Planit Measuring is an engineering company offering services to the architecture, property management, and civil engineering industries. Our core business is reality capture and digital representation of spatial data associated with building architecture, infrastructure, and assets. Companies in this business usually operate with two dedicated teams: one in the field, capturing data with point-to-point laser distance meters or LiDAR scanners, and one in the back office, processing the data and drafting the models using dedicated software, like Autodesk AutoCAD and Revit. Every project is different, and our choice of hardware/software for each project does depend on the scope of work, and Focus21 has helped us streamline this process in many different ways.
When it comes to point-to-point measurements and 2D floorplan drafting, a lot of time is usually spent in the field collecting and sketching data, causing disruptions and inconvenience for clients. This manual work is also far from failproof, and quite often mistakes are only discovered in the office when the final model is drafted. Focus21 has enabled us to bring AutoCAD to the field, by developing a plugin that enables our surveyors to operate AutoCAD on a Windows tablet, draft floorplans in real-time in the field, and retrieve data from the laser distance meter. This way, every measurement is automatically recorded, eliminating the risks of manual inputs. This plugin allows us to finish and check the floorplan onsite, identifying inconsistencies, dead/hidden spaces and even updating existing CAD drawings when available, making the fieldwork process a lot easier and dramatically reducing post-processing at the office.
For projects that require a lot of detail and/or 3D deliverables, laser scanners are usually the hardware of choice. Here, the data collection process is inherently fast, but the size and complexity of the point cloud dataset require users to post-process the data at the back office and only then start the drafting work. Most scanners use proprietary data processing software and file formats, requiring users to manually register the point clouds, which adds complications and bottlenecks to our workflow. Once again, Focus21 has supported us in bridging the scanner data and our modeling tools, making it much easier to transfer and manipulate point clouds for spatial data modeling.
A third area where Focus21 is currently supporting Planit is self-performing reality capture. As reality capture hardware advances and becomes more accessible, we are seeing that some of our clients are looking at acquiring their own devices to capture data for large portfolios or even take advantage of smartphones with embedded LiDAR sensors to do reality capture themselves or through a gig-economy workforce. This means gigantic amounts of data that need to be processed and modeled to engineering-grade spacifications by companies like Planit. Here, Focus21 is helping us shape this business opportunity, automate spatial data modeling through bleeding-edge technology such as the Apple RoomPlan API, and investigate other emerging technologies that will keep Planit at the vanguard of innovation.
