3D milk scanner

[hayate]

Well, I could get my PIC Micro programmer out and make a proper solution, capturing video frames by webcam or TWAIN source but that kinda defeats the whole purpose of a milk scanner being accessible to everyone (everyone who has access to a kitchen and a camera capable of doing video)
A laser scanner with turntable would be a better choice if I was going hi-tech, which I probably will one day but that's not exactly a Sunday afternoon project.

I didn't say to go "hi-tech", these were the first things i thought of to have a "more automated solution"
More automated-->more tecnological
accessible to everyone--->less tecnological---->less automatism

If you don't want to manually put the milk in the container you need something else to do it for you, obviusly your solution isn't perfect because, as you stated before, the volume of the object isn't costant for every "slice"--->you can't use a costant interval between your frames
--->you need to know when the surface of the milk in the container is at a certain height
----->(if you don't want to manually select the correct frames) the less Hi-tech thing to automate it with something you already have is to use the webcam checking for some sign on the container

The "pump/valve" thing is needed to momentarily stop the flow thus eliminating the surface bubbles if you don't want to add milk by hand

EDIT:
P.s. you can also slow down the flow of the milk to attenuate the bubbles, obviously it will take longer to scan the object

[bitplane]

Is there a reason why you can't extend your hose so that it is in the bottom of the container? That way it doesn't splash into the container.That should cause less problems with surface tensions and ripples and all of that junk.

Nope, I mean the surface tension like so-


The milk creeps up the side in a bulge, then flows over the top as the bulge reaches critical mass. The maximum height of this bulge (different all over) becomes the max resolution of the scan. At some places it's as much as a millimetre

at 2:58-3:00 you can see what I mean:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBiYmA2Ik9M

----->(if you don't want to manually select the correct frames) the less Hi-tech thing to automate it with something you already have is to use the webcam checking for some sign on the container

It's not a webcam, I haven't got one at the moment. The easiest way would be to just put a 45 degree angled object in the dish, then align the mesh to this angle afterwards

[hayate]

...
already have is to use the webcam checking for some sign on the container

...
It's not a webcam, I haven't got one at the moment
...

Uh? What are you using to take the video? A normal videocamera?

ps. the edge detection filter you used was a very good idea

[bitplane]

Its just a digital camera that does video, the majority of compact digital cameras do. I've got a digital SLR myself which doesn't, but my mum, brother and girlfriend all have crappy digi-cams that do video. My phone would work if it had a proper hole in the bottom for a tripod, but sadly it doesn't