Silicon Glades: 3D Volumetric Imaging & Digital Styling Portfolios in Cosmetology
Delia Lozano
ID-4097
School Name:Immokalee Technical College
Grant Request Grade:Adult Ed
Grant Request Subject:STEM
Additional Details
a) What is the overall purpose of your project?
To bring professional 360-degree volumetric imaging and interactive 3D modeling into the Cosmetology program. By utilizing a specialized rotating capture turntable, high-definition camera, balanced diffuse studio lighting, and dedicated processing hardware, adult cosmetology students will transform physical mannequin work, hair designs, and aesthetic services into interactive 3D digital portfolios that can be viewed from every angle.
b) What need(s) does it address?
The modern beauty, salon, and personal care industry has moved far beyond flat 2D social media photos. Top salons, high-end spas, and editorial agencies evaluate stylists through multi-dimensional portfolios, virtual consultations, and digital styling showcases. When students photograph complex hair layering, bridal updos, precision fades, or dimensional color on flat phone screens, critical details—like silhouette balance, blending, and symmetry—get flattened or lost in harsh salon lighting. Our adult learners master practical chemical application, cutting, and styling, but lack professional studio lighting and automated capture equipment to showcase their artistry in complete 3D for clients, competition judges, and salon employers.
c) What learning goal, academic standard, or outcome does your project address?
This project aligns with the Florida Department of Education’s Cosmetology curriculum framework (Program I120404 / CIP 0612040102), specifically supporting state competencies in Hair Shaping (Course COS0003), Hair Styling (Course COS0009), Salon Management, and Employability Skills.
Students will:
- Evaluate haircut balance, symmetry, and geometric form using multi-angle 360-degree capture stages.
- Master professional salon presentation lighting by using glare-free, high-CRI studio lights to accurately display dimensional color, tone, and skin finishes without distortion.
- Produce and publish interactive 3D digital portfolio assets that demonstrate technique mastery to prospective salon employers and licensing boards.
d) How does this project connect to a school or district priority?
Directly aligns with Collier County Public Schools’ commitment to workforce readiness, adult learner economic mobility, and entrepreneurship. Cosmetology graduates in Southwest Florida frequently launch their own booth-rental businesses or independent styling studios. Providing our learners with modern digital branding tools ensures they graduate as tech-forward beauty professionals ready to build a high-income clientele.
Aligns with iTECH’s Vision of empowering students through innovating hands-on training and our shared beliefs that instruction must represent current technology and practices and that instruction is meaningful when it is relevant to the students and incorporates current issues.
a) How will students actively participate?
Students will complete their practical haircutting, coloring, or styling practicals on mannequins or live clinic clients, then bring their finished work to the 3D capture station. Learners will place the mannequin or client on an automated, smooth 360-degree turntable. Using controlled diffuse lighting to eliminate harsh salon shadows, students record a synchronized, full-rotation scan. The system processes the images into an interactive 3D model that the student can spin, zoom in on, and embed directly into their online professional styling portfolios.
b) How will this project meet the needs of your students, classroom, and/or school?
This workstation elevates student self-assessment. Instead of only looking in a salon mirror, students review their styling work from all 360 degrees, spotting uneven weight lines or graduation flaws immediately. It also directly bridges the Cosmetology department with the campus-wide Silicon Glades initiative, allowing beauty students to benefit from the school's digital innovation tools using straightforward, hands-on hardware.
c) What teaching strategies or instructional activities will be used?
- 360-Degree Symmetry Critiques: Instructors and students rotate 3D scans of finished cuts to evaluate balance, elevation angles, and tapering from all perspectives.
- Color True-Tone Profiling: Students use calibrated, cross-polarized studio lighting to showcase accurate hair tones (such as neutralizing warm brassiness or capturing blonde highlights) without glare or washed-out flash.
- Digital Portfolio Practicums: Every student builds an interactive, web-based styling menu featuring rotating 3D models of their signature cuts and bridal work to present during salon hiring interviews.
d) How will student participation connect to classroom instruction?
