3D Mouse Support: Supports using the 3Dconnexion SpaceNavigator 3D mouse for rotation, translation, and zooming the graphics window view. Development tools and related technology provided under license from 3Dconnexion. © 1992 - 2007 3Dconnexion. All rights reserved.
Save Snapshot: New feature allows saving snapshots of the graphics window as a PNG image file. See the File->Save Snapshot menu.
Software Reference & Manuals: This release includes updated manuals. The software help file has been converted to MS HTML Help format for improved Vista compatibility.
Bounding Box: Now auto-hides when using mark-with-mouse mode to avoid possible interference with marker placement.
Updated Drivers: Includes updated hardware drivers that support running FastSCAN on 64-bit editions of Windows XP and Windows Vista. The drivers are now vendor-signed, enabling installation on the Windows Vista 64 bit operating system.
Stability Improvements: This latest release incorporates several minor bug-fixes and includes improvements to the underlying code for increased stability.
Graphics issues with Hardware acceleration: When running FastSCAN with graphics hardware acceleration switched on, some machines or graphics cards may exhibit short lines appearing randomly on the screen during mouse-movement. To work around this issue, try disabling hardware acceleration (Settings->Graphics Hardware->Enable 3D Hardware Acceleration). Otherwise, perform a minimize/maximize of the FastSCAN window as this seems to reduce the chance of the problem reoccurring.
Spikes in Mark-with-mouse lines: Some hardware seems to cause mark-with-mouse lines to display “spikes”. To work around this issue, try enabling or disabling hardware acceleration (Settings->Graphics Hardware->Enable 3D Hardware Acceleration). Otherwise, performing a minimize/maximize of the FastSCAN window may reduce the chance of the problem reoccurring.
Stylus Points: New functionality allows deleting stylus points via a right-click menu.
Greyscale: Adds pseudo-greyscale coloring capability to the basic and RBF surfaces.
Mark-with-Mouse (licensed feature): Adds mark-with-mouse functionality to the Basic and RBF surfaces.
.PLY Export: Adds Stanford Polygon File Format (.PLY) to the list of exportable file types, with support for exporting greyscale color information.
.OBJ Export: Adds a new option for exporting greyscale .OBJ files by texture-mapping a color-gradient image. See under “More Options...” in the export dialog. This provides per-vertex coloring which usually looks clearer than the other coloring options. Note: only useful in 3rd party applications that can display these files.
Licensing: License expiry warnings for separate features are no longer displayed after the expiry date has passed.
USB Drivers: Uses new USB driver files and includes an updated installer which attempts to remove old USB driver files.
Mark-with-Mouse (licensed feature): Improves mark-with-mouse so that point-placement occurs on releasing the mouse button instead of on pressing the button.
Cast-Inversion (licensed feature): Improves cast-inversion so that hidden stylus points move with the inverted surface.
Views: Changes the left/right viewpoints so that they show the scanned object in an upright position.
Progress Bar: Progress bar animation during RBF isosurfacing (XP and Vista only).
User Interface: Improved support for Windows visual styles, so that dialogs and toolbars match the XP and Vista appearance better.
Manuals: Minor updates to the manuals.
Windows Vista: Resolves several issues when running on Windows Vista.
VRML Export: Fixes VRML file export so it exports in meters rather than mm.
Stability Improvements: A number of subtle underlying bugs have been fixed.
Graphics issues with Hardware acceleration: When running FastSCAN with graphics hardware acceleration switched on, some machines or graphics cards may exhibit short lines appearing randomly on the screen during mouse-movement. To work around this issue, try disabling hardware acceleration (Settings->Graphics Hardware->Enable 3D Hardware Acceleration). Otherwise, perform a minimize/maximize of the FastSCAN window as this seems to reduce the chance of the problem reoccurring.
Spikes in Mark-with-mouse lines: Some hardware seems to cause mark-with-mouse lines to display “spikes”. To work around this issue, try enabling or disabling hardware acceleration (Settings->Graphics Hardware->Enable 3D Hardware Acceleration). Otherwise, performing a minimize/maximize of the FastSCAN window may reduce the chance of the problem reoccurring.
Vista Support: FastSCAN runs on Windows Vista. The help file format has not been updated for Windows Vista yet. To view the help file under Vista you can download and install the old Windows Help viewer from Microsoft's website.
