What is Reality Capture?
Reality Capture is the art of using 3D laser scanning, aerial & mobile LiDAR, and photogrammetry to create unique, digital visual representations of project sites. An accurate digital representation of site and project conditions over time allows you to revisit a location virtually and make informed decisions without having to spend time and money traveling.
Reality Capture also gathers minute details that conventional methods can’t – such as surface qualities and slight movements over time. This level of detail is critical for projects such as as-built surveys, building façade inspections, conditions of historic monuments, buildings, artifacts, etc.
Reality Capture Technologies and Digital Representations
- Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) – The entirety of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV or Drone) system including the flight crew, hardware, payload, ground control station, and anything else required to operate a UAV.
- Photogrammetry – Stitching overlapping imagery of an object, structure, or area of interest to develop 2D or 3D digital models.
- LIDAR – Light Detection and Ranging – A method that uses light to measure the range of an object.
- Advanced Imagery – Red, Green, Blue (RGB), Near Infrared Imagery (NIR), Thermal
- Digital Twin – A digital representation of the ‘existing conditions’ present at the time of acquisition. This ‘Digital Twin’ preserves the data so it can be revisited and analyzed at a later time.
Applications
- Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC)
- Fast, Accurate Existing Conditions and As-Builts
- Historic Preservation and Digital Twins (BIM)
- Monitoring Site Progress
- Public Safety
- Forensic Analysis and Accident Reconstruction
- Infrastructure and Energy
- Surveys of Bridges, Tunnels, Manholes, and Power Lines
- Corridor and Buffer Encroachment Analysis
- Forestry and Vegetation
- Analysis and Monitoring