Low cost laser scanner is for short range

A low-cost version of an existing laser scanner product line is a short-range scanner for companies that do not require the extended range of the premium models, but still want reliability, accuracy.

FARO Technologies, the world's single source for a complete line of portable CAM2 solutions, has released the LS 420; a new, low-cost version of its popular Laser Scanner product line.

"The LS 420 will open new markets for FARO as a low-price, short-range scanner for companies that don't require the extended range of the premium LS models, but still want reliability, accuracy and ease of use," FARO president and co-CEO Jay Freeland said.

"It also capitalizes on the existing LS' interchangeable-modular design, which enables customers to upgrade to an even higher accuracy version by purchasing a single module instead of an entire scanner." The new Laser Scanner LS 420 is introductory priced at GBP 37,900 and has a range of 20m.

Like its long-range predecessors offering 35m and 70m ranges, the LS 420 is a high-speed, phase-shift based scanning device with +/-3mm accuracy in averaging mode.

"The Scanner is more accurate than most competitors, and up to 100 times faster than time of flight scanners," Freeland said, "The combination of the 420's capabilities and low price make the FARO Laser Scanner LS the most cost-effective device in its segment." The LS empowers users to digitize massive spaces into 3D, action-ready data.

A user mounts the unit to a tripod where it can then scan in a 360 deg swing, with a vertical sweep of 320 deg, capturing a data cloud with an average of 28 million pixels per scan in about 4.5 min.

The laser generates images in which minute details are sharp even at maximum range.

"One user who scanned an entire business jet reported that details as fine as rivets and tire lugs are easily distinguished in the scans," FARO director of LS Product Management Bernd Dietmar-Becker said.

"Others use the instrument to check the trueness of tunnel walls during construction, or recreate crime scenes." The 3D scans are rejoined in the FARO Scene V3 software to provide an accurate perspective of the entire room, building, object, etc from any point of view, thus creating a virtual environment in which the engineers can move about at will, change directions and examine particular areas from multiple perspectives.

Because the FARO LS brings in so much data at once, it compresses the time that users spend on-site collecting data.

Available for delivery in April 2006, the FARO Laser Scanner LS 420's primary industries include: forensics/crime-scene and insurance investigation, process industries, architecture, automotive, power generation, tunnel and mining, civil engineering, heritage preservation, and large-product manufacturing.

* About FARO - with approximately 12,500 installations and 5,500 customers globally, FARO Technologies (NASDAQ: FARO) and its international subsidiaries design, develop, and market software and portable, computerized measurement devices.

The Company's products allow manufacturers to perform 3D inspections of parts and assemblies on the shop floor.

This helps eliminate manufacturing errors, and thereby increases productivity and profitability for a variety of industries in FARO's worldwide customer base.

Principal products include the Platinum, Titanium, Advantage, and Digital Template FaroArms; the FARO Gage, Gage-PLUS and PowerGAGE; the FARO Laser ScanArm; the FARO Laser Tracker X and Xi; the FARO Laser Scanner LS; and the CAM2 family of advanced CAD-based measurement and reporting software.

FARO Technologies is ISO-9001:2000 certified, and accredited to ISO-17025 Calibration Laboratory Standard.

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