UPDATE (10 April 2007): Version 4.0.5 Release 3: Licensing features updated.
UPDATE (29 March 2007): Version 4.0.5 Release 2: Fixes an inconsistency between displayed view-coordinates and the centred mouse-pointer, and implements several other minor improvements.
NOTE: Version 4.0.5 of FastSCAN fixes several stability problems present in version 4.0.4. We strongly advise all users to upgrade as soon as possible.
Improved calibration correction: The calibration correction mode now displays a distance gage to aid the user in placing the wand the correct distance from the calibration target.
Identifying stylus items: Visible stylus items can be identified and selected using the mouse. Features include:
A tool-tip that indicates the stylus item number when mouse hovers over a stylus item.
Right-clicking on a stylus item when the stylus-list is open brings up a popup menu for selecting/hiding the stylus item.
Left-clicking on a stylus item when the stylus-list is open selects the stylus item.
Toolbar: The layout of the toolbar and its button labels has been improved.
Tracker position display: Clearer display of wand/reference/transmitter positions.
Stylus Lines: Stylus lines no longer get drawn below the surface.
Mark-with-mouse (licensed feature): A mark-with-mouse button has been added to the toolbar, and the accuracy of drawn lines has been improved.
Sweep registration (licensed feature): The dialog box layout has been improved.
Refraction correction (licensed feature): It is now possible to choose whether the Tx or Rx is on the glass during refraction correction, regardless of which is being used as the reference. Refraction correction is now automatically reversed before adding more sweep data.
AAOP Export Wizard Graphics: The AAOP export wizard's graphics no longer fail on some machines.
Batch Processing: Issues exporting ASCII files with missing end-of-line terminators and saving files with blank names are now fixed.
Possible data corruption in Rx as Ref mode: A problem that corrupted the location data received from the reference receiver is now fixed.
Graphics issues with Hardware acceleration: When running FastSCAN with graphics hardware acceleration switched on, some machines or graphics cards may exhibit short lines appearing randomly on the screen during mouse-movement. To work around this issue, try disabling hardware acceleration (Settings->Graphics Hardware->Enable 3D Hardware Acceleration). Otherwise, perform a minimize/maximize of the FastSCAN window as this seems to reduce the chance of the problem reoccurring.
Spikes in Mark-with-mouse lines: Some hardware seems to cause mark-with-mouse lines to display “spikes”. To work around this issue, try enabling or disabling hardware acceleration (Settings->Graphics Hardware->Enable 3D Hardware Acceleration). Otherwise, performing a minimize/maximize of the FastSCAN window may reduce the chance of the problem reoccurring.
Mark With Mouse: (Requires laser pointer license) This new function allows the user to place reference points or lines directly onto the scanned data using the mouse.
Gray Scale Export With Raw Data: When exporting wavefront OBJ files, a check box under "More Options..." provides the option of including pseudo-gray scale color information in the exported file.
Some applications can only read OBJ file colors when the facets are grouped by color. For such cases, tick the “group by colors” check box under “More Options...” in the OBJ export dialog box.
Note that color export is currently only supported by the OBJ format and when using “Raw Data”.
Metric or Imperial Units: This option allows measurements to be made from the main display window in 'millimetres' or 'inches'. The units option can be found in the settings tool bar.
Note this option only effects measurements in the main display window. Parameter settings and calibration values are still metric only.
New Display Settings: The display now supports:
Specular lighting
Smooth shading
Graded background color
These attributes collectively improve the appearance of the display and are enabled by default. They can be turned off individually via the "Settings -> Lighting And Colors..." menu. Note: Bright surface color settings, such as white, may look over-saturated when combined with specular highlighting. In such cases we recommend setting the surface color to a slightly darker shade, or using the new default surface color.
Scanner Properties: Please ensure the correct hardware is selected. This can be found under the scanner properties. If the incorrect hardware is selected no hemisphere setup will take place. Restarting FastSCAN and the PU with the correct hardware version is advised.
Graphics Hardware: On some computers the AAOP export wizard display fails. If this happens, try enabling or disabling 3D Hardware acceleration under the menu "Settings -> Graphics Hardware -> Enable 3D Hardware Acceleration".
