Portable laser scanner creates colour 3D images of surfaces or objects

Lidar uses lasers to create 3D images, but these can be hard to interpret because they are black and white. A new scanner adds cameras to make colour images that could be useful for infrastructure inspection or robot vision

By David Hambling

A new portable device combines laser scanning technology with cameras to create precise 3D images in colour. It could be used for everything from infrastructure inspection to construction to robot vision.

At its heart is a technology called lidar, which measures the distance to surfaces using a laser. Each measurement records a point in space, building a “point cloud” to show surfaces and objects. Unlike a camera, the point cloud gives exact distances and dimensions, but the images are monochromatic and can be hard to interpret.

The lidar in ExynPak, a handheld scanner from Exyn Technologies in Philadelphia, is …