Ricerc@Sapienza

Objectives: We present two new automatic tools, developed under the R environment, to repro-
duce the internal and external structures of bony elements. The first method, Computer-Aided
Laser Scanner Emulator (CA-LSE), provides the reconstruction of the external portions of a 3D
mesh by simulating the action of a laser scanner. The second method, Automatic Segmentation
Tool for 3D objects (AST-3D), performs the digital reconstruction of anatomical cavities.
Materials and methods: We present the application of CA-LSE and AST-3D methods to different

Reproducing cranial endocasts is the main goal for researchers interested in vertebrate brain evolution. Recent developments in 3D digital modelling enabled to overcome the complex and somewhat risky manual production of physical casts. Yet, even the most recent, cutting-edge methods still require somewhat long processing times and usually cannot deal with complex-shaped endocranial cavities. These problems limit both the statistical power and phylogenetic scope of brain shape and size evolutionary investigations.

Objectives: Reproducing cranial endocasts is a major goal of researchers interested in vertebrate brain evolution. We present a new R software, named endomaker, which allows the automatic extraction of endocasts from skull meshes along with the calculation of its volume. Materials and methods: We applied endomaker on non-primate and primate skulls including the Australopithecus africanus specimen Sts-5. Results: We proved endomaker is faster, more feature-rich and possibly more accurate than competing software.