The Society of Manufacturing Engineers has established a technology group to develop, store, and disseminate ideas regarding 3D data captured from digital and laser scans, and reverse engineering. The group mission is to advance industry knowledge, facilitate technology advancements, and promote the use of scanner hardware and software. Goals also include developing and storing information and being a resource to evaluate and apply technology. The group will work with hardware systems such as laser and point digitizers, and software that drives them. Software can include applications that collect, process, or manipulate 3D point and point cloud data to prepare for downstream applications.