3D Scanning T-Rex Skull with Microsoft Kinect – Upon mentioning 3D Scanning Technologies, people often think about professional 3D scanners, capable of capturing up to 500,000 data points per second. However, engineers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) thought otherwise, using a much more widely available device.
Instead of using machines that cost thousands of dollars, they used Microsoft Kinect – the device usually used in Kinect gaming, in which the function of the device is to capture players’ body movement and convert them into gaming commands.
3D Scanning T-Rex Skull with Microsoft Kinect
Sarah Buhr had an interesting article on Tech Crunch when she reported the activities of the MIT Camera Culture team. Their specimen is an enormous T-Rex skull, the largest and most complete dinosaur skull found in 1990, currently displayed at Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. A year previously, a group of forensic dentists tried to scan the skull using high-tech devices, but failed as the skull proved too large to scan. Therefore, the MIT team has improvised, using much cheaper technology, including 1 Microsoft Kinect, a depth-sensing camera, and MeshLab free software (Buhr, 2017 [1]).
3D Scanning T-Rex Skull with Microsoft Kinect
The team’s leader, Anshuman Das, decided to wear the Kinect device onto him using camera straps, and walk around the skull. Due to the skull’s irregular size, Daz took some time for calculating appropriate distance to the specimen, so that on the scanning path, the distance between the scanner and the skull remains unchanged. However, the actual scanning process took just 2 minutes. (MIT, 2017 [3]).
3D Scanning T-Rex Skull with Microsoft Kinect
According to Buhr (2017) [1], there are small holes on the skull, suspected bite marks. However, the holes were inconsistent will biting patterns. To investigate further, the skull needed to be scanned and visualized into 3D models for research purpose, but the necessary equipments are too costly for museums and institutes, whose budget are extremely tight. The MIT team’s breakthrough is promised to open up a big step for 3D scanning technology in the future, unbound by the obstacle devices’ price.
3D Scanning T-Rex Skull with Microsoft Kinect
References:
[1] Buhr, S., 2017, “MIT used a $150 Microsoft Kinec to 3D Scan a giant T-Rex Skull” [ONLINE]. Available from TechCrunch at URL: <https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/06/mit-researchers-used-a-150-microsoft-kinect-to-3d-scan-a-giant-t-rex-skull/>
[2] MIT, 2017, “Kinect scan of T-Rex skull addresses paleontological mystery”, Science Daily [ONLINE]. Available from Science Daily at URL: <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170705164501.htm>
[3]Weisberger, M., 2017, “Kinect Scan of T.Rex Skull shed light on Mysterious Holes”, Live Science [ONLINE]. Available from Live Science at URL: <https://www.livescience.com/59725-kinect-scans-t-rex-skull.html>
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