ECE Graduate Mentors New Seniors

For his Senior Design class in electrical and computer engineering, William Galliher and his team were given an opportunity to design a full-body 3D scanner as a demonstration piece for the James B. Hunt Jr. Library on Centennial Campus.

Even as a 3D-print figure, Chancellor Randy Woodson keeps a vigilant watch over the goings on at NC State.

For his Senior Design class in electrical and computer engineering, William Galliher and his team were given an opportunity to design a full-body 3D scanner as a demonstration piece for the James B. Hunt Jr. Library on Centennial Campus. They got a chance to scan Woodson during the chancellor’s tour of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and created action-figure size versions of the chancellor in red and white.

The subject of a scan is asked to stand on a rotating platform as a camera takes a 3D full-body image. Using a 3D printer – which lays down successive thin layers of materials like metal, plastic and wax to create objects that traditionally could only be made by cutting – the scan can be used to create a model of the subject.

Chancellor Randy Woodson with 3-D replica.

 The technology isn’t limited to just university or business use.

“The sensor and the software is surprisingly cheap and something that most people can just pick up and start doing, which is really neat,” Galliher said.

Galliher’s teammates on the project were Austin Carpenter, Jonathan Gregory and Dennis Penn. All four graduated in spring 2014. The scanner was originally housed in Hunt Library and Galliher is now mentoring a second-generation team seeking to utilize the previous 3D scanner for their project and upgrade it from the existing hardware.

“They’re using some of the technologies that we used and improving on some of the areas that we didn’t quite get right the first time around and that’s primarily in the mechanics of spinning the person around and moving the sensors,” says Galliher.

“They’re making a far more robust solution that can last for a lot longer in the intended environment in the library.”

Galliher is pursuing a master’s degree in computer engineering and is serving as a research assistant under Dr. Eric Rotenberg.

The 3D scanning and printing technology can be used to create everything from complicated parts for automobiles to simple household products like funnels. Putting a person in a body scanner offers another way to bring that capability to life.

“When someone sees a scan of themselves on the screen and then can go and print out a figurine of that, it’s really powerful in terms of communicating that technology,” Galliher said.

Source: NC State Engineering Spring-Summer 2015 Magazine