Having had most of my background in architectural work I have a question for the (likely small) group of surveyors on this forum who are using laser scanning, regarding a product we've developed in Germany and are looking for feedback from US/Canadian land surveyors/ civil engineers etc.
Essentially, for those familiar with the technology, it’s a prism/sphere combination, designed specifically for those using laser scanners and total stations. Below is a picture.
We also have a three prism/sphere system that clips right onto the tripod. Again, I’m putting this out there for the opinions of the people that will (or may) be using this equipment.
I’m looking for feedback/comments/thoughts on this new direction for our product line – crowd-sourcing ideas in other words. Excited to hear your thoughts.
(P.S. - If anyone is interested in testing this equipment, please let me know via email!)
I'm interested in testing these. I'm involved in assembly of new Tappan Zee Bridge. Will be using a robotic TS and looking for sphere prism to align bolt holes.
LeeGreen.com
In laser scanning, cloud to cloud registration is getting better and better; The need for targets is getting less and less.
> In laser scanning, cloud to cloud registration is getting better and better; The need for targets is getting less and less.
I have no experience with cloud registration software, but I'm curious as to how one assesses the positional accuracy of the resulting cloud points. Is the user provided with statistical data from the registration adjustment, or are you stuck with the "Well, it looks about right" method?
It depends on the software. Some require the selection of common points in the each scan that are relatively close and then performs a registration based on these points and then calculates the error between them. Other software require targets for registration. Faro has a pretty slick set up with basically a one click registration. It has a compass and other sensors that get each scan roughly lined up and then the software does a best fit between clouds. Geomagic has a cloud to cloud registration process but also has dynamic analyzing tools that help determine accuracy of the surfaces based on a color coded system. Really nice if you can come off of some money for it.
I think what this guy is trying to do is blend the two worlds together by creating tools that we are used to and can easily adapt into our workflow in terms of field work and accuracy checking. Good idea. Still think if you can use targets to verify accuracy that is the way to go.
Feel Free to email/call me, we can set something up.
>I think what this guy is trying to do is blend the two worlds together
That's exactly it!
Also, regarding cloud to cloud registration - its true that software is developing more intelligent algorithms for stitching together point clouds. However, the prism/sphere combo is specifically when you need to tie in a point cloud to survey points. In this case, you'll be using some sort of target/prism combo anyway. (plus, I think targets are still the most accurate, but hey I'm biased.)
Leica recently unveiled a new cloud-to-cloud componenet at Hexagon, haven't tried it out yet. I used Scene once and it's cloud-to-cloud was pretty slick, you could pick common planes (the side of a building, some sidewalk, etc.) It would then use your starting data to perform a cloud-to-cloud. Too bad Faro's scanners are crap (for what I do), though...
My first scanner will be here any day now. I would be interested in testing, but I need to get my feet wet first.
You can get the same statistical analysis from cloud to cloud as you get using targets.
Software is getting good enough that manual picking is no longer required. Check out Autodesk Recap or LFM.
I can't wait to see the new auto registration that Cyclone 9.0 is supposed to have.