Baltimore County, MD NextUp: Baltimore County, 15 Jun 2016

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From YouTube: Capturing the World in 3D

Description

Learn how scanning technology is changing the game in manufacturing, medicine, and Hollywood. Michael Raphael, founder of Direct Dimensions, gives an inside scoop on how to start a career in one of the most exciting industries out there. Learn how 3D scanning is being used not only for manufacturing and special effects, but also to change peoples lives.

Learn more about Direct Dimensions:
http://www.dirdim.com/

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( ♪♪♪ ).

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Hey,, this is next up: baltimore county., I'm will anderson. manufacturing -- it's a tradition in baltimore county..

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We have our powerhouses.. We have mccormick, bd, lockheed martin, and many more.

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But we also have advanced manufacturing and that's what we're looking at today. advanced manufacturing is bringing new jobs,.

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It's changing, lives,, it's actually saving lives..

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So in a minute we're going to meet with michael raphael and his company is a geometric measuring technology. Company.

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They're doing some amazing things. and when we meet with michael, he'll, tell you all about it from the inside.

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But first,, let's take a look inside his studio and see the work, that's actually being done. ( ♪♪♪ ).

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My name is michael raphael.. I am the founder and ceo of direct dimensions.

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We're a 20-year-old 3d scanning firm.

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So we work with technology that comes from all over the world, that captures objects and buildings and airplanes.

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And sculpture and art and people in 3d --, very accurately.

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So, for many years we've been working with the technology to capture people's faces very accurately..

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We use this in hollywood movies,. We use it for lots of different applications.

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But probably the most rewarding is when we use it.

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For medical applications, where we actually capture -- for example,, an ear that might be lost on one side and we can capture it and move it over to the other side, leveraging the technology of 3d, scanning,, 3d, design, and 3d printing..

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We work with this technology,. We work with surgeons,.

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We work with doctors over at johns hopkins hospital and other institutions,, including walter reed..

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We capture the ear, for example, scan it;. It's in the computer.

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We can collaborate with the doctors,, the plastic surgeons and whatnot to interface and understand how it needs to connect.

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And clip into the head., so this is, again, a very rewarding capability that we have with this technology.. It's a great deal of artistic skill,, there's medical skill,, technical skill.,.

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And it's all enabled by what we're talking: about: 3d, scanning,, 3d, design, and 3d printing.

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yeah,, I mean,. These are all--. This is a case study.. These are case studies of people that are-- have been through our process of prosthetics, facial prosthetics.

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Each of these people were brought into our clinic.

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We work with them with the technology. we've put their face back together in a way that they can now present themselves in public with confidence.

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They can live their lives--. I can't tell you how rewarding this is.

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Hey, welcome to next up baltimore county.. We are talking about advanced manufacturing in the county..

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We've got exciting things. we're talking about changing lives.

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I'm with a very busy guy from direct dimensions., the president, michael raphael,, who's, going to talk to us about what direct dimensions. Does. michael,. Thank you for joining us., thanks, will.. It's a pleasure to be here..

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What are you guys doing out at direct dimensions?? I know you've been there for decades now and you're working on all kind of fields.. What are you guys? Doing?.

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Right. so, at direct dimensions. We work with technology that puts the real world -- physical things in the real world --.

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I brought a few things here to see. okay.. We put them into the computer.. We put physical things, -- people,, airplanes,, buildings,,.

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Movie studio sets, things like that into the computer in 3d, so that they can be manipulated in the computer.

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For downstream applications,, including manufacturing.

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Give me an example, like on the medical side.

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So,, here's a few things right here. Right, now.

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we've been doing this for a long time.. We work with hospitals like johns hopkins and walter reed in the area,.

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Where we'll see patients -- and sometimes literally in our office in owings mills, --.

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And we'll work with these patients with digital technology to image areas of their body that may be affected by issues,.

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Where we can reproduce these to make cosmetically accurate prosthetics.

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Okay. such as you're holding in your hand, right now.

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That's amazing, stuff.

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And it's incredible what you guys are doing: here.

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What are the other industries?, so medical is obviously having a huge impact..

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What are the other industries that direct dimensions...?.

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It is, and it's growing tremendously right, now. johns hopkins, as a matter of fact,, is getting very interested in these applications,, as well as the federal government and areas in d.c..