Stylus Lines: Because of the way the stylus lines are currently drawn, the line may go through the surface of the object giving the appearance the stylus lines are broken. This is especially evident when drawing stylus lines too quickly in “Mark with mouse” mode.
Config File: If at any time the error message 'Error Updating Config File' appears, then please remove the wand calibration file / files from the FastSCAN folder and reinstall the wand calibration file / files supplied.
New Toolbar: New Style toolbar available with larger icons and text labels. The new toolbar has been added as a menu selectable option so the user can choose to stay with the existing menu or move to the new.
Step And Repeat: Step and Repeat (Move Receiver/Move Transmitter from Scanner Menu). This feature enables larger objects to be scanned by be able to move the transmitter/receiver during the scanning of an object to extend the range that can be scanned. This feature requires a license. Email us your existing license and we will email you a new license including a 30 day evaluation for this feature.
Make Editing Changes Permanent feature removed.
Tracker Status information added to File Properties dialog.
Settings Menu structure changed.
Help button added to Generate Surface dialog
Right-click menu added to toolbar.
Bug Fixes to Calibration, Pipe Interface and other minor bug fixes.
Affects step and repeat users: If a Move Reference is performed on a data set with stylus points, the stylus points are not transformed to the new coordinate system. When using step and repeat please avoid using the stylus.
The message, “Please scan slower,” does not appear soon enough when scanning too fast.
After opening an FSN file no warning is given when the user scans on top of the loaded data.
After scanning, when opening an FSN, the user is not asked to save the existing data.
Affects Insignia users: If you perform a Calibration Correction the image of the reference is incorrect. It should be similar to the reference attached to the scanning system.
Reset All Settings to Defaults does not change the colour of data already captured. New data will appear as the default colour.
When no data has been collected, and the scanner is reset, the user is asked to save.
Fixes some common problems with hardware initialisation and reinitialisation, making hardware errors less frequent.
Fixes a bug which sometimes caused the computer to hang after triple-clicking to clear the scan.
It has been a year since or so since our last full
software release. There are quite a few changes, so please read the
following carefully.
As there are so many changes associated with
this version, we would appreciate any feedback on bugs, peculiarities
or annoyances as early as possible to: scanning@aranz.com
License changes - you must have a license compatible with
version 4.x software to use the new version. If you have a license
for an old software version we will update it for free. E-mail us at
the above address for a new license, including your old .lic files
(from the C:\Program Files\Polhemus\FastSCAN folder).
FSN file format replaces HLS: Due to many of the new features described below, it has been necessary to replace the raw data file format, HLS, with a new format, FSN, in order to make this all possible. While one can still save HLS files, the default Save format is FSN, which we recommend you use, as this is necessary in order to utilize many of the features described below. We envisage that the HLS file saving will eventually be phased out. Note that it will always be possible to open both FSN and HLS files that you have scanned in the past.
Select and delete raw data points from the
Sweeps: To select the points, hold down the Ctrl key and
left-mouse-button click-and-drag a region. The region is highlighted
in blue, and region selection can be repeated if necessary. To
delete the selection, use the keyboard Backspace key; to cancel the
selection, use the Escape key. To undo a deletion, use Ctrl-Z. If
you prefer, this functionality can also be accessed via the Edit
menu. Caution: selection and deletion will operate on points that
may be on the other side of the surface that you are viewing, as
deletion works by 'boring' a whole through the scan.
NB:
Always save (or re-save) the raw data (ie as an FSN file) after
performing an edit so that if you should ever revisit the scan in
the future, the edits will be remembered. Also note that all edits
are able to be undone.
Sweep registration: This is a feature which requires additional purchase. We can send you a demonstration license if you wish to evaluate it before purchasing. Small errors associated with the sweeps, eg due to patient movement, may be corrected through a process of sweep registration. Such errors in sweep alignment manifest as bumpy patches on your Basic Surface. If you observe such areas, you can attempt to correct this by selecting Register Sweeps from the Edit menu. The process is automatic and takes just a few seconds. Once you have performed sweep registration, regenerate the Basic Surface in the normal way, and see if the errors have improved. Occasionally, sweep registration can cause a deterioration of your Basic Surface; if this occurs, choose Unregister Sweeps from the Edit menu. NB: Always save (or re-save) the raw data (ie as an FSN file) after performing an edit so that if you should ever revisit the scan in the future, the edits will be remembered. Also note that all edits are able to be undone.
