Location: London, UK
ZEB Scanner: ZEB Horizon/ ZEB Discovery
Scan time: 20 Minutes
Colourised data was captured using the ZEB Discovery backpack solution.
Would you like to see a specific dataset that’s not on this page? Contact [email protected]
Location: Europe
ZEB Scanner: ZEB Revo RT
Scan time: 20 Minutes
GeoSLAM’s ZEB Pano was used to capture images of the distillery.
Would you like to see a specific dataset that’s not on this page? Contact [email protected]
Location: Europe
ZEB Scanner: ZEB Horizon
Scan time: 20 Minutes
Colourised data was captured using the ZEB Cam accessory.
Would you like to see a specific dataset that’s not on this page? Contact [email protected]
Location: Residential Street in Yorkshire, UK
ZEB Scanner: ZEB Horizon
Scan time: 10 Minutes
This data was captured using GeoSLAM’s car mount accessory with the ZEB Horizon.
Would you like to see a specific dataset that’s not on this page? Contact [email protected]
Surveying buildings is difficult and accessing hard to reach areas, like dropped ceiling or raised floors, without disrupting business can be seemingly impossible. In this blog we’ll discuss how SLAM and LiDAR technology has made scanning behind dropped ceilings a simple process.
Cape Town, South Africa
8 Hours Total
Approx. 117,000 m2
Power Station
Surveying
All over the globe, countries are looking to nuclear and hydro renewables, not only to provide their electricity needs but to meet climate goals. This is resulting in the shutting down of coal-fossil power plants that no longer have a role to play in a fast-changing world.
Opened in 1962, the Athlone Power Station was the last coal-fired power station operating in Cape Town, South Africa when it stopped generating power in 2003. The iconic cooling towers, which were known by locals as “The two ladies of Athlone” and had long been a feature of the Cape Town landscape, were demolished several years later.
The efficient user-friendly GeoSLAM equipment enabled the team to safely and comprehensively survey this hazardous and complex plant.
Proper planning was essential as demolition can be potentially hazardous for the safety of personnel due to the plant’s age-structure, and onsite teams often having to operate across split levels, in total darkness. The removal of contaminated waste can be equally challenging. Cost is also a major factor and companies responsible for shutting down plant are continuously looking at ways to be cost effective while providing a reliable, fast and efficient service.
Aurecon, a global engineering, design and advisory company, won the tender from the City of Cape Town to project manage the site for the final stage of decommission. This involved surveying the plant whilst stripping, clearing and removing unused material, redundant equipment and certain historical structures. Their task also included securing all remaining structures, leaving the site in a secure state and registering servitudes for remaining bulk services. Aurecon found Athlone to be a challenging project due to accessibility issues and lack of light. Also, because of the Power Station’s historical importance, salvaging certain unique equipment had to be considered. The team needed a simple and effective solution that could accurately map the site quickly while keeping them safe in a tough environment.
Aurecon chose to work with mobile LiDAR scanners so that the historians, structural engineers and environmentalists could have the data they needed, without having to enter the potentially dangerous site. For the Athlone project, GeoSLAM’s ZEB Revo RT scanner and ZEB Pano camera were used, as well as the ZEB Horizon and ZEB Cam. The building’s interior and exterior were scanned with the ZEB scanners The two data sets were merged to provide a full 3D point cloud of the entire building.
Using the Pano, the team generated photos that were incorporated inside the point cloud, so that the offsite survey team could have greater visualisation of the site to feedback commentary. The efficiency of the scanners and speed of capture meant that unlike other scanning methods, the team could repeatedly capture the site. This meant that decisions and assessments could be taken frequently, without the need for lots of people to visit the dangerous site.
In total, the whole facility was scanned in three days with data sets processed overnight, a total of eight hours. The combined datasets were available within a week, which enabled Aurecon’s modellers to commence work on the classification of components in the power station.
The final 3D point cloud representation of the interior of the power station enabled the engineering team to assess and quantify the amount of salvage and scrapped material to be removed from the site, and to plan the logistics of the removal in context with the physical shape and size of the existing building.
The accurate 3D model equipped the stakeholders with information that allowed them to safely and precisely analyse for activities such as material quantification, condition assessment and the preparation of decommissioning method statements.