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We work with--. This type of technology has led us into, for example, hollywood. okay., how cool is that? very cool., we're working with movies, -- and big movies. movies with major special effects..

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The idea is that we take physical things that we all see in movies.

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That are filmed normally and we scan them using lasers and cameras and imaging tools..

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We put them from a physical sense virtually into the computer in 3d.

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We completely model these up. they're, very accurate,, very lifelike,, full color often.

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We're talking actors, sets,, props,, locations, vehicles,.

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Cosmetics, prosthetics, costumes, all these types of things.

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What are we talking? About?? Are these big?? Are these big movies?? Some of them are tremendous.. Give me an example. I'll give you an example.

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For men in black 3... all right., we scanned the coney island ferris wheel up in new york..

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That's a big scan. put that into the computer,, and if you remember that movie, there are some scenes on that movie where they're walking around on the coney island ferris wheel,, except they never actually walk around on the coney island, ferris wheel.

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So what are you working on now?? What film are we going to see?.

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Recently, we're pretty proud of a movie that came out. That's hitting box office records:, captain america: civil war.

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Captain america!, you guys, did that?. We were all over that movie last summer.. What are you guys? Doing?.

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Yep., so in that movie, we scanned all kinds of actors, props,, sets,, locations.

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And all of that information comes back to our office in owings mills, where we process that information. it takes months actually.. So you've got a replica of the actors....

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We don't actually create-- are digital. digitally. yes.. We don't physically need to create them,, although we have done that for some movie props as a matter of fact., but in this case, most of this stays virtual and is used in the computer for the amazing special effect scenes.

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That we see in those movies, are all done in the computer. These days.

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So your guys, back at direct dimensions, when you're doing this work,, who are your people that are doing this work?.

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Right. we have digital sculptors,, modelers, cad engineers,. These types of folks.

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That's what we employee.! That's the folks that we have. the engineers and designers and computer sculptors, digital designers,. Those types of skill sets that we're looking for.

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That is actually very strong in our commun-- in our area.

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With hopkins,, with all the medical, that's going, on.

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Architecture is adopting this technology in a tremendous way.

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The idea of scanning buildings for retrofitting and repurposing.

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These buildings for new applications, right,, which is a very common thing, these days, -- to convert buildings and repurpose them.

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I remember the day you and I were at the fablab advisory board.

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It was you and maybe four other ceos in digital fabrication, kind of spaces.

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And something came up that kind of blew me away,, where ccbc was building a new digital fabrication, program...

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Yeah, at the school. and you and several of the other ceos said, "I'll hire everybody that you can take through this digital fabrication.".

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What are you seeing as the jobs that are coming in the future here,.

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If we can get them trained?.

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There is no question, will,. This is a burgeoning field. --, the idea of digitizing the world around us,, the reality,.

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And converting that and using that accurately in virtual ways.

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The idea of virtual reality,, augmented reality, and what's coming soon, is mixed reality. -- is a growing and tremendously interesting field.

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the idea of what we're seeing in the news, -- headsets and things like that --, where we can virtually visit places or see things;.

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Training and simulation,, which has always been a bedrock of the baltimore area,.

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Training and modeling and simulation in the area.

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Video game companies, for example. yeah,. So what are the jobs that people will be doing to create these products?.

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We're looking for folks with 3d cad skills,, strong computer skills...

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Okay. digital skills,, animators,, animation, software programming, people, --.

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These types of things are what we're looking for,, which the d-fab program at ccbc is creating.

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We're thrilled to see that.

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So what do you see? As-- we're going to wrap up soon..

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I want to hear what you-- you've been a champion at this for a long time..

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I mean, you really have been out in the front, michael, for a long time., but looking forward for baltimore county,, greater baltimore,.

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What's the big opportunity in the advanced manufacturing, space?.

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That's the key., it really is the key.

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There's so much opportunity in manufacturing.

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there is so much going on in the area of 3d printing,.

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For example, and digital fabrication,, these types of things., the idea of on-shoring and re-shoring these types of operations.

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There are companies in this area that are looking at this right, now,.

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Things, you would not believe are going on.

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there are, to name a few,, an apparel company, that's in the area that is very interested in bringing this technology to their operations here in baltimore.

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well,. We love that you're out there in owings mills with us in the county.

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And that you're driving this, michael., we really appreciate it. so,. Thank you for taking the time to be out here with us. my pleasure. thanks for having us. ( ♪♪♪ ).