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On the same note, depends on how you define “scanning” sense they’re clearly scanning.

You can do the same thing they’re doing with a bunch of pinhole, video feed with variation in the lighting, etc.

I think "scanning" would imply compositing info gathered at different instances of time to reconstruct 3-D models ... e.g., LIDAR captures a point cloud with points measured at different times and tries to reconstruct objects from that point cloud. Perhaps the time it takes LIDAR to gather the whole point cloud is small, but objects will drift during that time and the reconstruction algorithm might need to account for this. On the other hand, the article's method captures all info in one instantaneous image and reconstructs based on the known, recorded, bias of the irregular lens and the implied 3-D locations of objects.

If you want to be really technical. Each data-point is not collected at the exact same instant.

that's technically true for e.g. DSLRs, too.

If it was however it wouldn't interfere with the functioning of this tech.

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