LASER SCANNING

What is laser scanning?

 

Laser scanning is the production of a 3D point cloud utilising a 3D scanner, this is typically tripod mounted and captures up to a few million points a second. The end result is a cloud of billions of points which is so dense, it looks like a solid model.

A finished scan cloud may be made up of many separate scans, which have been merged (or registered) together.

A laser scanner works using a line of sight, this means that you need to carry out multiple scans or you would end up with shadows cast by any object within the scan area. 

Typically, you may get a structure scanned for heritage reasons where the structure is to be documented in 3D, this could be for maintenance purposes or prior to degradation over time.  

Another reason for a structure to be scanned is if future works are tying in and the design team want to verify the design prior to construction works commencing, this allows a 3D design to be digitally introduced to the original building. 

‘As Built’ documentation

Due to the ageing infrastructure across the country, it is common for supporting documentation to be lacking or non-existent. This can create issues for maintenance and any design for future integration. The use of 3D scanning is ideal in such scenario, as we have proven across most of the major road structures on the Scottish transport network.