A Ring for Every Finger
The "ring library" contains hundreds of designs which can be modified on demand to cater to customers' wishes. (Click image to enlarge)
The Technology
So how does it work? The only "obvious" component of the system is the hand-scanning unit. Ms Laing says it comprises an array of optical and laser-scanning devices in a 360° configuration: "It is fairly specialised, as we had to precisely match hand-geometry with hand-texture. Precision synchronising of the scanning processes was crucial."
She says most conventional three-dimensional scanning systems capture images with a camera mounted on one side of a rotating turntable. "Clearly, we couldn't detach a customer's limb for this application, so we had to devise a different solution." DeviceWorks solved the problem by building a carriage on which the hand rests, and which moves through the circular array of scanning devices. The scanning process takes 40 seconds.
To allow the scanned hand-image to interface with the library of rings, two pieces of software were required. 3-D images of the rings are built by HGM Design Ltd's modellers. They use dedicated modelling software called Matrix 3D, which runs as a plug-in application on Rhino, a designer platform.
Two-dimensional images of the rings are provided by local and international designers. "We measure them up and reproduce them in 3D," says Jason Mobberley, one of the jewellery modellers. He explains that the database contains hundreds of designs, and the software means each ring can be modified "on-the-fly" to cater for customers' wishes. Each ring, he says, has around 800,000 variations, and can be manipulated to vary features such as the metal, stone, setting, band dimensions and detailing. "One of the biggest software obstacles we faced," adds Mr Mooney, "was the ability to 'morph' the images. When the customer wants to look at a variation of a ring, say a different thickness or a different metal, it helps if the transition between the two is seamless."
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