3D Surface Digitization in Scientific Research and Product Development

Abstract

This comprehensive review participates in the use of three different non-invasive surface scanning techniques directed in scientific research of medical, anthropology, archaeology forensic science, and product designing. 3D surface examining tools speak to a promising technique to provide reproducible data such as map the facial soft or hard tissues of a subject document skeletal remains, and trauma, generating 3D imitations of the components for documented and illustrative purposes while simultaneously holding exactness and unwavering quality. Three-dimensional imaging is rapidly turning into a vital tool for reconstruction and examination in scientific research. The final 3D mesh can be 3D printed or the digital version can be shared online with scientific researchers. This review manuscript highlights several studies utilizing non-invasive scanning techniques, depicts the pro and cons of the 3D scanning techniques, and different features of the scanners irrespective of the cost which would be helpful for future research work. A resourceful review was conducted using 7 databases; PubMed, CENTRAL, Science Direct, Scopus, Google Scholar, Research Gate, and IEEE Xplore from 2002 to 2020. Search terms were; “3D Laser scanning”, “Photogrammetry”, “Skeleton preservation”, “Documentation”, “Surface Scanning”, etc. Papers with quality work and related to the field of forensic science, anthropometry, 3D facial scanning, and product development were selected. From all the studies, 71 studies met the eligibility criteria, and other articles were excluded which were non-relevant, had duplicate records, and did not meet search criteria. This review provides in-depth understanding and discussions into methods, restrictions, and inferences from respective research publications.