A New Development in Laser Scanning Technology

Hans-Herbert Tuexsen introduces us to the Leica RTC360 3D Reality Capture Solution

Fast, efficient, accurate and portable, the Leica RTC360 is a complete and new laser scanning system. This latest development in 3D laser scanning combines a high-performance laser scanner with Cyclone FIELD 360, a mobile-device app on a tablet computer, to capture and automatically pre-register scans in real time.

Hans-Herbert Tuexsen, business director of Terrestrial Laser Scanning, outlines some of the exciting features of the RTC360 designed to achieve maximum productivity in both field and office.

Construction professionals managing complex site projects need accurate and reliable 3D representations. With 2 million points per second captured and High-Dynamic Range (HDR) photography, the RTC360 combines speed with high quality imagery. Operated from a tablet, a simple tap on the arrow icon starts the scan and collects the data with a full panorama image taking just 60 seconds to complete.

Technically, the RTC360 is not only about speed and precision. It also uses the Visual Inertial System (VIS Technology), making the process of registering scans from different positions easy and simple to use.

Visual Inertial System
VIS technology tracks the position and movement of the scanner from station to station, automatically coordinating the scanner relative to the previous set up.

Progress viewed on the tablet shows the new data coming in at the right position. Just 60 seconds later the images are added and when complete, the scanner computes a reduced dataset for wireless transfer to the tablet.
Additional information, which may be used later in the office, such as voice recordings, video, images, text or documents, can be tagged to each scan and positioned accurately in the point cloud.

Once the scanner has completed the first set up, move to the next and again select start on the tablet. VIS technology takes care of the rest.


View and edit on the tablet
Whilst scanning continues, additional functions are available on the tablet.
  • Switch to a 360-image mode and, if required, edit the brightness of the high quality panoramic HDR images
  • Change to a full 3D view of reduced point cloud to zoom and rotate the data
  • View and examine objects of interest from previous set ups and add useful additional information to process in the office

Smart and stable
When the scanner is moved from one set up to another, the system technology will always know exactly where it is. With two scans completed the point clouds can be linked and optimised so that they are precisely orientated, all ready for the next set up.

Once complete, all the scan data and the additional information on the tablet is stored on the scanner’s removable USB stick, making transfer of the data from the field to the office quick and easy.

Do you want to know more? Contact us today!



Hans-Herbert Tuexsen
Business Director, Terrestrial Laser Scanning
Reality Capture Division