If you’d like to learn more about how GeoSLAM solutions can help you, submit the form below.
Last Updated on 25th April 2022 How can we use laser scanning… Read More »How Can We Use Laser Scanning For Historic Preservation?
Last Updated on 25th April 2022 INTERGEO 2021 Round-up Hannover, Germany It… Read More »INTERGEO 2021
Industry
Education
Scan time
3.5 hours
Location
Franconia, Germany
Size
3 hectares
Scanned
Cistercian Landscapes
Professor Hess and Carla Ferreyra | University of Bamberg
Background
With the adoption of digital technologies such as laser scanning, photogrammetry and other digital tools becoming ever more prevalent in conservation and preservation; it is easy to see why, in 2017, the University of Bamberg launched a new master’s degree, ‘Digital Technologies in
Heritage Conservation’. Spearheaded by Professor Mona Hess, the course covers the integration and adoption of digital technologies in heritage conservation and its further development, as well as raising the profile of this research topic. In addition to running the course, Professor Hess and her team often employ their skills and expertise in the field, creating 3D digital models for preservation purposes, to build knowledge of certain areas or to educate a wider audience about a new culture.
“The 3D recording is a methodological tool for the representation and interpretation of cultural heritage, landscape and architecture, to build knowledge, create meaning and make culture accessible to all.“
The Scan
In 2020, Professor Hess was approached by ‘Cisterscapes | Cistercian Landcapes in Central Europe’ and was tasked with contributing to the digital recordings of 2 gardens. The scan would focus on the baroque agricultural buildings with designed gardens; Ebracher Hof in Mainstockheim and Ebracher Hof in Oberschwappach, both properties of the Ebrach Monastery.
The aim of the scan was to create reliable information, assess the landscapes development status and design management plans for maintenance and conservation. Professor Hess, accompanied by PHD student Carla Ferreyra, visited the sites in October 2020 to conduct the scans. With approximately 3 hectares of land to cover, the team needed a SLAM scanning solution that was quick, easy to use, suitable for both indoor/outdoor use and a solution with reliable results. Professor Hess chose GeoSLAMs ZEB Horizon with the ZEB Pano, because of the rapid data acquisition throughout the site up to 100m.
Other laser scanning techniques were considered in the planning process, however none quite provided the freedom the ZEB Horizon did, often
with restrictions around mobility and time. In September 2020, a similar scan had taken place using a terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) of a specific
area of the Mainstockheim garden. In comparison, the GeoSLAM scanner reduced the time and labour costs when completing the scan. The team were able to complete their scan of Mainstockheim (including an interior space of the baroque building) in just under 3 hours.
In Oberschwappach, the total scan time was approximately 30 minutes. Their only concern during the scan was encountering the general public, however due to the lightweight nature of the ZEB Horizon and Pano, it was easy to avoid busier parts of the garden. Where they did encounter other guests (due to their curiosity over the scanner) Professor Hess and Carla simply repeated the scan of that specific area. All in all, the scan was a success, and Professor Hess and Carla were able to deliver on their task.
The Results
With the completion of the scan, not only does Professor Hess have fresh scan data that can be used to educate the next generation on how
digital technologies can be used in heritage conservation, but they are also being used to extract 2D information, such as orthophotos, plans
and sections in 1:50 scale and BIM models. Furthermore, videos of the scan were created – these serve as informational and educational
pieces of content. Finally, the scans serve to raise awareness of these historic gardens, promote a scientifically accurate recording and also makes the heritage accessible to all. Professor Hess is currently using the scanner and scans for research & teaching, and she has observed that a lot of her students are enthusiastic about the speed of the process.
Looking Forward
In 2021 Professor Hess is looking to extend the project further at Ebrach Abbey and the gardens, to contribute to the Cistercian Cultural Heritage
project. Additionally, she is looking to create a digital twin model of a historic city using the ZEB Horizon, to research semantic 3D city models with
information about urban heritage in the project ‘BIM to Twin’.
Rovinj,
Croatia
Campsite
1100m x
700m
20 minutes
per scan
Surveying
The Maistra Group | Tourism in Croatia
Whether you are cruising down the Adriatic coast, visiting the famous Game of Thrones filmsets in Dubrovnik or experiencing some of Croatia’s famous cities; with visitors to Croatia more than doubling since 2010, tourism has become an important part of the Croatian economy.
