Case Study: Paläon Schöningen digitizes delicate sabre-toothed cat fossils with Hexagon SmartScan

Paläon Schöningen - Customer Case Study

The Paläon Schöningen, a research and experience center in Germany, faced the challenge of digitizing the delicate, blackened bones and teeth of a 300,000-year-old sabre-toothed cat for research without risking damage to the fragile originals. They required a non-contact, highly precise 3D scanning solution to capture the objects' intricate shapes and challenging shiny surfaces, which led them to partner with vendor Hexagon and utilize their SmartScan white-light scanner.

Hexagon's solution involved using the modular SmartScan system with 5-megapixel color cameras to capture the fossils without matting spray, followed by processing the data with AICON OptoCat software to create complete digital models. This non-contact method from Hexagon resulted in highly precise 3D models that not only protected the precious originals but also enabled more detailed analysis of the dental enamel than was possible with the physical object, while the texture mapping provided a realistic digital representation.