The itSeez3D iPad app (free) is designed to scan people and objects in 3D, and does a credible job at it, with somewhat better results in scanning people than objects. The scans can be viewed as rotatable 3D figures in the app, uploaded to a 3D model-sharing site, or emailed to the company for conversion to a 3D-printable format. The app makes use of true 3D data, instead of combining a large number of 2D images to create a 3D scan as some other iPad apps do.

itSeez3D is designed for use solely with the Occipital Structure Sensor, a 3D sensor that clips onto an iPad and provides depth data for true 3D scanning. The Structure Sensor is a new product, one whose creators are encouraging application developers to create programs for. itSeez3D was the first third-party app for the Structure Sensor to appear in the iTunes store. It is a primary app for this innovative device, though in time the device should support a much wider range of programs.

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The app comes with some sample 3D models, both of objects like a sneaker, a mug, and a number of human heads. Tapping one of them enlarges the image and lets you rotate, stretch, or pinch it. At the bottom of the screen are four labeled icons, Properties, My Profile, Sensor, and Help.

The Properties mode lets you view the object as a wireframe mesh, a two-dimensional surface, or a color 3D model. My Profile lets you set up a free itSeez3D account or log into an existing account, so you can send your 3D files to the company's cloud for rendering. Sensor gives you data on the hardware, firmware, and how charged the Structure Sensor's battery is. Help gives you guidance on scanning both objects and people. It spells out some of the drawbacks of scanning with the device and app, which our later experience bore out: the sensor doesn't see small or glassy objects.

There are two scanning modes, one for objects and the other for human heads (actually, busts: the head, shoulders, and upper torso). The procedures are slightly different depending on which you choose. The site has videos explaining each process, which you'd do well to watch before trying to scan anything (or anyone).

Scanning with the app uses up a lot of memory on your iPad. On more than a few occasions it refused to scan, saying there was not enough RAM. I'd have to turn my iPad off and then on again to clear the memory before I could scan. It also requires that the battery be mostly charged. I tried to scan a person, only to get a message that there wasn't enough charge in the Structure Sensor's battery; I was surprised, when I checked, to find that it still had about a 54-percent charge.

Scanning Objects
When scanning an object, you place the object on a table or similar flat surface with enough space around it so you can shoot it from all sides. You place magazines or photographs around the object, to help in color correction. You select New Scan, and then choose Object when you're asked what you want to scan. Point the iPad and scanner at the object (centering it in crosshairs that appear in the middle of the screen), far enough away so that the background is green, and press Start. If you hold the iPad steady, it'll take a snapshot of the scene, and areas of the object that are successfully scanned will turn white. (The scan, in effect, renders the object into a mathematical construct consisting of a mesh of polygons, which later are converted into a 3D representation of the object.)

If your hand is shaky, you may get an error message saying "Tracking Problem," or "Cannot find the support plane." Or, you may get a message that you're too close to the object. These alerts came all too frequently in my testing, as it proved difficult to consistently get snapshots. All I could do was move a little further away, point the iPad at the object, and hold it as steady as possible. The app will automatically take a snapshot, and more of the object on your screen will turn white.

You continue to move around the object, taking shot after shot (including ones from above, or at angles). A little dial at the screen's lower left corner lets you know the percentage of the object that you've covered. When you've reached 100 percent (or if you've reached, say 90 percent, and after a number of additional snapshots it doesn't reach 100), you press Done. The scan will then appear as a thumbnail in your list of models.

Below the thumbnail is a button, Send to Render. If you've set up a free account with itSeez3D, you can press the button, and it will send the file to the cloud for processing. When it's done, the thumbnail will be titled New Object. If you tap the thumbnail, you can stretch and rotate the object, and see it in all its three-dimensional glory.

Or not. Many of the object scans were disappointments. It didn't do well with small objects, or shiny surfaces, or fine detail. It captured the general form of a rhino figurine, but its horns were blunted and much of the detail was lost. A scan of a Rubik's Cube looked like it could have been designed by Salvador Dali, as many of its facets looked a bit melted. Larger objects, like a camera bag, fared better, as did ones with smooth surfaces, like a baseball and a plush bluebird.