On June 1st, GPRS acquired TruePoint LaserScanning, a professional 3D laser scanning company focused on aboveground 3D point clouds, 2D CAD models, 3D BIM models, and more, with 2-4 mm accurate measurements at a high resolution. Dedicated to aboveground scanning, TruePoint is the perfect complement to GPRS's use of ground-penetrating radar systems and underground scanning expertise.
Why 3D Laser Scanning?
3D Laser scanning is an important new component of construction and helps to inform our coming release of SiteMap. Through the use of tripod 3D laser scanners and LiDAR to gather scan data, operators create a map that records millions of dots called a point cloud. These 3D maps are currently raw data, but can also be used in this more rugged form for basic elevation understanding and layouts. These million dot point clouds can be upwards to 150 GB in size, something easily outside the range of usable data due to process times alone. This is why a cad drawing, BIM map, and/or 3D Render are utilized.
By taking the point cloud and turning it into a model, the size is reduced drastically and it becomes a shareable file.SiteMap localizes and stores all of this map data from GPRS and TruePoint. The goal is to take the most complex and disorganized steps of project management and turn them into manageable sections.
While laser scanning has been around since the early 1960s, it didn’t gain attention from the engineering and large-area construction industry until the 1990s. Since its adoption, the technology has rapidly increased in power and scale as companies continuously push the boundaries of improvement. Unlike traditional innovative markets, terrestrial laser scanning runs parallel with computer innovations and relies heavily on the expansion of storage, data acquisition methods, and computational systems.By expanding into solid-state drives, larger and cheaper storage sizes, and stronger and more powerful processors, laser scanning has grown into a widespread commercial tool.
GPRS and TruePoint are dedicated to supporting the highly anticipated SiteMap platform with our collective expertise and look to integrate 3D Laser Scanning into SiteMap. With powerful above ground and underground scanning expertise, SiteMap will be a one-stop solution for data storage, map digitization, and more.
SiteMap, powered by GPRS, takes current digital maps, such as 3D Cad Models, 2D CAD Models, BIM Models, or point cloud data, and puts them into one easily accessible space. SiteMap isn’t just for current technology maps and data collection either. With its storage solutions built in, SiteMap stores and organizes your digitized physical maps reducing the waste of paper maps and the clutter of physical plans.
Case Studies
Not only does TruePoint help to inform and improve SiteMap with unique 3D laser scanning, it offers case studies dedicated to the understanding, study, and recording of unique or difficult uses of 3D laser scanning.
Alongside industry applications and historical merit, this practice informs data research and furthers 3D laser scanning applications. A recent case study performed byTruePoint involving the Carolina Panthers looked at creating a 3D laser scan of the Bank of America Stadium and a famous panther statue in order to provide spatial data to The Famous Group. With this data, The FamousGroup animated a panther in Unreal Engine, a 3D computer graphics game engine, and rendered this animation with the real-time video feed.
The interactivity of the panther with real-world objects was due to the Colorized Point Cloud, TruView/JetStreamViewer files, Revit 2021 LOD 200 3D Model of Stadium, and 3D Mesh File of aPanther provided by TruePoint.
With case studies like these, and undoubtedly more in the future, GPRS can integrate powerful 3D scanning technology into the framework of SiteMap and provide a stronger and more informed program to organize and store data.
Where Now/Conclusion
With a scalable utility mapping application like SiteMap and a dedicated aboveground 3D laser mapping professional such asTruePoint behind it, Project Managers now have access to a tools prioritizing their success as well as their safety. With fewer underground utility hits and more productivity, projects become easier and safer.
SiteMaps accurately maps, digitally stores, and provides easy access to an entire campus faster than any physical process. Look forward to the launching of
SiteMap this fall.