Scan the World

Matterport is hiring:
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3990109

MatterPort

http://matterport.com/#video
Check out this video!
With only a simple device, you can walk around your room, and create a 3D model of it.
The music is nice as well. (Fits the "shut up and take my money" effect.)

Workshop I - Laser Scanner Systems for Archeological Surveys - CAA

"This workshop pretends to divulgate information on The State of the Art of the laser scanner technology as far as the software and hardware is concerned when solving the usual problems encountered on arqueological surveys.

To this end, we are limiting ourselves to the description of the features offered by a Laser Scanner system, model IMAGER 5006i, manufacturer by Z+F in Germany as well as the software programs JRC Reconstructor and Cloud Cube.

The problems we will focus on are the following:

• Logistic and portability of the equipment, in the concern that field work sites are not always easy to access
• Need of facing small and big objects with high accuracy

The IMAGER 5006i laser scanner concentrates its power on the following characteristics:

1. Very high speed in data acquisition combined with high resolution on the captured files. This feature makes it valid either for surveys of great targets at very far distances or when we are surveying small pieces at close range.
2. The system is very easy to set up and handle. The equipment can be configured without requiring any external connections. This feature is tremendously appreciated as far as the arqueological field work is concerned. Since the batteries, the data storage unit and the file configuration processor are part of the unit, it is not necessary to connect or use any other external complement to perform the data capture. This feature facilitates the work in scenarios which can be uncomfortable, far from urban areas and often of difficult access.
3. Capacity for data acquisition when working with targets coloured close to black.
4. Merging of images captured using the complementary camera with the scanner acquired data, in a integral and automatic fashion, for each of the scenes involved.

With regard to the software programs, we will discuss them in the same manner as we will discuss the hardware and we will try to demonstrate the tools which are used to solve the most common problems in handling the data acquired with the laser scanner: large files corresponding the huge clouds of points within the Auto Cad environment; how the final products are obtained, including profiles, cross sections, contours and volumes; all of them directly on DXF format or on some other CAD compatible systems.

Finally we will explain the working procedures and proper tools to be used to obtain the final products mentioned above: profiles, volumes, slopes, DTM, surface comparisons, and how to obtain the different results on DXF files or on files which are compatible with other CAD systems, in concrete we will discuss the following characteristics:

• Possibility of registering different files without requiring man-made marks, only using natural marks.
• Work aids to digitize plans, profiles and cross sections in general, starting with the cloud of points; all within the Auto CAD environment.
• Automatic generation of a wire mesh, over flats or curved surfaces by using average cross lines or cross planes.
• Integration of different data capture files in only one using a common reference system .
• Work aids to be used in the generation of a wire mesh.
• Registration of different survey files when the target has been changed in position or location while the scan files were being taken."

source: www.caa2010.org

Aerotec Provides Airborne LIDAR for IBM’s

"Aerotec, LLC recently provided airborne LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) for IBM's "Smarter Planet" series of videos. “Data Anthem” was produced by Ogilvy & Mather New York and directed by James Frost of Zoo Films. Aerotec's airborne LIDAR was used for the opening scene and some of the follow-on scenes. The videos sought to use the most compelling, arresting ways of visualizing actual data to complement the message of the importance of data, the context for its proliferation, and the enormous opportunities that lie within it....."

great video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cj6VtYpBI4



source: http://www10.giscafe.com/nbc/articles/view_article.php?section=CorpNews&articleid=804303

The Handyscan 3D Technology

„The first self-positioning and only truly portable handheld laser scanners
The Handyscan 3D line, by Creaform, has revolutionized the industry by accelerating and simplifying scanning processes, particularly for the design, manufacturing, and inspection of all types of parts and assemblies…..”

Looks like a laser gun in star wars…. :)

source: http://www.nosco.com.sg/handyscan_3d

David Laserscannar and Lego Technic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32JhAYTfep4

Nice work! :)

News: Topcon’s GLS-1500 Laser Scanner

„The GLS-1500 features include:

· 30,000 precise points per second. 10 times faster data collection than previous models;

· Precise Scan Technology for industry-leading clean point cloud data;

· Lens array optics technology to maintain distance accuracy from 1-150 meters;

· Additional ranging past 330 meters;

· Onboard scan control software stores scan data and images to a standard SD card for easy download;

· Eye-safe and invisible Class 1 laser."

Read more: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/topconrsquos-gls-1500-laser-scanner-speeds-point-cloud-collection,1184717.shtml#ixzz0h0ntcxhm

(Photo: Business Wiere)

News: DAVID Laserscanner v2.5.1

New version of low cost DAVID 3D scanner is arrived! It is only 400$, good solution to scan small objects!
Popular low-cost 3D scanner: http://www.david-laserscanner.com/laserscanner.com/



If you want to make alone a 3D scanner, here is a good example (homemade laser scanners): http://www.muellerr.ch/engineering/overview.html

The International LiDAR Mapping Forum 2010 - Denver, USA

"How LiDAR is being used in Haiti

A new last minute addition to the International LiDAR Mapping Forum conference program will include two presentations on how LiDAR is being used in Haiti to assess the damage from the recent earthquake and the future probability of subsequent earthquakes.

