A Genuine Pioneer of 3D Laser Scanning
(Editor’s Note – As you will see from the videos this is an important interview with one of the true pioneers in the 3D laser scanning field. Please let us know what you think.)
If you’re at all interested in laser scanning, there’s a new “Must Watch” set of videos for you. I’ve been deep into LIDAR/3D laser scanning since 2005, but these new interviews on YouTube with industry pioneer and leader, Geoff Jacobs, are mesmerizing.
How and why did 3D laser scanning ever come to be? 3D laser scanners first appeared in 1998 – but how could anyone process laser scan data with 1998-era computers and software? What were those pioneering days really like? And what were the breakthroughs – including milestone user projects – that propelled 3D laser scanning forward to where it is today?
It’s a truly remarkable story, unveiled with fascinating, behind-the-scenes twists and turns. Now, you can learn that remarkable story from a pioneering insider who had a front row seat.
Geoff first became aware of 3D laser scanning in 1996, when he was a Sr. Manager for Trimble’s GPS survey products. 3D laser scanning was still in development, and, for Trimble, Geoff began evaluating the technology and a start-up company developing it – Cyra Technologies.
In 1998, Geoff left Trimble to join Cyra as employee number 20. His job? Promote their brand new, >50kg (>110 lbs.), 800 pts/sec (yes, eight hundred), 40ºx40º Field-of-View, $175,000 black-box scanner and software package to a totally unaware market. In 1999, Geoff introduced the technology and Cyra Technologies to Leica Geosystems; in 2001 Leica acquired Cyra to create Leica’s 3D laser scanning products business.
Geoff stayed with Leica, and, for many years, he was the face and voice of the laser scanning industry. He wrote countless educational articles about it, ran a wildly popular global user conference, and was a frequent industry speaker until retiring from Leica in 2017.
In 2023, Geoff was video interviewed about those early days and the technology’s (often bumpy) path to where it is today. His three (3) interviews – all on YouTube – are remarkably candid, surprising, insightful, and entertaining. It’s a “Must Watch”.
How did these interviews come about? In 2020-2021 Geoff wrote a popular series of articles about the “Early Days of 3D Scanning” for XyHt magazine. A PhD geomatics student, Kharroubi Abderrazzaq, at the University of Liege, Belgium, read them and was hooked. He contacted Geoff to see if Geoff would be open to being interviewed and recorded for Kharroubi’s online educational geomatics site, GeomaCan. Geoff agreed and, as they say, “the rest is now (recorded oral) history”.
In the interviews, Kharroubi asks Geoff probing questions. Each interview is roughly an hour; so, copy and save the links for when you have time to enjoy them. You’ll be glad you did … and you’ll have some great stories to share with your colleagues. Enjoy!!
Links to the YouTube video interviews/episodes:
Episode !: https://youtu.be/bjziXsTckDo
Episode 2: https://youtu.be/9tFcBLqC7xQ
Episode 3: https://youtu.be/lIeEpAhTRwM
Please note these videos are also available on the Lidar News YouTube channel – CLICK HERE.
