What’s the saying?  All good things come in threes? Well in this case, I was thinking about what three items really stand out within reality capture and how it is improving our industry.  The three key benefits that immediately came to mind were improved accuracy, increased productivity and overall safety.

Improved Accuracy

Traditionally, a building and/or a job site would have design plans or drawings, as well as a marked up set of plans or drawings for As-Builts. As we all know, not everything is built exactly as it is drawn up.  So, having an accurate as-built might be more critical for some jobs. Much of this might be hand-measured onsite and then brought back to the office to draw up. Going back out to a job site to re-measure or take additional measurements really kills a budget.

Whether it is flying a drone, utilizing a LiDAR scanner or really any of the tools out there, we can definitely improve accuracy, as well as eliminate the guess work and multiple trips to the job site. Reality capture, for those that are not familiar, is basically a snapshot of reality during that time. Most capture a full 3D view and anything within its line-of-sight, and within its operation range can be measured out accurately.  Depending on the device being used we can expect an accuracy range in the sub-millimeters to half a foot.

Increased Productivity

Now that we have more information provided within a point cloud scan, we definitely have captured more than is necessary for the job.  But that is not necessarily a bad thing.  An over-abundance of information has helped reduce questions, site visits and eliminate the guess work.  It can be an architect looking at existing conditions and how that might affect their design choices.  Or even out in the civil engineering realm, with more points available between captured grade breaks to see if the site is draining properly.

Overall Safety

We all know the importance of making a job site safe and keeping our employees as safe as possible. Now even during this time where the most immediate danger is in the air and invisible to the naked eye, reality capture can help here as well.  Very minimal contact is needed and, in some cases, can be completed overnight or over the weekend.

Minimizing physical risk is very important.  Imagine flying a drone down a canyon or along a bridge or building for inspection purposes. Keeping our feet on the ground a drone, we can get to places that would otherwise require safety gear or possibly a fall harness.

Conclusion: A Myriad of Benefits!

There are many different use cases where reality capture technology can help and improve the quality and productivity within our industry. 

For more information on our reality capture services, please visit our Reality Capture page.

Follow ATG on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for 24/7 access to top-notch technical content.

This blog is written by Reality Capture Specialist Justin DeVore. If you have any questions or need help with your reality capture needs, please email us at whyATG@atgusa.com or reach out to us on LinkedIn.