Credit: 3dprintingindustry.com
Skubot, a 3D scanner manufacturer based in South Carolina, is to unveil two new 3D scanning and part identification systems at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2019, held in Las Vegas between 8-12 January.
Co-developed by HP, the new products are designed to help customers find products by referencing a digital part inventory.
Automated part finder
Manually finding replacement parts in a store is time-consuming and often requires experienced staff who can recognize and locate the part. One of the reasons for this is that a part may not have any identifying mark, such as a serial number or logo.
The Skubot automated part finder bypasses such problems. It scans a part placed in the machine and creates a 3D model. The scanned model is then compared with already-existing items in the virtual database. The Skubot can identify parts like cartridges, used to control water flow in faucets, with 96% accuracy.
The Skubot scanner is currently deployed at eleven retail stores of Ferguson, the largest plumbing parts supplier in the U.S.
Ferguson’s Business Development Manager, Lance Buffington, said, “We continually have trade professionals and consumers looking to replace parts with no identifiable markings or logos … The skills to identify parts are highly specialized and with SkuBot’s 3D scanning device our sales associates can help customers identify parts along with any associated items quickly and accurately.”
Powered by HP
In the 3D printing industry, HP is known for bringing the Multi Jet Fusion technology and the HP FitStation to the market. To develop the Skubot, HP provided its technical expertise.
Steve Smith, Senior Director of Engineering for HP’s FitStation and Immersive Computing businesses, said, “We are delighted to be working with the SkuBot team to bring smart object detection and product identification technology to wholesale and retail environments.”
“USING THE LATEST 3D SENSORS, MACHINE LEARNING AND COMPUTER VISION TECHNOLOGY SKUBOT CAN IDENTIFY HARDWARE PARTS WITHOUT BARCODES OR TAGGING. WE ARE COLLABORATING NOW ON A NEXT GENERATION SYSTEM THAT WILL HAVE A NEW INTERFACE ALONG WITH INCREASED ACCURACY AND SPEED OF IDENTIFICATION.”
