3Dnatives Lab: Testing the Artec Ray 3D Scanner

Luxembourg-based manufacturer Artec 3D has specialized over the years in the development of portable 3D scanners such as the Eva, the Space Spider and the Leo. More recently, the company has also broadened its spectrum of applications by unveiling 3D scanners of a different type, such as the Micro, an automated stationary 3D scanner for scanning small parts, or the Artec Ray, a long-distance laser 3D scanner for large parts or indoor/outdoor scenes, such as wind turbines, ship propellers, airplanes or buildings.

First introduced in 2018, the Artec Ray is based on LiDAR technology, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging. On paper, it offers an accuracy of less than a millimeter, a long range of 110 meters associated with a wide field of view of 360º×270º, an acquisition speed of 208,000 points/s and a built-in battery with a maximum autonomy of four hours. These features as well as a recommended retail price of $60,000 (€56,000) clearly place the Artec Ray in the professional range of scanners. After the recent tests of the Artec Micro and Artec Leo, 3Dnatives had the opportunity to use the Artec Ray 3D scanner for a full test. So what are the possibilities offered by this equipment? Is it easy to use? What applications can be realized with the Ray? We took a closer look.

The Artec Ray scanner comes complete with power cables, a USB cable, two batteries and chargers, three SD cards, a tripod adapter and a carrying case

1. Unboxing the Artec Ray Scanner

Visually, the Artec Ray looks like a rectangular prism of about 11.3″x7.9″x4.6″ (287×200×118 mm) for about 13lbs (just under 6kg). It includes a rotating mirror at its center as well as two 5-megapixel cameras to capture textures. It also has two LED indicators on the top of the scanner for real-time status (ON/OFF, ready to scan, scanning…), a power light on the base and a light for WiFi/Autonomous mode. On the top, Artec also thought of installing a carrying handle. Finally, on the side, there are slots for the external battery, an SD card and an ON/OFF button. The inputs for the power cable and the USB port have been positioned on the base of the scanner.