How does a 3D scanner work?

A 3D laser scanner sends a laser beam onto the surface of an object (non-transparent) and uses sensors to receive the reflected signal. The 3D laser scanner has an integrated CPU that calculates the relative coordinate values from the object to the center of the scanner for each returned signal. Some 3D scanners are capable of performing up to 1,000,000 (one million) such calculations per second. The result of this process is an object represented by a large collection of points known as a point cloud.

What objects can a 3D laser scanner scan?

A 3D laser scanner can scan almost any object. The main limitation involves highly reflective surfaces such as mirrors or extremely bright materials, as well as transparent objects like glass, liquids, and materials that reflect or refract light strongly.

As a result, scanning these types of objects may not produce complete data and may require more detailed scanning or multiple scanning passes.