Directly reinforces Florida cosmetology benchmarks covering safety/sanitation, client consultations, geometric hair design principles, and business marketing. Working in peer styling teams, students rotate through the station at the end of each practical clinic block to document their completed styles.
a) What specific improvements do you expect for your students?
Empowering Stylists with Digital Marketing Clout: Many adult students in our Cosmetology program are balancing family commitments and career changes. Gaining modern digital portfolio skills gives them an immediate competitive edge, enabling them to secure commission spots at premier salons and spas or successfully market independent styling services.
A Campus-Wide Cross-Disciplinary Bridge:
- Cosmetology: Students gain visual proof of technical hair design, symmetry, and color blending through rotating 3D models.
- Digital Media: Media students collaborate on lighting setups, web viewer embeds, and video compositing, giving both cohorts creative teamwork experience.
- Business & Accounting: Cosmetology students use their 3D asset links to build e-commerce service menus, linking service costs directly to business pricing formulas.
- Campus Showcases: Provides an eye-catching visual demonstration station during campus open houses and regional advisory meetings.
b) How will you know the project was successful?
Success will be achieved when 100% of graduating cosmetology cohorts build and publish an interactive digital portfolio featuring at least two completed 360-degree styling assets evaluated against state practical haircutting rubrics.
c) What evidence, observations, student work, or assessments will demonstrate impact?
- Interactive Online Stylist Portfolios: Live web portfolio links showcasing student-created, rotating 3D hairstyle models accessible by regional salon recruiters.
- Practical Haircut Balance Rubrics: Objective scoring sheets evaluating haircut balance and perimeter lines audited through 360-degree visual reviews.
- Florida State Board Practical Readiness: Demonstrated mastery of haircutting, styling, and sanitation requirements aligned with state licensing standards.
Purpose of Funding
Funding will acquire a specialized 3D volumetric capture station: a high-capacity motorized 360-degree turntable, high-definition capture camera, diffuse cross-polarized studio lighting, stable mounting C-stands, high-speed image transfer cards, and an on-site edge processor with high-endurance solid-state storage.
This hardware requires zero recurring software subscriptions. It serves as a permanent, non-consumable salon studio asset that will prepare multiple cosmetology classes year after year.
Budget Narrative
Direct Student Learning Alignment:
- High-Resolution Studio Capture Camera ($449.00): Captures high-clarity video and sequential images of hairstyles, cuts, and colors with manual exposure controls.
- Heavy-Duty Automated Motorized 360° Turntable ($189.00): Provides smooth, hands-free rotation of mannequins and clients for seamless, jitter-free full-circle scans.
- Bi-Color High-CRI LED Studio Panels with Diffusion ($330.00 total): Delivers clean, true-to-life salon lighting that eliminates harsh shadows and reveals accurate hair tones.
- Heavy-Duty C-Stands with Boom Arms & Clamps ($145.00): Secure, professional mounting hardware to hold cameras and lights safely above salon workstations.
- High-Speed Industrial Storage Cards & Transfer Hub ($211.00 total): Enables instant offloading of high-resolution photo batches without classroom delays.
- Dedicated Edge AI Processor & High-Endurance NVMe SSD ($554.00 total): Provides the on-site processing engine to compile 360-degree image batches into interactive 3D web models without recurring cloud fees.
The Jetson units requested here are dedicated exclusively to the camera equipment and are separate from the Jetson units requested in our companion AI Vision proposals, which each power distinct physical hardware systems.
Number of Students Benefiting:
- 30 to 50 adult cosmetology students annually will use the station to build professional graduation portfolios.
- 150+ cross-campus learners across digital media, business, and tech programs will participate in collaborative styling and digital twin demonstrations.
- 100% Non-Consumable: Professional, durable studio equipment built for years of continuous classroom service.
1878
High-Resolution Ultra-HD Studio Capture Cameras (Wide Dynamic Range)
