Three-dimensional scanning is improved with the use of space carving to exclude certain scan results from processing and display. Using space carving techniques, a spatial matrix is maintained to store data on volumetric regions (or voxels) known to be empty. By excluding or modifying processing of outlier data from within these unoccupied voxels, a three-dimensional reconstruction process can achieve concurrent improvements in accuracy and speed. In addition, a real time display of scan results can be improved by modifying how such outliers are rendered.