US Patent 10958895 High speed automated capture of 3D models of packaged items

Method and apparatus for generating a three-dimensional (3D) model of a physical object. An apparatus includes stereo near-infrared camera devices, near-infrared projectors, color camera devices and control logic. The control logic detects a physical object moving along a fixed path has reached a predefined location, projects a predefined pattern onto the physical object, using the plurality of near-infrared projectors, and captures near-infrared digital images of the physical object, while the predefined pattern is being projected onto the physical object. The control logic determines a set of depth measures for each of the stereo near-infrared camera devices and generates a 3D mesh by merging the depth measurements. Color digital images are captured using the color camera devices, and a texture is applied to the 3D mesh by mapping points from each of the plurality of color digital images onto the 3D mesh.