A 3D digital scanner can be understood as a camera-like device that employs 3D scanning to output images that are much clearer in terms of positions of the objects included in the images than a normal camera. A 3D digital scanners works by assigning 3D vector coordinates to the objects in the frame and then processing the pictures. In this way, the positional aspects of all the objects in the image are crystal clear and the image itself is extremely detailed and precise. Even the colors, shapes and appearances of all objects in the image range are so accurate that it becomes possible to create exact 3D replicas of the objects the output image.
There are two types of 3D scanners: contact and non-contact 3D scanners. As the names suggest, while contact 3D scanners inspect the objects physically in order to assign suitable coordinates, non-contact scanners use radiations and rays to do the same. Between the two, the contact scanners have more limitations and shortcomings. For example, it becomes difficult to use them with objects that have parts that are inaccessible to the scanner or with delicate and protected objects such as artifacts in a historical museum. Even images of glass and liquids become problematic when one is using a contact 3D digital scanner. Therefore, they are less preferred than their non-contact counterparts are. Nowadays, high-end non-contact scanners that use only the light emitted from the different objects to determine their 3D coordinates are also available.
3D digital scanners are very expensive. While the price of the basic scanners is around $50,000, the most advanced models can cost as high as $400,000. This makes them a product designed only for those who have very specific uses with regard to these scanners and for those industries where normal cameras are unusable. Some industries where these scanners find application are video games, movies, reverse engineering, museums, prototyping, etc.