Bounding Box display: How the RBF Surface is constrained in space was previously dependent on how the scanned object was oriented on your screen. Instead, in order to more easily define RBF Surface constraints, a Bounding Box is displayed. In order to re-orient your Bounding Box, choose Set Bounding Box to View from the View menu (or Ctrl-B). Note also that F1, F2, and F3 keys have been set in order to view the object on the screen from the front, bottom, and underneath). More view points are available from the View / View Bounding Box From pop-out submenu. An Extents dialog box, displayed after selecting View>Extents Window, displays the extents of the Bounding Box, in millimeters. (The display of the Extents dialog box is turned off by default).
Scan inversion: Some users have wished to scan the internal portions of a cast, for example of a knee cast, and invert the scan in order to generate a positive from the negative. This is now possible as follows: select Sweeps List from the Edit menu, select one or more sweeps (all of them if you want to invert the whole scan - use Shift plus left-mouse-button click to select multiple sweeps), and click the 'Flip Sweep' button. Then proceed as normal.
Generate Surface dialog box improved: Previously called the Export Surface Control dialog box, for those of you who venture into this control in order to change the parameters used to generate the Basic and RBF Surfaces, this dialog box has been improved. Also, pop-up tooltips have been added in order to help you navigate your way around.
Scan Properties and sweep times: Useful information pertaining to the scan can be found in the File / Properties dialog box. This includes scanner serial number, date of scan, and Insignia software version used. The times associated with the start of each sweep is also available in the last column in the Edit / Sweeps List dialog box.
Intensity imaging and colour modes: View the approximate brightness, the mesh resolution, or the tracker range using the View / Colour Mapping menu.
Consistency of operation in Point / Line mode: You can now use the preview position to re-orient the scan when using the optical stylus in Line / Point mode; and trigger double and triple clicking to remove points / lines and clear the scan respectively, when in Point / Line mode.
Disabling of scanner trigger clicking: For those who do not like either trigger double clicking to remove the last sweep or triple clicking to clear the scan, these can be disabled by un-selecting the appropriate menu items in the Settings menu.
Default setting change: Line segment size of lines collected in Line Mode: When using the optical stylus to collect lines, the default spacing of the line segments has been increased from 1.0mm to 3.0mm. If this does not suit you personally, please open the Stylus / Properties dialog box, select the Capture Lines radio button, and change the setting in the Line Segment Size box.
OP3 file format improvements: Creation of the OP3 file format is more reliable in certain circumstances, eg if axis doesn't actually pass through the object (it now doesn't actually need to), or if the object has cross sections that contains more than one contour (eg around toes).
Hidden sweeps and hidden stylus points stay hidden on reload of FSN file: Previously any sweeps and stylus points that were hidden (ie from the Edit / Sweeps List dialog box), were un-hidden (ie re-displayed) when the HLS file was reloaded. While this is still the case with HLS files, the status of hidden sweeps is remembered for FSN files.
License expiry warning: If your current license is about to expire, you will receive a (single) warning whenever you start the FastSCAN software within a fortnight of the expiry date.
Graphics hardware acceleration may now be enabled and disabled in the Settings menu. The default setting is disabled.
Wand double-trigger-clicking and triple-trigger-clicking can now be enabled and disabled in the Settings menu.
A new trimming option, Trim Edges, is available for RBF processing.
A new export format, PSL is available.
A command to undo stylus points and lines has been added to the Stylus menu.
You can translate the current view by holding the Alt key while you click-and-drag the scan with the mouse.
FastSCAN now correctly uses graphics card acceleration for some video cards which graphics acceleration would not previously work with.
Resetting general settings to defaults will no longer affect the hardware settings in the Scanner Properties box.
FastSCAN now supports USB (with a modified PU). Supported interfaces and operating systems are:
Windows NT4: parallel only.
Windows 2000: parallel and USB.
Windows XP: USB only.
Orthotic and prosthetic CAD/CAM file formats, AAOP and OP3, added to the export formats. A license is required to access the AAOP/OP3 Export Wizard.
For convenience, a Reset Scanner button has been added to the button bar, for reinitializing the hardware.
