convert stl file to depth map

I built a 3d scanner whose output is a depth map. I want to check that the result is the same as the photographed object, which I printed from the stl file. Is there a way to get a depth map (from a certain perspective) given the stl file?

[KSSV]

YOu can read your stl file using stlread and then plot the map using trisurf.

[Yuval Braun]

KSSV. I know, but I'm specifically interested in depth values so I can calculate the size of the error.

Answer 1

[George Abrahams]

Hi @Yuval Braun, you need a renderer. My 3D Rendering Toolbox on File Exchange will easily handle this. For example, you can see the toolbox generating a depth map in the figure below.

To get an identical image, you'll need to know a few properties about the sensor used to perform the scan, namely its field-of-view and resolution. You'll also need to know the relative position between the object and sensor. Finally, if the sensor is a camera, due to lens distortion, you'll likely need to calibrate it to undistort (rectify) the image with the undistortImage function of the Computer Vision Toolbox.