With four days left to go, the Structure Sensor from Occipital, has already raised more than $1,100,000, making it the eighth most funded technology project on Kickstarter.
View: Kickstarter of the Week: Mobile 3D-Scanner Raises More than $1.1M on Kickstarter
The idea for the Structure Sensor came after the founders successfully mapped a small indoor environment using a Microsoft Kinect 3D sensor and prototype code.
“We quickly realized that needing a tethered sensor and a high-end desktop CPU meant that this technology was never going to make its way to everyday life, so we set out to transform ourselves into a hardware company and develop the Structure Sensor,” explains co-founder and CEO, Jeff Powers.
The team started with off-the-shelf 3D sensors, hacking them to work with mobile devices. 
“This let us get an early understanding of user experience issues, while also starting to develop software a lot earlier than if we waited for our own full design to be complete,” says Powers.
Simultaneously, the team began developing the electronic design, using printed circuit boards bolted onto cheap iPad cases. “They were not pretty, but they allowed us to quickly test and fix our electrical design,” he adds. “Three iterations later, and with countless hours spent iterating our mechanical design in parallel, we had a working prototype that looked like the real thing.”
Both the exterior body and internal components are made with anodized aluminum, giving the device a high-end look and small form factor, while avoiding a cheap plastic shell.
“Our decision to use anodized aluminum as both the exterior body for the Structure Sensor, and as the core chassis that holds the optical and electrical components in precise alignment, was the most innovative aspect of the design,” says Powers.
One challenge the team faced was making the sensor powerful, as well as energy efficient. To overcome this, the team used a low-power co-processor that wakes up the main core only when needed, allowing the sensor to have a standby life of up to 1,000 hours.
“Another challenge was aligning the sensor’s 3D data with the iPad’s built-in camera,” adds Powers. Using this camera, the sensor works with structured light to capture video graphics array (VGA) depth images at 
30 frames per second, where pixels represent distances to real-world points.
Initially only available for the iPad, the campaign’s success has opened up the technology to Android devices as well. However, the sensor can be mounted to most anything, and comes with a USB hacker cable to connect with other devices. Open source drivers will also be provided for multiple platforms including Windows and Linux, in addition to a complete software development kit (SDK). Other features include:
- A depth sensing range of 40 cm to 3.5 m.
- A resolution of 640 x 480.
- A precision at 1% of measured distance (typical).
- An Integrated lithium polymer battery with 3 to 4 hours of active sensing, 1,000+ hours standby.
The sensor is completely app-controlled. “Users simply download Structure-powered apps from the app store that can automatically activate the sensor as needed,” explains Powers. 
The apps allow users to import objects or people into CAD software or game worlds, 3D map indoor spaces, and develop augmented or virtual reality games. With access to a constantly growing number of applications to let them use the sensor in new ways, backers with less experience will also find value in the device.
“Our goal is to continue bringing advanced computer vision technology to consumers via their mobile devices. We strive to do this in a way that masks the complexity of the technology and presents the user with a magical experience.”
Although they have raised over a million dollars, far exceeding their goal of $100,000, the company has no anxieties about delivering the product on time.
“We’re excited about the never-ending march of faster devices and better cameras on mobile devices,” says Powers. “Everything is moving very fast, so we’re only nervous about making sure we continue to move fast enough so that we can remain relevant and have a role in architecting the future of three-dimensional spatial computing.”
For more information, visit www.kickstarter.com.
