Laser Scanners are a 3D Camera

1. A multimedia firm that adopted laser scanning sees it as a 3D camera.
2. A Korean firm became a national hero for having a detailed scan of the country’s most treasured landmark.
3. 3D property management is a potential market for laser scanning.
4. Replacing modules in a deformed offshore oil platform can only be supported with laser scanning.

I thought I would run through a few of the key messages from some of the Leica UC presentations last week. In no particular order:

1. SmartMultimedia - a multimedia services firm based in Texas had a much different perspective on laser scanners than most survey engineering firms. With their background in multimedia they saw the laser scanner as a 3D camera, and the data generated as something that they could use to create more lifelike video. They are just starting to understand BIM and digital preservation, but a quick visit to their website reveals that they have caught the laser scanning bug and are able to convince customers of its value for many non-traditional applications. Have a look.
2. WIPCO – a survey firm based in Korea has been scanning since 1999. In 2002 they managed to convince the government that they should be allowed to scan Korea’s #1 historical treasure – Sunyemun, an 800 year old structure. In 2008 an arsonist set fire to a large portion of this building. By a stroke of fate WIPCO has become a national hero by providing the scans so that the building can be reconstructed with the exact detail. They now have a mandate to scan many of the other historical structures in Korea.
3. Mercator Land Surveying – a New York City firm led by Lemuel Morrison was hired to address the needs of managing office space in 3D. As part of his presentation Lem noted that requirements for building owners to demonstrate energy efficiency will drive the need for BIM. This is also another example of the importance of mandates, which was key to the early growth and adoption of GIS.
4. AkerSolutions – is one of the most sophisticated global engineering firms in the world. They have the ultimate challenge of supporting the platforms in the North Sea, where the 100 year design storm is a 100 foot wave. This is 5o times the horizontal force that a building of a similar height would have to sustain on land. As they correctly pointed out they actually must build replacement modules to fit the non-orthogonal 3D geometry of the existing deformed structure. Today’s CAD software cannot model this and without laser scanning there would be literally no hope of getting modules to fit the first time.