The scanner, worth $50,000, is the only one of its kind at a New Zealand university. Students have been putting it to use to model body parts, design garments and furniture, and create avatars for animation and game design.
The scanner is an example of photogrammetry—the science of extracting accurate information about physical objects by recording, measuring, and interpreting photographic images.
Michael Hurle qualified as an accountant and worked overseas for much of his career. He returned to New Zealand some years ago to found Ditto NZ Limited, a company that specialises in 3D photography, imaging, and photogrammetry.
According to the University’s digital manufacturing technician Nathan Wilson, the School of Design Innovation has been using 3D capture techniques for the last 12 years. “We used to do this by taking multiple images using handheld cameras. The new scanner solves several problems we had with that method—the scan is completed in one shot, so the subject doesn’t move, and the space can accommodate larger models.”
The scanner resembles an unassuming circular changing room made up of seventeen linked poles. A closer inspection of the poles reveals rows of tiny camera and projector holes—ninety in all—more closely grouped near a small sign saying ‘Face here.’ Each panel has an LED strip that illuminates the subject and projectors that create a grid pattern, allowing the cameras to capture more accurate texture and colour. All of these are triggered in less than a second to capture the scan.
The ninety images are then sent to a laptop with software that resolves all this information into a 3D image by a process called triangulation.
Using this data, the image of the object or person can then be printed as a 3D model or placed in virtual reality scenarios. The Faculty’s industrial 3D colour printer, which looks like a normal printer on steroids, can control 10.8 million droplets of colour per cubic centimetre. This means it can create models with incredibly complex layers of colour based on the information from the 3D scanner.
Bernard Guy, Senior Lecturer in Design Innovation, has used the scanner with his classes. The scan is a fast and private capture of the participant that, after processing, presents them with a virtual twin that can be imported into design concepts.
Fashion designers can create a body avatar and then use it to add one of their patterns, with the software simulating drape over the body. They can also create unusual and bespoke garments, for instance, for people with different body types or wheelchair users. Industrial designers can scan a person in a seated position and evaluate how their furniture designs interact with the body.
“Creating human-scale 3D digital models using the large 3D scanner introduced our students to a new type of technology that is increasingly at the forefront of design innovation and social discussion,” says Bernard. “It also raises critical class discussions about the privacy and ethical implications of digitising individuals.”
Michael Hurle says “I am delighted that the scanner has found a home and is being used in such diverse and innovative ways. The Faculty of Architecture and Design Innovation is genuinely world‑class in its application of technology.
“I am also keen to learn more about how they are approaching the ethical, practical, and intellectual property considerations relating to personal digital images and taonga. This was only an emerging issue when I started, but it’s now a critical one in today’s environment.”
The Faculty of Architecture and Design Innovation hosted a 3D Scanning and Imaging Research Collider in June 2025 to showcase their capabilities in this area. This resulted in many potential collaborations across different areas of the university and with local institutions such as Te Papa.
A cross-disciplinary project between the School of Design Innovation, the Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies, and Earth Sciences New Zealand will investigate combining 3D models and immersive experiences to monitor remote marine ecosystems.
Dr Nadia Pantidi, Associate Dean, Research at the Faculty of Architecture and Design Innovation and senior lecturer in Interaction Design, has had discussions with colleagues in Te Puna Hauora—School of Health and Te Whatu Ora about using the scanner to support a current project on clinical safety and manual handling training.
“What is really exciting about this scanner is that we are still discovering its full potential. Through using it with our students and engaging our colleagues and partners, we discover new ways that it can contribute to different disciplines and projects and support our research and teaching.”