3D scanning

There are many types of 3D scanning:

Touch-probe scanning

Structured-light scanning

This is making a 3D file of an object just using a camera, or a camcorder with a projected grid from a video projector or a projected line from low paper laser light source (a laser-pointer).

Photogrammetry scanning

This is making a 3D file of an object just using a camera, or a camcorder, even without a laser-pointer-like light source.

Technically this is called 'photogrammetry' or 'object reconstruction': http://grail.cs.washington.edu/rome/ Bundler: Structure from Motion for Unordered Image Collections insight3d libmv - a structure from motion library

Possibly unrelated from my original source text: (Maybe 10 years from now all the art schools that want will have as many casts as they can 3D print. I think I know what I'm doing on my next trips to art museums.)