In the North sits the Istrian peninsula, a place known for its beauty, history, amazing food, and a place tourists flock to year on year both domestically and internationally. A sharp increase in visitors has meant that tourism sector has needed to adapt to the exponential growth.
The Maistra group is one of Croatia’s leading tourist companies. They manage 18 hotels, 11 tourist villages and 6 campsites in sought out destinations such as Rovinj, Vrsar, Zagreb and Dubrovnik. With so much property to manage, they need quick and efficient ways to keep their site documentation up to date. In early 2021 they approached GeoSLAMs Croatian dealer, Geo centar, requesting a scan of one of their campsites in Rovinj on the Istrian peninsula.
ZEB Horizon | Scanning in Rovinj
Due to the size of the site, 1100m x 700m, the team at Geo Centar opted to tackle the scan using GeoSLAMs ZEB Horizon, plus aerial photogrammetry. The aim of the survey was to create up to date campsite documentation in the form of 2D vector maps, high resolution 2D raster maps, georeferenced imagery, and a digital terrain model with contours. Due to the campsites age and need to modernisation, the documentation will serve as a reference for design purposes.
Combining both high resolution orthophotos of the area with the point cloud from the ZEB Horizon, the team were able to capture data quickly, accurately and without disruption. By utilising the walk-and-scan method of capturing data, they were able to make light work of the task.
Being able to walk and scan is a true blessing in such situations since any other scanning method is either much slower or much more expensive.
10 scans were conducted in total, mainly focusing on buildings, terrain covered with vegetation and other objects that would be tough to capture with aerial photography. Each scan took approximately 20 minutes, so the team were able to cover the entire 1100m x 700m in just over 3 hours. Using the scans, the team were able to extract roads, sports fields, fences, stairs buildings and roads. Finally, the team took photos of important object using the ZEB-Cam.
GeoSLAM ZEB Horizon’s long range, strong SLAM algorithms and ease of use make it the perfect tool for this job.
During the scan, the team used a survey grade GNSS receiver, to georeference the data. Utilising GeoSLAMs adjust to control feature, in GeoSLAM Hub, the team were able to accurately georeference the scans, enabling them to correct any trajectory drifts, that may have occurred during the scan, ensuring accurate and quality data was delivered to the client.
In addition, the team were able to georeference the images taken with the ZEB-Cam, open them in GeoSLAM Draw, which was then used to export the web version (HTML) of the top view layout containing the location of the images. This HTML was easily shared with investors and engineers working on the same project, providing a visual impression.
The pointcloud data was exported to 3rd party software, where the team were able to create the documentation and maps for their client.
The team were successfully able to map the campsite and extract the data needed to create high quality survey maps, a digital terrain model and contours, which will now be used to modernise the campsite.
Industry
Real Estate
Time
15 mins per
scan
Location
Netherlands
Size
5000
properties in
5 months
Scanned
Residential and
commercial
properties
The real estate market is fast-moving and highly competitive. Estate agents are reliant on customer relationships based on trust and reliability. They realise the importance of providing accurate measurements and specifications of the properties they are advertising as any miscalculations can not only invalidate a sale but can damage their reputation. This is particularly pertinent to the Netherlands in order to meet the BBMI standards guaranteeing the quality and accuracy of estate agents’ floorplans.
Zien24, a Rotterdam-based media and marketing company, produces content and digital floorplans for estate agents covering all types and sizes of residential and commercial properties. As the company grew and acquired more clients, they found that the traditional terrestrial survey techniques were too slow and laborious to meet their needs. To secure scan data and photographic imagery there were multiple site visits, and large properties over 400m2 were difficult to measure. Also, data manually captured on a notepad meant there could be mistakes resulting in back and forth between the scanning technician and the production team.
