Seeing the entire picture in detail

Simple as a smartphone

Since the Leica Captivate software is so incredibly intuitive and familiar– just like using a smartphone – almost anyone could figure it out with little more than a swipe of the screen. The experience is also fun and enjoyable, and the professionals at Nelson Survey could hardly wait to put it to use.

One of the first projects Nelson Surveys used Leica Captivate on was a complicated road design of a concrete structure positioned on top of an underground storm water system. The structure is being built to support a parking area. The road base, or foundation layer, had already been laid, but due to its odd shape and a cross-fall for water runoff, crews had difficulty understanding what the finished design should look like.

Leica Captivate provided even the smallest details, and yet, the entire picture was always there. The software enabled fast and easy understanding for crews and engineers on site. Now crews could see all data: points, lines, scans, digital terrain models (DTMs), and alignments or data from DXF files in 3D at any location and from everywhere. All jobs could be completed using a variety of apps to make such tasks as staking out points and coding linework as simple as possible.

No longer were crews limited to 2D paper maps displaying lines without any visual references. Design lines could now be quickly understood with background information or 3D point cloud scans added. Nelson Boquin, director of Nelson Surveys, explains, “For anyone experiencing this for the first time, the world of digital reality in construction is truly amazing. Leica Captivate has brought design data to life. Users can zoom, pan and rotate, as needed, to understand any project.” Nelson Surveys choose to work with the Leica Captivate Road App, which is designed to import specific road data and complete road specific tasks as simply as possible.

Boquin adds, “This 3D software gives a great visualisation of what the final finished product will look like on site. Construction issues can be easily resolved with the aid of Leica Captivate by checking the alignment (horizontal and vertical) levels and grades.”

Explore next chapter: Fewer trips, bigger savings

Story: Seeing the entire picture in detail
Chapter 1: Adding insight to today's complexities
Chapter 2: Simple as a smartphone
Chapter 3: Fewer trips, bigger savings