Quidient, LLC is an early stage, veteran-owned, 3D scanning IP company headquartered in Easton, Maryland.

3D scanners create three-dimensional digital models of real objects and scenes using light. Today’s scanners, while amazing in many respects, are either low-performing “toys” or specialized optical instruments. All fail to meet the general requirements of everyday people for 3D scanning.

Quidient researchers have developed a new 3D scanning system that will soon drive 3D scanning into the mainstream. The Quidient approach is called “Intrinsic Scanning” because it relies on natural light rather than artificial illumination to create the scene model. Quidient’s 3D scanning systems are based on (1) its proprietary Locale Engine technology and (2) a well-known but rarely used type of camera called an imaging polarimeter. Locale Engines are packed with Quidient patented and licensed technology including: polarization-intensified simultaneous localization and mapping (piSLAM™) algorithms, imaging polarimetry and adaptive 3D database methods. Locale Engines, by the way, give Quidient scanning systems the ability to “photograph shape” as well as color on a voxel by voxel basis. Remarkably, Quidient Engines can create a high-definition 3D model of an object like a face based on a single snapshot from a small camera at a considerable distance.

Locale Engines will not only enable 3D display, but, more importantly, enable dozens of life-improving new-category applications that people don’t realize they will soon depend on (think Xerox® copiers and cell phone requirements before the devices went mainstream.) Strange sounding applications such as “shape-based shopping” (scan your feet to order shoes), “cognitive inspection” (assess damage to your home by tossing a scanning UAV into the air), and “digital bricolage” (answer the question, “will that couch fit up those stairs” by pointing your cell phone). Quidient Locale Engines will soon be licensed to chip manufacturers using IP (intellectual property) business models comparable to ARM Holdings (ARM chips) and Qualcomm (CDMA technology). Quidient seeks to be as central to 3D scanning as ARM and Qualcomm are to mobile processing.

The market for 3D cameras is already growing rapidly. According to a new report by Allied Market Research, it is expected to reach $7.6 billion by 2020, registering an average growth rate of about 40% per year. Early adopters of Quidient technology include the Department of Defense, the intelligence community and the automobile industry. But, soon the technology will be applied in the consumer platforms such as mobile phones. Technologies similar to Intrinsic Scanning have been early acquisition targets for companies like Apple, Google, and Samsung.

We expect to launch our first "non-stealth" website in February. Here's a sneak peak at the title clip ...