How to Scan Real Objects to 3D Models Using Smartphone

A Startup company by the name of Ubiquiti6 has developed an app that lets you scan real-world objects into a 3d model.

Their app Name is Display. Land.

Now, at first, I was a little bit skeptical about it. 3d scanning is not something new. But it is a very expensive process as you need dedicated hardware for it. Now, of course, Display. land is not gonna give you similar results but it's definitely one of the best mobile apps that I've ever seen and the great thing about it is that it's completely free.


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There is no paid premium wall behind it. There aren't even ads. It's just completely free which is why you should definitely try it out. Now being just an app on your phone the results are actually quite good. Although I have to mention that it takes some practice. 

Here are a few tips to get better scans using Display.land - 


#1  First of all, make sure that there's enough texture. Both on the ground and in your background. More texture means more information that the app can use to make the model better. 

#2  Next, try to avoid hard lighting and reflections and things like windows don't always work that well.

#3  Now, while scanning, first take distance and loop around an object two or three times. If you're scanning a room walk around two or three times and it's very important that you walk and not just pan with the camera. Take low, mid, and high perspectives as well. Then you can go closer to the object and do the same thing again. Walk around it for two, or three times while taking a low, mid, and high perspective. 

There's an indicator in the app that tells you how much information you've given it. The more, the better of course. The iOS version of the app also displays small dots which helps to understand better how well the scanning goes and where you might need to capture more information. 

It's expected that this update also comes to Android very soon. And speaking about devices the app is unfortunately only officially supported by a handful of Android devices, but officially supported just means that the company has QA'd the device. But Some Android Device Does Support This App But Not Run as Well as Expected. So, do try it out and see how it goes on your phone. 

The one hard requirement for Android devices is that they support Google's AR core. Alright, we've scanned a model, what can we do with it now? Well, actually a lot. 

Why Use This Display.Land App - 

For starters, Display.land is also a social media platform. You can publish your scans so that other people can explore it or you can explore other people's work and get some inspiration. You can also create different notes and add a description to it. And you know, this could actually be very interesting to make pre-production for an upcoming shoot. You scan a location and afterward you save your camera frames or angles in that scan. Kind of like a storyboard but then in 3d. Other people within your crew could then preview the shots making it much easier on set. 

You can also share the link and preview any scan on your computer. All right, so that's one thing but here comes the most exciting feature: From the app or from your web browser, there's a download button on top which allows you to download the 3d model and import it into any popular 3d software, such as Cinema 4D. So, here's where it's really getting interesting. 

A Helpful Trick By Using Display.Land -

Now, here comes another amazing trick With Using This App - Have a person standstill in a T-pose and scan him in using the app, then download the model and upload it to a website called Mixamo which is also an Adobe product. Once uploaded Mixamo will process your model. 

Via@ Cinecom

Very important is that your model stands in that T-pose or it won't work. Once done, you can assign several joints like your head, elbows, hips, knees, etc. Then it's going to process again and once that is done you are able to either download your model with a rig or you can assign one of the pre-built animations and download your model with that. Open it again in cinema 4d and you got yourself an animated 3d model that you scanned yourself. 

It is really that easy! You don't even need to know much about Cinema 4d. And it also works with other programs like Blender if you prefer that.  

So, that's in a nutshell what you can do with Display.land. It's still in heavy development, so at this point, they just want to have as many people trying out their app and sharing their feedback. They're also working on a browser-based 3d studio, which looks very promising. 
So I'm super excited to see where the app is going to in the future. 

By the way, guys let me know in the comments down below if you have ever created your own 3d model or if you're planning to start with 3d and which program that you might prefer? I'm always curious to know such things about you. 

Analysis By - Ifti Ahmed

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