Autodesk News:
Recap Pro for Mobile Going Away February 1, 2021

Autodesk has made the decision to discontinue ReCap Pro for mobile.  As of February 1, 2021, current subscribers will no longer be able to access and use the ReCap Pro for mobile entitlement.  All other entitlements currently included with a subscription to Recap Pro will remain unchanged and ReCap Pro subscriptions may be renewed at any time.

What does that mean for me?

Ultimately it means that we will not be able to use Recap Pro for Mobile on the iPad to run the Leica BLK360 anymore in just a few short months from now.  I know, bummer right!?  I have been using it for 3 years now and when I first read the news, all I could do was throw up my hands up and shrug my shoulders.  What else is 2020 going to throw at us?

Why has Autodesk decided to discontinue ReCap Pro for mobile?

As we know, ReCap Pro for mobile worked in conjunction with Leica’s BLK360 laser scanner.  What did Autodesk say?  “…because updates to ReCap Pro for mobile are regularly required in order to take advantage of the latest BLK360 firmware, it was determined that customers would be better served if they use the Leica Cyclone FIELD 360 mobile app.  Users of the Leica Cyclone 360 mobile app can take full advantage of the latest BLK360 device capabilities.”

What is Leica Cyclone FIELD 360?

For those that may not know and so far, may have just utilized a strict Autodesk workflow… Leica Cyclone FIELD 360 is a 3D laser scanning data collection software.  It runs on standard tablets and smart phones enabling direct quality control in the field.

Leica Cyclone FIELD 360 Features

• Ability to use on multiple mobile devices (iPads, phones, tablets, android devices, etc.)
• Very robust field registration (photo and point to point registration)
• When utilized with Leica’s BLK3D device, we can include geotag markups as well as controlling the BLK360
• FIELD 360 allows you to use the onboard infrared camera for thermal analysis, which was not available with the Recap mobile workflow
• Ability to see a 3D view of your point cloud registration as well as a 2D top-down view

Leica Cyclone FIELD 360 Registration

Here are a few things that you may notice when trying out Leica’s Cyclone FIELD 360 while controlling the BLK360.  While Recap relied on the images taken to do field registration, Cyclone FIELD 360 has point to point registration as well as photo registration where needed.  The mobile device just links to the unit versus continuously transferring data to the iPad like ReCap Pro for mobile.  This lends itself to a quicker, cleaner workflow out in the field.

Summary

All in all, 2021 is not looking to be as bleak, despite hearing the news that ReCap Pro for mobile going away.  Overall, there are a lot of positives to be taken from this news.  There is an opportunity here to condense and combine your registration workflow, especially if your company is running multiple Leica scanning devices.  Leica has been around for a long time and they have some great hardware and software.  Unfortunately, we are losing out on a direct connect from scanner to Recap.  There may be some adjustment for those that have not yet experienced a Leica software to Autodesk workflow.  We will be doing a deep dive into Leica’s Cyclone FIELD 360 soon with a demonstration and a comprehensive document breaking it all down.  Follow ATG on LinkedIn for the latest event announcements and technical content.

For more information or to get started with Leica, contact whyatg@atgusa.com.

Check out our latest reality capture whitepaper about the Leica BLK2GO.