New laser scanners are faster

The 120 also boasts an operating range of 153 m, making it the longest-range phase-shift laser scanner in the world. The Photon 20, in comparison, has been designed for scanning objects within a range of 20 m. The new models provide an eight-fold increase in speed, and a doubling of the distance scanning capacity of the previous generation FARO offerings. The company also introduced FARO Scene V4.6, the latest version of its scan processing software, which accelerates the registration of scans by 90 per cent compared to manual completion. It also automates registration of the data captured by the scanner, that is, its target recognition, naming and matching. That means that instead of returning to the office to manually register scans and overlay them with colour, users can have these time-consuming tasks performed by FARO Scene V4.6 either on-the-spot or, overnight through batch processing. "Large imaging assignments, such as 3D documentation of shopfloors or buildings, require hundreds of scans and a significant investment of time and resources," said Jay Freeland, FARO chief executive officer. "To remain cost-effective, such projects must be completed as quickly as possible without sacrificing quality of the output. The new Photon laser scanners greatly enhance both the productivity and quality equations for our customers."