3D Laser Scanning Bristol - An Overview

The digital age now means that it is possible to see any building in amazing digital 3D without leaving your computer. This is thanks to the great technical leaps forward in Laser Scanning, and particularly 3D Laser Scanning Surveying techniques and equipment that have meant that ever greater amounts of data can be handled very quickly to produce more accurate representations of any building or physical object.

What exactly is Laser Scanning Surveying?

Essentially, when we are looking at the world through our own eyes we are collecting enormous amounts of visual and spatial data, which our brains then process into interpretive 3D images of the world around us.

Laser Scanning Surveying adopts exactly the same processes, only this time it is sophisticated machinery that are collecting the images, geometric and spatial data, and a computer processor that is doing the processing.

The result is a point in time, very large, 3D database which accurately represents the environment that has been scanned. The 'point cloud' laser scanning data is geometrically rigid and can be used and brings benefits to a multitude of end users.

How does Laser Scanning Surveying Work?

The way this is achieved is by 'bombarding' the building, rail, tunnel, road or subject with millions of safe laser pulses to obtain precise measurement information. This is done by setting up 'state of the art' equipment that sends out these laser beam pulses that are designed to bounce off the subject and then be reflected back between two mirrors in the laser scanner.

This allows the scanner to measure three things very precisely:

1. The exact time it takes to bounce the beam back.

2. The horizontal angle of the beam as it returns

3. The vertical angle of the beam as it returns.

This simple sounding process in effect provides extremely accurate X, Y and Z co-ordinates of the surface or object the laser points hit. When repeated millions of times, these co-ordinates can then be processed by' 3D point cloud software' and then can be exported into a variety of different 3D software - revit, autocad, microstation, 3D visualisation software that allows a precise 3D image of the building to be built up.

It is a high-tech process that produces amazing results and has applications not only in architecture, but anywhere where a digital representation of reality could be useful.

As a conclusion, what are the benefits of laser scanning technology?

There are as many as a fertile imagination can conjure in reality! Here are three immediate areas where laser scanning may be beneficial:

1. Accuracy - This process removes much of the human error that is often to blame for complications at the building stage of a project. A laser scanner does not get tired or make errors due to a heavy workload, so the results that it pumps out are much more dependable as well as being many times more accurate than normal surveying methods.

2. Speed - Measuring at 1,000,000 points a second enables an enormous of data to be collected very quickly. Information can be obtained almost instantly allowing decisions to be made at a greater speed than utilising traditional surveying techniques

3. Allows People to Focus on What People Do Best - The third big benefit of laser scanning is click here that it frees up people to focus on other aspects of a project and rids them of much of the tiresome burden of crunching the numbers. This almost inevitably leads to better designs, happier and more productive members of your team, and happier clients as the end results improve.

As you can, there are many great benefits of 3D Laser Scanning over traditional techniques, and it is well worth exploring for yourself if Laser Scanning Services are a good fit for your business.

Since its introduction in the late 1990's, laser scanning has gradually extended its area of application. While some industries that use laser scanning would seem to have an obvious use for it, others that use it would not. However, the basic benefit that 3D scanning offers to each scanning user is the same: the collection of the precise spatial data of an object or environment, which can then be expressed in various data models for various applications. If your company requires a solution for collecting spatial data of any sort, chances are that it could benefit from incorporating 3D scanning. To demonstrate the broad applicability of laser scanning, we list four areas that are currently benefiting from the incorporation of laser scanners.

Engineering and Reverse Engineering

Soon after its introduction, laser scanning-also referred to as laser surveying-became mainly associated with engineering industry, as it instantly provided engineers with a superior method of incorporating design intent into computerized models of products, as well as a way to trouble shoot products and realize even the smallest deviations (warping, under trimming, over trimming, etc.) from a product's intended design. Conversely, the data precision of 3D scanning also provided engineers with a superior method for reverse engineering products for various reasons, such as the fabrication of heritage parts, archival storage, and quality control inspection.

Geographical Surveying

As with engineering, laser scanners immediately revolutionized the geographical surveying industry. Instead of using traditional surveying methods that often require an extensive surveying period that results in high surveying costs, construction companies and other entities that require land surveying can now complete a surveying project in as little as one surveying session. In addition to abbreviating the surveying process, laser scanning also decreases its cost by decreasing the involvement of the surveyor.

Law Enforcement

Unlike the engineering and geographical surveying industries, law enforcement doesn't seem to have a clear need for laser surveying. Without the aid of laser scanners, crime scene and accident investigators typically have a harder time understanding exactly how a crime or accident happened. In addition to recording the complete spatial data of a crime or accident scene, including minute details such as bullet holes, the data models that result from laser surveying allow investigators to create crime scene and accident scene animations that are based on hard data. In addition to helping explain how a crime or accident occurred, the animations can also prove valuable for jury persuasion if a case goes to trial.

Historical Preservation

Like law enforcement, the field of historical preservation doesn't seem to have a need for laser scanning. However, the ability of laser scanning to collect the precise spatial data of objects of all sizes makes it ideal for recording the data of heritage objects for restoration purposes. A recent example of laser scanners being used by preservationists is the May 2010 scanning of the Mount Rushmore monument.

This is thanks to the great technical leaps forward in Laser Scanning, and particularly 3D Laser Scanning Surveying techniques and equipment that have meant that ever greater amounts of data can be handled very quickly to produce more accurate representations of any building or physical object.

As you can, there are many great benefits of 3D Laser Scanning over traditional techniques, and it is well worth exploring for yourself if Laser Scanning Services are a good fit for your business. To demonstrate the broad applicability of laser scanning, we list four areas that are currently benefiting from the incorporation of laser scanners.

In addition to abbreviating the surveying process, laser scanning also decreases its cost by decreasing the involvement of the surveyor.

The ability of laser scanning to collect the precise spatial data of objects of all sizes makes it ideal for recording the data of heritage objects for restoration purposes.