Problem
I have read that the Leap motion sensor is supposed to be capable of 0.01 mm measurements of hand gestures. I don't see how that is possible if the depth images are only 8-bit images (256 values at 0.01 mm per value would only yield like an inch of measurement range, which is clearly not the case). I've read through the API for the Leap Motion sensor, I don't see any configurable settings that would yield, say, a 16-bit depth image, which I would expect from a sensor claiming 0.01 mm measurements (see this site for that claim). Does anybody know a way to increase the bit-depth of the depth images from the Leap Motion sensor?
Context of problem
I am trying to use a Leap Motion sensor as a cheap 3D scanner. I want to measure the position and tilt of a 3D printer head with it. I think I can fake better resolution by analyzing many points across the surface, but if it is possible to get 16 bit resolution of the depth image, I would much prefer that.
I am not against using a different sensor if that is what's called for, but I am aware of other SO questions in that vein.
The Leap Motion device doesn't use a depth image, so the color resolution of the images is irrelevant. (It uses stereo vision.) The API will give you a set of stereo images and a calibration map to remove lens distortion, but nothing else that would help you make a 3D scanner. To get the depth of a point in the scene, you would have to identify the same point in both images and triangulate. How accurately you can identify the corresponding image points would probably have the largest impact on the accuracy of your 3D reconstruction.