The "View/Lighting, Color" dialog has been improved. It's now easier to customize your colors.
For the USB version, if you pull the trigger while the scanner is initialising it may not work correctly. Pressing the "Reset Scanner" toolbar button will reinitialise the scanner so that it works correctly.
Software now fully supports the FastSCAN Cobra.
For those customers with both a (2-camera) FastSCAN Wand and FastSCAN Cobra Wand, problems may occur when swapping scanners unless you follow these steps: (1) Select calibration file for new Wand, (2) Close the FastSCAN software and power-off PU, (3) Exchange Wands, (4) Power-on PU and restart the FastSCAN software.
Displaying face edges now works correctly with hidden sweeps.
3D Studio format will now, correctly, give an error if you attempt to save a scan with greater than 65,535 faces. Greater than this number of faces is not supported by the format.
FastSCAN stylus implementation: capture points or lines using a stylus. Controls accessible via a new 'Stylus' menu. Requires the purchase of the optional stylus, and 'slimline' PU. Older PUs can be modified to enable stylus functionality.
Sweeps selected via the Sweep List dialog box can be made transparent, by checking the button at the bottom of the dialog box. This allows you easily see where a sweep overlaps and underlaps other sweeps.
You can now manipulate the sweeps that make up the Raw Surface. Sweeps can be highlighted and hidden using the Sweep List dialog box, accessible from 'View/Sweep List'.
A new viewing option 'View/Face Edges' has been added. This adds black outlines on faces in flat-shaded or smooth-shaded mode. It is very useful for inspecting the structure of a surface.
If you close FastSCAN when surfaces are not saved, the "Do you want to save?" dialog now has buttons 'Save', 'Discard' and 'Cancel', so that you can more easily find the correct button.
The way that the FastSCAN software is license-protected has been changed. You now need to have a separate license file for each FastSCAN wand that you use. Contact Polhemus (CustomerService@Polhemus.com) if you have not received a license file for your wand.
The latest version of the 'FastSCAN Users
Manual' is now distributed with FastSCAN, look for
"C:\Program
Files\Polhemus\FastSCAN\FastScanManual.pdf"
A bug LPT and DMA selection under NT4 has been fixed. This bug first appeared in version 3.3.0.
In rare instances, processing particularly large or dense scans could cause an integer division by zero. This has now been fixed.
FastRBF engine (http://www.farfieldtechnology.com/) has been added as an export surface type. It is accessed from within the Export Surface Control dialog box. See the 'FastRBF Extensions' PDF file for documentation.
A Batch Processing GUI interface has been added. You can specify the processing parameters for a number of scans, then process them all at once. Select "File/Export/Batch Process".
The method for exporting the raw scan data has been changed. Select "File/Export/Raw Surface".
When saving the raw surface as an Alias|Wavefront file (.OBJ), you can save each sweep as a separate object.
The screen saver will no longer start while scanning.
FastSCAN now works on Windows 2000; Windows NT4.0 is still supported
Windows 2000 introduced tighter restrictions on file permissions, restricting access to files in the Program Files folder. This means that on default Windows 2000 systems Power User or Administrator privilege will be required to calibrate the scanner.
The FastSCAN .cfg config files now
have their own icon.
Keyboard shortcuts have been added to 'roll' the object. Delete rolls left (anti-clockwise) and End rolls right (clockwise).
When rotating and zooming surfaces with the
keyboard the amount of movement for each key press can be adjusted.
You can select the 'base' movement size from View/Movement.
Alternatively, hold down Shift, Ctrl and
Shift+Ctrl to select successively smaller movement
sizes from the base size. Movement amounts for each size are:
|
Size |
Rotate |
Zoom |
|---|---|---|
|
Normal |
30.0° |
1.414 |
|
Fine |
5.0° |
1.072 |
|
Very Fine |
1.0° |
1.014 |
|
Ultra Fine |
0.2° |
1.002 |
When the computer comes back up from suspend FastSCAN may repeat error messages that you have already seen when FastSCAN was started (such as not being able to open the device).
The minimum processor speed requirement for FastSCAN is higher under Windows 2000 than it is under Windows NT4.
Under Windows 2000, some problems (including incorrect video display and failing to find the hardware) may occur when the computer is suspended. To fix these problems, try:
Closing and restarting the FastSCAN software.
