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

Facebook Now Supports PGP To Send You Encrypted Emails

You can now instruct Facebook to encrypt every email it sends to you so nobody — not even the NSA — is likely to be able to read your messages anytime soon. All you have to do is import your public PGP key into your Facebook settings and you’re good to go. The problem here, of course, is that most people have no idea how public/private key email encryption works and how to even get started with it. In the wake of Edward Snowden’s leaks, a number of organizations, including Google, promised to completely hide the complexities of end-to-end email encryption from regular users. Very few of these products have materialized so far, however — not for lack of trying, but because this is actually a very complex problem, both from a technical and user experience perspective. Facebook uses the well-established PGP scheme (the GNU Privacy Guard implementation of OpenPGP, to be precise) to encrypt messages and tools lik...

Laser gun is deployed and operational on U.S. Navy warship

After several years of research and testing, the U.S. Navy has introduced a new laser gun designed to protect ships without using ammunition. Another entry on our timeline is now a reality as the U.S. Navy has authorised the first operational use of a laser weapon. This new hi-tech system – known as the Laser Weapon System (LaWS) – is designed to serve as a form of defence against drones and other small flying vehicles or small-boat enemies including suicide attackers. It is highly accurate, able to hit objects moving at up to 300 mph (480 km/h). The LaWS fires a solid-state infrared beam with two modes: high output to destroy a target, and low output for optical "dazzling", warning shots or to cripple a potential attacker. Among the advantages of this device versus projectile weapons is the low cost per shot, as each firing of the weapon requires only minimal cost for generating the energetic pulse; by contrast ordnance for projectile weapons must be des...

Intel announces the first 14 nanometre processor

At the Computex conference in Taipei, chipmaker Intel has revealed a fanless mobile PC reference design using the first of its next-generation 14nm "Broadwell" processors. The 2 in 1 pictured here is a 12.5" screen that is just 7.2 mm thick with keyboard detached and weighs 670 grams. The Surface Pro 3 – for comparison – is 9.1 mm thick and weighs 800 grams. It includes a media dock that provides additional cooling for a burst of performance. The next-generation chip is purpose-built for 2 in 1s and will hit the market later in 2014 . Called the Intel Core M, it will be the most energy-efficient Intel Core processor in the company's history with power usage cut by up to 45 percent, resulting in 60 percent less heat. The majority of designs based on this new chip are expected to be fanless, with up to 32 hours of battery life, offering both a lightning-fast tablet and razor-thin laptop. Intel is also delivering innovation and performance for the ...

How to Choose BitLocker Drive Encryption Method and Cipher Strength in Windows 10?

BitLocker is an encryption method that enables users to lock the different drives in Windows . The drives which are protected by BitLocker are accessed by passwords. Windows has provided opportunity for users to choose and configure the cipher strength and algorithm used by BitLocker Drive Encryption. This can be achieved via the Local Group Policy editor. The Local Policy Editor will let you configure and select the cipher method for BitLocker encryption. By default it is not configured but you can choose your choiceable encryption method by enabling the Policy Setting. If the drive is already encrypted or if encryption is in progress, the encyption method will have no effect. If you leave the policy unconfigured, then BitLocker will use the default encryption method of AES 128-bit with Diffuser or the encryption method specified by the setup script. Steps to Choose BitLocker Drive Encryption Method and Cipher Strength in Windows 10 1. ...

How to prevent Recent and Phone Favorite contacts from showing in your iOS task switcher

When you double-click your iPhone's home button, you will be greeted with the task switching screen, which presents you with card deck-style snapshots of your active apps to freely browse and switch to. With iOS 8, however, where most iPhones are at the moment, Apple introduced a Favorites row there, with circular pictures of your most recently used contacts. Most people aren't bothered by their recent contacts appearing there, but for some this means easy snooping on who they've called or texted last, or simply unnecessary clutter. If you don't want to wait until iOS 9 hits and gets rid of these circular shenanigans in your task switcher, here's what you need to do to get rid of them: 1. Go to the Settings app, and scroll down to the Mail, Contacts, Calendars section; 2. From Mail, Contacts, Calendars, look for the Contacts section, which will be hosting the Show in App Switcher options; 3. Tap on Show in App Switche...

Exciting Technology

Search This Blog