Imagery of the region damaged by the M 7 Haiti earthquake, including high-resolution photography and airborne LiDAR, has revealed a variety of ground failure that resulted from shaking. Surprisingly, the Enriquillo Fault seems to have not ruptured at the ground surface, so the negative result obtained from imagery has significant implications. The USGS issued a statement, based on imagery analysis, that because it is clear that the rupture of the Enriquillo Fault was clearly farther west than Port-au-Prince, and because rupture was buried deep on the fault, there is a significant risk of not only regular aftershocks, but also the threat of a subsequent large event that could occur even closer to Port-au-Prince. The probability of one or more subsequent earthquakes of M 7 or greater increased by about 3% for the 30 days following 21 January 2010. Although this is a low probability, it would be a potentially very high impact event. High-resolution imagery was crucial to this assessment." - source: www.lidarmap.org

Program: http://www.lidarmap.org/conference/ILMF10_ConferenceProgram.pdf

New Book: Airborne and Terrestrial Laser Scanning

"Written by a team of international experts, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the major applications of airborne and terrestrial laser scanning. The book focuses on principles and methods and presents an integrated treatment of airborne and terrestrial laser scanning technology."


link: http://www.librario.com/2472

The new Trimble CX scanner

The announcement was made at World of Concrete 2010.

This high-accuracy sensor captures more than 50,000 position points per second - enough data to record the details of a target's shape, size and position.

More Information: http://trl.trimble.com/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-479635/022504-111_Trimble_CX_DS_1109_LR.pdf

USS Missouri Point Cloud Animation

"Point cloud animation of the USS Missouri (BB-63). The entire external hull of the ship was documented in January 2010 while in dry-dock by team headed by Smart GeoMetrics..."



link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPtT4LXwMBs&feature=player_embedded

Michael Jackson's 3D Body Scans on eBay for $1.5 Million

That was a great idea in 1996. However, I am astonished by it since 3d scanners were not too wide spread in the 1990's.

Link: http://gizmodo.com/5407507/michael-jacksons-3d-body-scans-on-ebay-for-15-million



Wishful thinking; Imagine there is a company to scan recent singers and other stars for movies and production in the future.

Full-waveform ALS workshop - Principle of Full- and Online Waveform Analysis in Airborne, Mobile and Terrestrial Laser Scanning

Second presentation was from Riegl Company. I already wrote about Riegl VZ-400 scanner, here we heard some Online Waveform Analysis applications....

Dr. Andreas Ullrich, DI Peter Rieger: Principle of Full- and Online Waveform Analysis in Airborne, Mobile and Terrestrial Laser Scanning

Overview:

- Introduction
- Laser Scanner RIEGL LMS-Q680 for Full Waveform Analysis
- Full Waveform Analysis and Online Waveform Processing
- Full Waveform Sample Data
- Multiple Time Around Technique
- RIEGL V-Line Laser Scanners with Online Wavefrom Processing
- Calibrated Reflectance
- Multi Target Capability
- Online Waveform Sample Data

14. International Congress "Cultural Heritage and New Technologies" - Vienna

TerraFormatics will be there! You will find some fresh news on our blog!

Workshop 14 will be held
from November 16th to November 18th 2009 in Vienna, CITY HALL (Rathaus der Stadt Wien)

MAIN TOPIC 2009:
ARCHIVING - or building an information system

Archiving is today central to nearly all aspects of Cultural Heritage Management.
Archives (Archaeological excavations, libraries, documents, data collections,...) are important data repositories.
The data contained in correctly treated and accessible archives makes wide and varied information available.
How can archiving in all its aspects best promote knowledge about and support the protection and conservation of cultural heritage?

Link:

http://www.stadtarchaeologie.at/

Detailed photo of a 300 ft tall tree

"...what the photographer ended up doing was building a custom rig containing 3 cameras, each one taking a slightly different shot: one to the left, one to the right, and one on the dead center. The rig was mounted to a gyroscope, and then the cameras took a series of pictures as the rig was lowered to the ground.

The end result: a vertical panorama comprised of 84 pictures, all stitched together to create one of the most complete pictures of a redwood tree we’ve ever seen."

http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/09/30/how-to-photograph-a-300-ft-tall-tree-without-getting-a-splinter/

Riegl VZ 400

Let me introduce the one of the best TLS system... I wrote already about this scanner. Last winter I met with Riegl VZ-400, you can control it with an iphone....amazing stuff...




"The new RIEGL VZ-400 3D Terrestrial Laser Scanner provides high speed, non-contact data acquisition using a narrow infrared laser beam and a fast scanning mechanism. High-accuracy laser ranging is based upon RIEGL’s unique echo digitization and online waveform analysis, which allows achieving superior measurement capability even under adverse atmospheric conditions and the evaluation of multiple target echoes. The line scanning mechanism is based upon a fast rotating multi-facet polygonal mirror, which provides fully linear, unidirectional and parallel scan lines. The RIEGL VZ-400 is a very compact and lightweight surveying instrument, mountable in any orientation and even under limited space conditions."

www.riegl.com/products/terrestrial-scanning/produktdetail/product/scanner/5/

www.riegl.com/uploads/tx_pxpriegldownloads/10_DataSheet_VZ400_10-09-2009.pdf

Rome built in a day

Okay, this is just uebercool, but I couldn't find any information about the precision of these models.

They look nice, anyway.

http://grail.cs.washington.edu/rome/

http://www.physorg.com/news172241228.html

MilkScanner

This one is tough: the milkscanner.
Really great idea, however, it's hard to imagine its industrial use due to lack of precision. But it's really cool, and compelling that 3D scanning is available to even larger groups.
http://milkscanner.moviesandbox.net/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Milkscanner-V1.0/

NEWS: Leica ScanStation C10 - the next-generation Laser Scanner

"Heerbrugg, — September 07, 2009 — Leica Geosystems announces the completely new Leica ScanStation C10, the company’s biggest leap forward yet in laser scanners for as-built and topographic surveys....."

I never worked with Leica TLS system, this scanner seems very improved. But....I think without waveform analysis I don`t want to buy it... :)

One of the most impressive TLS today: Riegl VZ-400 (later new topic about this system)

http://www10.giscafe.com/nbc/articles/view_article.php?section=CorpNews&articleid=735825
http://hds.leica-geosystems.com/en/79411.htm