Artec Shapify booth review: full-body 3d scanner

If you’re planning an event or a research project where you need to scan hundreds of people in a day or two, you might not be able to do it with one regular handheld 3D scanner that we reviewed here before. For projects like that you need something way more powerful and better automatic to make it fun, fast, and easy both for you and the people you plan to scan. So what do you do? We say – you need a full-body 3D scanning booth.

What is a scanning booth? And why is it better than a regular handheld 3D scanner? In this review, we will answer both questions based on a real example of one of the most popular booths there on the market which is Shapify by Artec 3D. We’ll see what Shapify booth is capable of and in what cases it’s better to turn to a booth rather than a handheld full-body scanner.

But before we dive right into the bells and whistles and the specifications of the Shapify booth, let’s first see what is a scanning booth in the first place.

What is a scanning booth?

If you google “3D scanning booth” and go to images, you’ll see thousands of pictures of cabins, capsules, and kiosks of different forms and sizes with cameras and lights hanging inside them. This is the scanning booth. 

All these scanning and lighting gear is there to capture the person in third-dimension in high quality and super fast. Unlike handheld scanners, the capturing process in such a booth takes seconds and doesn’t require walking around the person to make the scan. The whole process happens automatically or semi-automatically, and in turn, you get a very detailed 3D model of yourself which you can then print on a 3D printer.

Now let’s go back to the Shapify booth, and see how this particular booth works.

Artec 3D Shapify Booth

Shapify booth was introduced by Artec 3D, the Luxembourg-based manufacturer of professional 3D scanning hardware and software, in October 2014. At that time the company was already known for its easy-to-use scanners Eva and Spider, and that’s when the 3D booth came into the scene. It was first showcased on the CES 2015 and gained lots of attention from the media and technology enthusiasts. Sadly, I wasn’t there myself to try it first-hand, but I was excited to see the booth live at one of my local shopping malls in Ohio later that year and get my first “shapie” (as the company calls those 3D figurines).

So what is the Shapify Booth? Let’s take a closer look.

Artec Shapify Booth

It is an automatic 3D full-body scanning cabin rigged with four wide-view high-resolution 3D scanners, a lighting system, and automatic post-processing software. Attached to the two side walls, the scanners make a full circle around the person (or several people) standing in the center of the booth, and capture them from all angles. 

The whole process takes around 12 seconds, and then it takes another 5 minutes to preview the scan. In case a person blinked or moved and a rescan is needed, there’s no magic here. And then the model is sent to the cloud for the final post-processing which usually takes 10-15 minutes. The final model is full-colored and watertight, and is ready to be 3D printed or can be used to collect body measurements or uploaded into 3D software for modeling and modification.

3D printed figurine captured with Shapify booth

While the scanning part is easy, there are still certain rules to bear in mind. You must remove any transparent and glossy accessories like glasses or jewelry. And it’s better to wear something colorful and that has either a pattern or some texture so the scanners can pick them up.

The pose is crucial too. It must be comfortable and easy to keep for at least 12 seconds while the scanning booth does its magic.

Applications

One of the first early applications of the most 3D booths that started to appear on the market was (and still is) the creation of 3D printed figurines as a souvenir and “real” alternative to 2D photographs. Remember the good old days when you went to a local photo studio to get a family portrait or a portrait for the school’s yearbook? Now you can get a 3D selfie in one of such booths in a local mall or shopping center, and get a 3D printed miniature of yourself that you can place on a shelf or gift to your friends and family. 

[3D model scanned with Shapify booth]

And the Shapify booth is no exception here. It can be installed in malls, museums, amusement parks, airports, cinemas, and other crowded places with lots of visitors. Young couples can make their 3D figurines for their wedding cake, women can capture that special moment of their pregnancy and their body transformation, parents can scan their kids in Halloween costumes or

capture their happy faces in 3D on graduation day. The occasions are endless.

Artec Shapify booth in Asda store, UK 

Source: https://www.tctmagazine.com/additive-manufacturing-3d-printing-news/artec-rolls-out-shapify-booth-to-asda-stores/

Such a booth can also be a great option for universities and science centers that need to scan a hundred or more people in a day for research and development projects. On their website, Artec 3D says the booth can scan 10 customers per hour. And that makes it a great solution compared to handheld scanning devices which require a lot more time and effort, and skills.

To check Shapify booth locations all around the world and get yourself a 3D “shapie”, visit https://www.shapify.me/scanning-point.

Note: If you don’t need hundreds of scans per day (if you’re looking for a body scanner for a clinic or an orthotics/prosthetics center), in this case, we’d recommend considering a handheld 3D scanner such as Artec Eva rather than a booth as it’s way more portable, affordable and doesn’t require as much space as a scanning booth. It can also provide much better accuracy if you need to scan a certain part of the body. For handheld scanners, check our reviews here.

Artec Shapify booth price

If you’d like to buy Shapify booth and start a 3D figurine printing business or use it for events or research purposes, you have to sign up for an Optimal plan which comes at $39,000 for the booth and the software, and prepay $60,000 for 3000 3D models, $20 each. 

For printing, you can either organize your own printing service if you have all the necessary equipment and post-processing skills or you can leave printing and delivery on Artec through their online management system. 

To become Shapify’s owner and check full Shapify booth cost, visit https://www.shapify.me/partner/booth. Maybe there’s one Artec Shapify booth for sale, who knows? 😉