I think this concept could eventually be a success...
I worked for a sister division of Ametek (Creaform's parent corp) a while ago. It's a real company and this is a real product line (I think this is the 3rd or 4th gen product by now).
Ametek is big on precision metrology for industrial/aerospace use and Creaform is a bet on the future. The corporation also owns Taylor Hobson from the UK. They're not looking to put this into smartphones.