Using a nice and easy technique called Structured Light 3D Scanning, all you need is a projector, a camera and a bit of software to record 3D images.   By projecting a known pattern onto an object or scene and utilizing imaging software to interpret the geometry of the objects the pattern is projected on.  As you watch the video on MAKE:Blog you can see that this is a work in progress but as the source code is also available from them you might be able to help make this project better.  It is certainly cheaper than the professional alternatives.

“Kyle McDonald shared his latest efforts in video capture with me, and the results are pretty impressive. Using a projector and a cheapish PS3 Eye Webcam, he is able to do real- time 3D capture at 60 frames per second. We’ve covered his project before, but this is the first time I’ve seen the live video of it working. The code is currently under development, so if you want to get involved, check out the source code and start hacking!”

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk