SOFIA, BULGARIA — Chaos Group has introduced a new scanning technology that can produce an exact digital replica of a physical material with sub-mm precision. Design and manufacturing firms can instantly take advantage of this patented technology through VRscans (www.vrscans.com), Chaos Group’s new full-service material scanning business.
“We’ve dedicated the last 19 years to advancing rendering technology, so designers can trust what they see on their screen. Now they can match the material sample in their hand with the one in their 3D model,” says Peter Mitev, CEO at Chaos Group.
While using digital graphics to prototype projects has been the standard for design firms and Fortune 500 companies for years, the ability to present products with 100 percent accuracy has not. In the past, approximations were used, forcing artists to spend countless hours getting 90 percent of the way there. With VRscans, companies can now send in their material samples, trusting that what comes back will be the most accurate representation of a digital material yet. Once processed, the materials are returned with a .vrscan file that arrives ready to render in V-Ray – Chaos Group’s widely-used photorealistic lighting and rendering software.
VRscans combines precise optical hardware with proprietary software; the result of several years of research and prototyping. VRscans captures each material’s full appearance, including surface texture, reflectivity, dimensionality, and its unique response to light. This complex data is read by the new VRscans plugin, creating a physically accurate material that can be rendered from any angle and in any lighting condition.
"Several pilot projects are already underway with top automotive, aerospace, and furniture companies,” said Dinko Dimitrov, VRscans Product Manager. “Digital prototypes are the best way to design quickly. Now designers can do it with confidence.”
VRscans is available now and is compatible with the latest versions of V-Ray for 3DS Max and Maya. Support for additional applications is in development.