Putting the computer into hibernate mode, then restarting it.
Rebooting the computer.
We have observed a laptop PC-Card (PCMCIA) Ethernet adapter that causes errors in the FastSCAN data stream (as reported in the Scanner Properties dialog box) when not connected to a network. In such cases, disable the network card if disconnected from the network.
Program settings are now stored in the Windows
registry, under the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\FastSCAN.
The FastSCAN.ini file and FastSCAN_INI
environment variable no longer supported.
The Profile Smoothing filter, which acts on the raw profile data to remove noise when producing the Raw Surface, is now user adjustable. Lower values can result in more accurate scanning under ideal scanning conditions. Select Scanner/Limits Control and modify the Profile Smoothing drop-down list. See the online help or the user manual for more details.
The Export Smoothing filter, which acts on the Raw Surface data when producing the Export Surface, allows the user to control the amount of smoothing applied when combining sweeps. A low value creates a more detailed surface, but will fail to merge sweeps that are not perfectly aligned (e.g. due to movement or metal interference). A higher value will merge sweeps better, but will remove surface details. Typically you will want to use the smallest possible value that still merges sweeps correctly. You can also use higher values to generate smoother surfaces. Select View/Export Surface Control. See the online help or the user manual for more details.
New icons have been added for FastSCAN and for
.hls files (these icons are now different).
The file TrackerNotResponding.log
is no longer written into the same directory as the executable. It
is now written to %TEMP%\FastSCAN_TrackerNotResponding.log,
where %TEMP% is the value of the TEMP
environment variable.
The menu option Wand Trigger Clicking has been removed, it is now always on.
The menu option Prompt if Data Not Saved has been removed. It is now always on except for the wand triple-click, which will not confirm deletion of the scan.
The file format used by the Visualisation Toolkit (VTK) has been added to the export formats (ASCII version only).
Power User privilege is no longer required to use the scanner.
We have noticed problems when using the Matrox G400 video card. These problems can be fixed by installing the latest driver off the Matrox web site.
If you undo more than one sweep via double trigger clicking, you will only be able to redo one sweep.
Fixed behaviour of Scanner/Properties dialog box for users without Administrator privileges.
IGES format Y2K bug fixed.
UNIX end of line bug fixed.
STL format is now %.5e as
per specification.
VRML format now writes the camera position to the VRML file, which aids viewing in some packages.
Fixed 'gap' in scan which sometimes occurs in a sweep following an undo.
Modified Fastrak communication strategy, to help avoid hemisphere setup problems.
Exporting raw data is now possible through deselecting the 'Combine Sweeps' check box in the Export Surface Control dialog box. (Note that this check box is selected by default).
Stereoscopic display supported for those computers with stereo-capable graphics card, and appropriate glasses and display (e.g. Stereographics). Graphics card must support stereo OpenGL format with RGB, double-buffering and back-front buffer copying.
The FastSCAN Pipe Interface (FPI) allows another
application program to access 3D scan data from the FastSCAN in
real-time while an object is being scanned. For further details on
how to use the FPI, please refer to the file
FastScanPipeInterface.txt in the directory named
PipeInterface in the
FastSCAN directory, (typically C:\Program
Files\Polhemus\FastSCAN).
Transmitter is Reference, Receiver is Reference buttons added to the Tool Bar.
FastSCAN can also be run in batch mode (i.e.
non-interactively) from the Windows NT command prompt. For detailed
information on the command syntax, issue the FastSCAN command with
the /? qualifier; e.g.: C:\Program
Files\Polhemus\FastSCAN> FastSCAN /?
Refer to the
online help for further details.
Accuracy improvement through slight clipping of the laser fan angle.
STL format now supports binary as well as ASCII. Refer to the online help for further details.
IGES format now supports type 106 (and optional normals), as well as types 116 and 128. Refer to the online help for further details.
Export normals now found under the More Options button (if appropriate) in the Export Data to File dialog box.
Simplified Remove Outliers/Max objects (in Export Surface Control dialog box) by replacing it with Limit Objects to.
Diagnostic data is incorporated into .hls
file.
Diagnostic file TrackerNotResponding.log
written to FastSCAN directory on detection of that condition.