What did 2016 give us: a #laserscanning retrospective...looking back to move us forwards

2016 was a great year for advancements in the terrestrial #laserscanning space and @LeicaGeosystems delivered some amazing features across hardware and software solutions which truly elevated our customer offering and helped open new markets.

There were three incremental firmware additions to the #ScanStation P-Series scanners throughout 2016 offering amazing tools for our new customers and those with maintenance contracts on existing products. There are now many tools which other manufacturers have not yet addressed such as; Automatic calibration of the real-time dual axis compensator before the first scan, atmospheric and geometric PPM corrections, and a new traverse application which was extended and refined throughout the various releases.

The P-series, in particular the P30 and P40, now have even greater survey-focused functionality which allows them to be seamlessly integrated into highly demanding sites across a variety of segments. By the end of Q1 we will introduce more exciting new features such as 'wake-up sessions' and the ability to control multiple scanners from one PC, both useful tools for remote monitoring applications.

In April at SPAR we announced major new software advancements such as Cyclone Cloud, Pegasus Project Import and Batch Image Support. Cyclone Cloud is a new cloud-paging software subscription tool which is scalable, secure and eliminates IT headaches. Still in the roll-out and field-testing phase, 2017 should see a full release of Cyclone Cloud to end users. It is hoped that we can help new customers, and customers with hardware from other vendors with this solution.

Pegasus project import means that it is now easier for HDS customers who own our Pegasus mobile mapping solutions to bring their data into Cyclone and begin using our best in class tools to extract lines, sections and meshes. Batch image support means Cyclone is now able handle images from a variety of 360 panoramic imaging solutions much faster and the data from them can be burnt automatically onto the point cloud with limited user interaction saving customers time and money.

In October at Intergeo, we announced yet more development across the Cyclone, Cloudworx, JetStream product families. New Smart-Align tools were added in Cyclone Register, which built on the features of Auto-Align and Visual Alignment added in Cyclone 9.0. Customer feedback regarding Smart Align has been fantastic offering up to 40% productivity gains at the registration stage of a project. See the link below for our dedicated HDS playlist on YouTube for an overview of all these new features in one handy location.

We also used Intergeo to showcase our work in VR with JetStream VR and TruView Global (TVG) VR. The former is a fully navigable point-cloud based solution used in conjunction with Facebook’s Oculus Rift headset with navigation provided by a 3D mouse. TVG VR is based on the Samsung Gear VR headset (and easily portable to other solutions). See the live feed we recorded of JetStream VR in action at the Italian HDS user event in November below.

Customers can collaborate with other users in the same shared space, taking notes, measurements and making mark-ups for dissemination. We plan to market these solutions officially in 2017 and we have had a very positive response from our customers to these solutions. David Langley discusses some of these VR-specific applications, and other features announced at Intergeo, below:

JetStream Disconnected allows our JetStream data files to be shared to a user without a direct connection to the original network location. We also can run these files directly from a USB stick with instant loading and no loss in performance. The solution has been critically acclaimed by those using it. Users are now able to share more easily their large point cloud files with colleagues and customers. Movie creation in also now included in the JetStream Viewer application, which means users can create and share videos of their work with a few clicks. See the video below:

Another step forward was the ability to read Autodesk *.rcp (Recap) files in Cloudworx for Autocad. This means users can take full advantage of the tools within our class-leading point-cloud tools but have the flexibility to user *.rcp files if that is what has been provided, without the need to convert to our own proprietary formats.

All things considered 2016 was a great year for 3D solutions from @LeicaGeosystems. See my previous post about my hopes for the #laserscanning market in 2017.

What are you most looking forward to in 2017 and what was your favourite Leica Geosystems HDS innovation last year?

Thanks once again for reading, sharing and commenting.