Reporter 87

Limitless. Infinite. Unleashed.

President’s Message

Limitless. Infinite. Unleashed.

I’ve used these words and those like them to describe many times before the possibilities of digital realities – the convergence of physical and digital. While these words remain accurate in their descriptions, we are now reaching a point where we’re moving beyond reality. We are at the beginning of an exploration into how reality capture fits within entire business ecosystems – making them more connected and increasingly autonomous.

At the dawn of this new era, the world is becoming digitised, making it machine readable and subject to the power of algorithms. For this edition of Reporter, we take a distinct look at how these digital realities are transforming the way we interact with data and how we experience and understand the world around us. We expect to see countless more companies and ideas released into these ecosystems, making the once impossible possible.

Bridge surveys have historically been conducted by closing roadways and taking costly hours to stake the points needed. When Amey Roads NI was contracted to capture 140 bridges in Northern Ireland as part of the infrastructure project Building a Better Future, the special purpose project company knew it needed to find a safer and more cost and time effective solution. It found it with the laser scanning technology of the Leica BLK360. The detailed scans were passed immediately to designers, enabling them to make instant decisions on remedial work needed, connecting field and office personnel and cutting out several hours in the workflow. Also, without the need to close roadways to make the scans, more than half a million euros was saved.

Finding parking in a large city – the struggle is real. Recognising this problem, the machine-learning startup TerraLoupe came up with the idea to connect artificial intelligence with orthorectified aerial imagery to create an accurate inventory of available parking spaces throughout Germany. Turning to the HxGN Content Program for 15-centimetre-resolution orthoimagery of Berlin, the company was able to successfully test its internally-developed object-identification algorithms. Parking maps of locations, entrances and exits of parking lots, and the number of cars of different categories that can fit into each space have now been made for the entire country.

To make the planet digital, we can’t just rely on the traditional experts. This evolution requires an all-hands-on-deck approach. At HxGN LIVE, we launched two new members of the popular Leica BLK family. Further democratising technology, the Leica BLK2GO handheld imaging laser scanner enables simple reality capture in the palm of your hand. The Leica BLK247, an autonomous surveillance solution, provides continuous 3D reality capture of busy public spaces. Digitising the world around us, making it machine readable with fused sensor technology, we truly are entering an era of limitless, infinite, unleashed possibilities.

We are on a journey to expand capabilities past expectations, tackling the most daunting challenges of today and tomorrow. As I always say, though, there are opportunities in challenges. Seeking these chances, we are transcending the next innovation, the next technology. Together, we can move further than ever thought possible before – beyond reality.

Enjoy your read.

 

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Juergen Dold
President, Hexagon Geosystems

Read our customer stories here:



Supporting artificial intelligence solution to parking problem

Combining artificial intelligence and orthorectified aerial imagery to create parking lots in Germany

Mapping underwater terrain with bathymetric LiDAR

High-resolution bathymetric surveys support aquaculture research in Canada and increase navigational safety in the Pacific Ocean

Measuring aerosols caused by biomass burning

Using Micro Pulse LiDAR, researchers at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement on the remote island of Ascension collected data to understand how biomass burning airborne particles impact the climate

Building a better future with measuring technology

Opening opportunities through vocational training, delivering drinking water and building better schools in Tanzania using Leica Geosystems’ construction tools

Building a ‘living classroom’ in eastern Nepal

Building an 8000-metre ‘Vertical University’ in the eastern region of Nepal with laser distance metres

Leveraging visual documentation to avoid rework

How a construction pioneer remains ahead of its time using Multivista’s visual documentation service to capture construction milestones and regular progress in the United States

All set for modern living design

Digitalising construction layout for luxury residential single- and multi-family houses in the United Kingdom

Driving productivity with smart drilling at Hinkley Point C

Increasing productivity at Hinkley Point C construction site in the United Kingdom with machine control for geotechnical drilling

Beyond Reality. Digital Reality’s Next Frontier

Hexagon’s Geosystems Division President Juergen Dold presented ideas and case studies where the entire planet can be digitised at HxGN LIVE in Las Vegas, USA

Monitoring Dublin commuters’ safety

Keeping light railway travellers safe with a monitoring system in Dublin, Ireland

Moving a camel through the eye of a needle with GNSS

Undocking cruise ships’ power stations with the help of GNSS in Germany

Transforming reality into photorealistic Virtual Reality with laser scanning

Creating engaging VR trainings for public safety with the RTC360 in England

Mapping crashes and collisions at record speed

Leica RTC360 laser scanner satisfies the SAPD Collision Investigations Unit’s need for speed in the United States

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Revolutionising Smart Factories with reality capture

Digitalising warehouses with laser scanning to design modern automated factories around the world

Surpassing customer needs with 3D laser scanning

Capturing 3D point cloud data to create accurate as-built 3D models for AEC customers in Japan

Documenting London’s boroughs to solve parking problem

Helping drivers find and reserve parking spaces across London with mobile mapping

Revolutionising the luxury yacht building industry with laser scanning

3D laser scanning revolutionises the luxury yacht building industry in the Netherlands

Scans, spans and automobiles

Amey Roads uses BLK360 to survey bridges in Northern Ireland

Digitally preserving Hukuru Miskiy

Documenting digitally Malé Hukuru Miskiy and its exceptional coral stone carvings in the Maldives

Searching for hidden chambers adjacent to Tutankhamun’s tomb

In the quest for finding hidden chambers in Tutankhamun’s tombs with Ground Penetrating Radar in Egypt

Like Superman - Seeing through walls and concrete structures

Detecting and analysing the upper apron of the Barthe dam in Brommat, France

In your words - BLK

Welcoming the new Leica BLK2GO

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