device and software will also work across a variety of phones and platforms, since it will ship with a calibration card that will help it adjust for various phone sizes and headphone jack locations.

Bevel will also come with a companion app, which will allow users to capture and share these 3D models.

While the company said these captured images will probably be saved in a proprietary format, the app will allow them to be exportable in common 3D formats so they can be printed or imported into other software.

Matter and Form is also launching Cashew, which is the company’s new (still in beta) online platform to upload and share 3D content.

While Cashew is similar to existing services like Sketchfab, users should benefit from the easy ability to upload to Cashew directly from the Bevel app. Cashew will also allow users to send models directly to 3D printing services like Shapeways.

Matter and Form already has experience launching 3D hardware products. Last year, they launched a relatively affordable 3D scanner, which we took a look at in a hands-on review. Now, the company is bringing 3D scanning to the masses, with the very affordably priced Bevel.

The company’s end goal is to allow users to create and consume 3D media “without all of the BS that comes with traditional 3D software and programs.” Drew Cox, founder and CEO of Matter and Form, emphasized that most hardware and software in the 3D ecosystem was developed a long time ago, and isn’t very intuitive.

The devices are expected to ship late Q4/early Q1 2016 and can be preordered on Kickstarter now.

Comments

eGym raises $45M Series C for cloud-connected gym equipment and fitness software

eGym , the Munich-based startup that offers cloud-connected gym equipment and supporting cloud software and app for the fitness training floor, has closed $45 million in Series C funding. The round was led by new investor HPE Growth Capital, while existing investors, including Highland Europe, also participated. The problem that eGym is looking to solve is that, whilst gyms have moved from a bodybuilder market to a mass market in the last 20 years, the technology in gyms lags behind. That’s despite the fact that better use of technology can help to reduce customer churn, the biggest pain-point of both gym operator and gym users. Comprising of an app for both gym user and trainer, combined with the company’s connected strength machines, the eGym Cloud makes it possible for gym members to receive better fitness instruction and an evolving and personalised fitness plan based on data collected as they workout. And by providing a better workout feedback loop, gym goers can get an i...

Building a smarter home

The Jetsons presented a highly entertaining vision of what homes of the future would look like . The animated television show anticipated a world where humans would be able to do everything with just the push of a button. In many ways, the show turned out to be prophetic; today we have printable food, video chats, smartwatches and robots that help with housework — and flying cars may even be on the way. The challenge for companies is to integrate digital technologies in meaningful ways that enhance people’s homes and improve their lives. Many of the innovations to emerge over the past few years have been geared toward this kind of “push-button living.” Thanks to the rise of smartphones and the proliferation of cheap sensors, it is possible to make just about any household appliance “smart” and “connected.” By 2019, companies are expected to ship 1.9 billion connected home devices, bringing in about $490 billion in revenue. ...

Careless USB removal causes multiple deaths

EIGHTEEN workers have died after a USB stick was removed from a computer without adequate precautions. The offices of Hereford-based Envision Photography were completely destroyed in the ensuing blast. Survivor Norman Steele said: “My colleague Helen had put some files on the stick to work on at home, and she yanked it out of the computer before anyone could scream ‘no’. “I kicked her aside as a jet of white-hot flame belched out of the USB port and set fire to the desk opposite. “Grabbing her, I dived through the window just before all the PCs in the network exploded with purple electricity that fried everyone in the building. “I sprinted to my car, knowing that the printers were already becoming merciless hunter-killer drones, shouting for Helen to follow. “But when I looked round I saw her frozen, something glowing in her hand, the awareness dawning of her fate. She was still holding the USB. “She detonated in a flash of ultraviolet light that turned eve...

Airbnb will open its Cuba listings to users outside the United States

Airbnb will now let travelers from outside the U.S. to book properties in Cuba after receiving authorization from the U.S. government, reports the Associated Press . Previously, only Americans were allowed to reserve the site’s Cuban listings . They will open to international users on April 2. Airbnb launched its Cuban operations in April 2014 , four months after the Obama administration revealed that it will begin to restore diplomatic relations with the Communist country . The historic policy change means that travel and trade sanctions will be lifted , which is expected to boost tourism to Cuba dramatically because Americans no longer need licenses to visit. In fact, President Obama is currently on an official visit to Cuba , the first president since Calvin Coolidge to do so. According to the AP, Cuba is currently Airbnb’s fastest-growing market, with about 4,000 homes added since it opened listings. Other travel businesses...

Oculus’ New $99 Samsung Gear VR Makes Serious Virtual Reality Affordable

At half the price of its last mobile VR headset, the new $99 Oculus-made Samsung Gear VR is cheap enough to unlock virtual reality for the mainstream. Revealed today at the Oculus Connect conference, it works with the whole 2015 line of Samsung Smartphones including the Note 5, S6, S6 Edge, and S6 Edge+. It will ship in November in time for Black Friday. Compared to the $199 previous Gear VRs that only worked with fewer phones, this headset will be a lot more accessible. The new Gear VR is 22% lighter, making it more comfortable to wear. The trackpad on the temple of the headset also now has a tactile directional pad on it so your finger will know where it’s touching. The previous Gear VRs had a smooth trackpad and sometimes it was to tough to know if you were touching it or just the unsensitive shell of the headset when you couldn’t see for yourself. There’s also a new Gear VR Gamepad which all the Oculus Connect conference attendees will get for free. It features an...

Exciting Technology

Search This Blog