Never knew these things existed, you learn something new everyday! Could be great for modders too... Cheers
I think they are available a couple of years now for the consumer (or at least affordable to the consumer); the main disadvantage may be the artifacts which are in the model after scanning the object and which needs to be removed. Indeed this might take less time than building the whole car from scratch.
Yes, because compared to what you have to do (draw) to get a 3D model of whatever printed, here that process Is very simplified as not everybody knows how to draw. I had to make (draw) some guide pieces for a cutting sled I was making for my table saw. So I drew them with Sketchup In 3D, which I then sent to a 3D printing shop. But I am lucky I know how to draw (some) and know how to use these programs a bit. Not that I would buy this to do this with, but I can think of a bunch of things this gadget would be useful for. And at circa 1000€, well It´s not as expensive as I thought It would be.
Small scanners are great as long as the surface isn't glossy or featureless/flat. The photogrammetry textures are wonderful, though. At least they are for track scans. Cars and roads typically need polygon clean-up & optimization before they can be used in game. These days, it seems the consumer scanners are mainly used to generate objects for 3D printing, so the general customer is not interested in optimizing polygons and materials for game performance.
