Twindom Announces Updates to Twinstant Mobile Full-Body 3D Scanner, App User Interface, and Scanning Software

I’ve been to a few weddings over the last few years where there was a photo booth. This is a pretty fun option for a number of reasons: it gives the guests something fun to do while waiting for the bridal party to arrive, or if they want to take a break from dancing. It frees the wedding photographer up to take the photos that really matter to the bride and groom, instead of dealing with guests who want their picture taken, and the props and fun costume pieces found inside most photo booths make for much more memorable event photos than selfies taken at the dinner table. But what if, instead of a strip of photo booth pictures, you could leave a wedding with an actual 3D printed figurine of yourself? Back in 2015, we told you about California-based Twindom, which launched an instantaneous full-body scanning system called Twinstant for those moments you don’t want to miss, like graduation, the first day of school, or your wedding day. Today, the company is announcing an updated version of its Twinstant Mobile full body 3D scanner – and it’s a lot more portable than the old version.

The team at Twindom has been working hard over the last year to get a leg up in the 3D printed figurine market, and its full body 3D scanning systems have been shipped to over 14 countries. The old Twinstant took about 45 minutes to set up, which really kills the fun vibe at special events. But the newest version, along with a few additional features that give customers high quality 3D scans, now only takes one person 20 minutes to set up, which is more in line with traditional photo booths.

Will Drevno, one of the Twindom co-founders, told 3DPrint.com, “What I personally find exciting about the new version of the Twinstant Mobile is that traditionally full body 3D scanners have been known to be big and bulky and not seen as practical to take to events (where a lot of our customers have found the most success). By bringing the setup time down to 20 minutes it makes taking a Twinstant Mobile to an event more in line with setting up a photo booth or regular photography station which is something no other 3D body scanner has been able to achieve.”

Twindom recently starting shipping the updated Twinstant Mobile system, which is compact enough to fit in the trunk of a small car; the 3D scanning poles fold and unfold in just seconds. The faster setup is possible thanks to its new twist lock mechanism, located near the base of each of the 3D scanning poles. The older versions used four wing nuts at the base of each pole, and users had to manually screw them in. If you’re working at events where your goal is to sell something, such as 3D printed figurines, you don’t want to worry about spending close to an hour messing around with screws and cables.

“One of the biggest asks we would get from customers taking their Twinstants to lots of events to sell 3D printed figurines were for making the setup process simpler. While the 1-person 45 minute setup on the old version of the Twinstant Mobile was already very competitive with other full body 3D scanners for 3D printed figurines on the market we wanted to make an even simpler experience for customers,” said Drevno.

Check out this time-lapse video of the new 20-minute setup for the Twinstant Mobile:

What’s nice about the Twinstant Mobile is that each unit has built-in lighting, and automatic color calibration, both of which also help scale back on setup time. But the quicker setup is not all that Twindom has updated over the last year – the company also released some software upgrades, including updated 3D reconstruction algorithms. All Twindom scanners can now create more consistent and higher quality output, without long processing times. Depending on the number of people in each 3D scan, Twinstant Mobile can actually produce 8192 x 8192 textured models, with up to 1.6 million polygons per 3D model.

Speaking of the models, there are three available versions that Twinstant Mobile users can order: the full color 3D printed miniature is obviously pretty popular. The miniatures are 3D printed in sandstone, on 3D Systems ProJet 660Pro and 860Pro full-color 3D printers, and are available in full-body, half-body, and bust sizes. Engraved 3D crystals are also available in a variety of sizes, and you can also purchase true-to-life scale 3D models, within about 0.5″ accuracy.

In order to ensure a quicker customer interaction process, the Twinstant Scanner App now has an updated user interface. Customers are able to enter the necessary personal information ahead of time on the app in a separate computer. When it’s the customer’s turn to get 3D scanned, the personal information fields will then auto-populate on the main scanning computer. This last feature was requested by multiple customers who take their Twinstant Mobile full-body 3D scanners to big events, or high traffic locations.

If you think 20 minutes sounds fast, get this: the whole 3D scanning workflow of the Twinstant Mobile system takes, on average, less than a minute!

1. Enter customer details into Twinstant Scanner App; average time: 20 seconds
2. Choose the number of people being scanned for the 3D printed figurine, and let the auto calibration run; average time: 5 seconds
3. Show customers how to pose for 3D scanner: average time: 5 seconds
4. Click the ‘capture’ button and run the full-body 3D scan; average time: 5 seconds
5. Review the photos with the customer, and once approved, submit to the Twindom Cloud Platform for processing; average time: 15 seconds

3D Crystal

I feel like this fifth step could potentially take longer than 15 seconds – what if someone doesn’t like how they look in the scan, and wants to do it again?

Regardless, if a customer decides they are happy with their 3D scan and want to order a 3D printed version, there are three checkout options: immediate checkout, where customers select the model they want based on sample 3D figurines, and the Twinstant Mobile user collects their payment details and shipping information; 3D Preview, where the customer can wait 5-10 minutes to see a preview of their figurine first, and then order and pay for it; and Mobile Checkout, where customers get an email notification when their 3D Preview GIF is processed, and they can then order and pay through the Twinstant user’s white-labeled online store, which is included with a Twindom Cloud Platform subscription.

While the Twinstant Mobile Full Body 3D Scanner certainly isn’t what I would call cheap at nearly $27,000, it does come with a lot of equipment, including a Capture Laptop and a Tools/Spare Parts kit. But I’m guessing if enough customers like the idea of purchasing 3D printed figurines at events like weddings, it will pay for itself pretty quickly. Discuss in the Twindom forum at 3DPB.com.