On September, Apple announced the iPhone X. A new feature, called FaceID, will allow the unlocking the phone through facial recognition. This single feature will have profound implications across other industries.

Apple dubbed the camera TrueDepth. This sensor allows the phone not only to perceive 2D but to gather depth information to form a 3D map.

It’s, in a nutshell, a 3D scanner, right in your palm. It’s a Kinect embedded in your phone. And I bring up Kinect because it’s the same technology. In November of 2013, Apple acquired the Israeli 3D sensing company PrimeSense, the technology behind Kinect, for 360 million dollars.

3D Kinect scanner

PrimeSense’s technology uses what’s called structured light 3D scanning. It’s one of the three main techniques employed to do 3D scanning and depth sensing.

Structured light 3D scanning is the perfect method to embed on the phone. It doesn’t yield a massive sensing range (between 40 centimeters to 3.5 meters), but it provides the highest depth accuracy.

Apple’s 3D scanner patented technology

Depth accuracy is critical for Apple. The sensor is the