“With ZEB Pano an average house of 200m2 is scanned in just 15 minutes, from walking in and walking out the door“
“We realised we needed a faster and more accurate surveying method to meet our clients’ requirements and GeoSLAM’s ZEB Pano was the obvious choice,” says Karl van Duffelen, Reality Capture Manager of Zien24. “We are the first real estate company to use mobile scanning in our region and it’s been a game-changer for us. The fleet of handheld scanners is very simple to use, which means we don’t have to spend a lot of time training staff. In one visit we can now capture both error-free scan data and high-res photos, and ensure we haven’t missed any spaces. So it saves us a huge amount of time and the homeowner doesn’t need to be home all day or have multiple visits.”
The lightweight, handheld ZEB Pano is not only easy to operate but is robust and reliable to scan even the most difficult to access places, quickly and accurately. Capable of capturing 43,000 data points per second and high-resolution panoramic imagery at the same time, the ZEB Pano stores the exact location of each panoramic image enabling quicker, more accurate, and less intrusive property surveys. 3D measurable information and imagery captured with the ZEB Pano uses the leading SLAM algorithm and enables the creation of both 2D and 3D floorplans.
“Thanks to GeoSLAM’s ZEB Pano fleet we have scanned over 5000 houses in just five months!“
“The ZEB Pano has revolutionised our workflow and allows us to produce floorplans faster than ever before – we can now create a digital floorplan of an average 200m2 house in 15 minutes,” Karl van Duffelen continues. “We’ve scanned over 5000 properties in just 5 months including hotels, offices, factories, warehouses and even castles. The ZEB Pano not only gives us confidence in the end product but gives our clients peace of mind knowing that our fully-automated measurements are highly accurate.”
The ZEB Pano fleet has enabled Zien24 to cement their leading position in the Dutch real estate market, and expand into new markets as they offer scanning services to support BIM models.
Industry
Conservation
Time
Two hours
Location
Tucson,
Arizona
Size
42,000 sq/m
Scanned
Outdoor Film
Studio
University of Arizona GIS Program | Words by Prof. Chris Lukinbeal
Between tours and filming, Old Tucson Studios is a dynamic environment that couldn’t shut down to accommodate our University of Arizona 3D scanning team. With the equivalent of four city blocks and dozens of building exteriors and interiors to scan, we had to move fast. The team relied on the ZEB Horizon mobile scanner equipped with the ZEB Cam to quickly and accurately capture the geometry, architecture and appearance of the film set.
We want film buffs to experience Old Tucson Studios the way it looked during its heyday when some of Hollywood’s biggest Western movies were filmed there. The colorized point clouds generated with the GeoSLAM devices will serve as the core data set upon which 3D models, and eventually, Virtual and Augmented Reality experiences will be created. Archived air photos and drone imagery, as well as photogrammetric measurements pulled from original films, will also help us create digital versions of the movie studio at key points in its history.
The ‘Downtown Tucson’ main street and plaza stretch almost a quarter mile. Stationary scanners may seem like the obvious choice for long-range data capture, but there wasn’t time to set up and take down those types of devices. And we needed richer detail. Our scan technician held the mobile ZEB Horizon and moved quickly through the streets, dodging studio personnel and vehicles. She entered those buildings with real interiors and scanned them as well.
Scanning with the ZEB Cam adds context to the point cloud. The scanner with mounted camera was held steady at chest level. At each building, the technician stopped and pointed the device directly at the façade as if snapping a still photo, and then slowly turned around to scan the surroundings. This captured a rich 3D scan data set for each structure along with its context on the movie set.
“I’ve seen the quality of the point cloud and it’s amazing“
The entire Downtown Tucson portion of the studio was scanned in two hours. Afterwards, the technician processed the scans and video footage into a colorized point cloud running the ZEB Hub software on a standard laptop. Extraneous people and vehicles were filtered from the point clouds later with an open-source third-party software.
We will build 3D representations of the studio at major periods of its history – 1938 when it was built for the film Arizona, the 1950s and 60s when four John Wayne Westerns were shot there, and the mid-1990s just before a devastating fire. This will require merging the 3D models of today with archived air photos and film photogrammetry to re-create buildings that no longer exist.
In the future, you will be able to walk the Old Tucson Studios lot wearing a VR headset and ‘see’ how the site looked during filming of epic motion pictures such as Rio Bravo, Gunfight at OK the Coral, and Tombstone. Who knows? John Wayne himself might swagger out of the saloon doors right in front of you.
