This type of biometric scanning technology was previously the domain of £25,000 3D scanner, and whilst the results are not in the same resolution, they can be used for biometric identification purposes, Infosecurity notes.
According to Grant Schindler, a research scientist with the US university, the app does what CAD/CAM software costing several hundred dollars did just a year ago.
The app works by using the iPhone's screen to shine four different lighting patterns on the subject while also using the devices front-facing camera to snap photos. It then produces a full 3D model that you users can zoom into, pan around and view from any angle.
"You can just have fun with it, or if you work with 3D models, you can use it professionally", said Schindler, a research scientist in the university's School of Interactive Computing in the College of Computing.
Schindler says that the app uses a technique that was originally designed in the 1980s, but required an expensive set up of lights, a still model and a lot of time.
"If I take a scan of my face, the app asks what does the image look like if I shine the light from the left side, what does it look like from the right side,' and so on. There's one three-dimensional answer per pixel, and combining all those answers results in the full 3D model", he explained.
Trimensional began as a program for a desktop computer in 2008, using the screen to light the subject, and was later ported to the iOS platform when the iPhone 4 appeared with its front-facing camera.
A version is now being developed for the Google Android platform.