How does 3D laser scanning work?

High-precision and complete as-built surveys make planning easier. The aim of a building survey is to determine the existing condition of a building precisely and accurately. The resulting data is used to create planning bases that reflect the ACTUAL condition to within a few millimeters.

What is 3D laser scanning? It's true, the technologies that make 3D surveying possible are very advanced and quite amazing. But there is a lot of expertise and experience behind the high-quality equipment that makes the process of laser scanning seem so simple.

3D laser scanning is a non-contact technology that uses a laser light line to digitally capture the shape of physical objects. 3D laser scanners produce "point clouds" of data from the surface of an object.

In other words, laser scanning is a way to transfer the exact size and shape of an object into a CAD format as a digital three-dimensional representation.

In what areas is 3D laser scanning used? 3D laser scanners measure fine details and capture shapes to quickly create highly accurate point clouds. 3D laser scanning is ideal for measuring and inspecting surfaces and complex geometries where it is impractical to do so using traditional measurement methods.

How does 3D laser scanning work? Georeferencing Our survey team arrives at the building to be surveyed. In a first step, points from the local coordinate system are measured in using a total station. This process is called georeferencing. The surveyed coordinates form the basis for placing the data determined by the 3D laser scanner with millimeter precision.

Surveying the terrain and facade Depending on your needs, we survey the building's surroundings as well as all facades. The high speed data acquisition with up to 500'000 point measurements per second is very fast as well as very accurate. With a range of up to 800 meters, we can effectively capture and measure large areas as well as high facades within a very short time.

Building and room surveys Rooms can be recorded within a few minutes during operation. The laser scanner determines all necessary measuring points and displays them in the spatial model as a point cloud. Our 3D laser scanner of laser class 1 poses absolutely no danger to people and machines that are in the room at the time of the recording.

Registering the point cloud data We precisely combine multiple scan positions to create a highly accurate, three-dimensional point cloud of your property. Using software provided by the manufacturer, all data collected during a survey campaign is organized and stored in the project structure. This data includes scans, fine scans, digital images, GPS data, coordinates of control points and tie points, and any transformation matrices required to transform the data from multiple scans into a common, well-defined coordinate system.

What can laser scanner data be used for? Our strength is the two- and three-dimensional, faithful representation of your property. We can create reliable plans for you for any building project.

3D CAD Models The 3D CAD model is our favorite, the cost-benefit ratio is the highest for all project participants. From 3D CAD models you can generate any sections, elevations and facades.

2D CAD plans Alternatively, VDE offers detailed 2D CAD plans. The creation of such 2D CAD plans is therefore the first task for successful planning.

BIM models For a BIM model, we can incorporate existing plan information into the evaluation. The information of the as-built plans and the digital recording are displayed in separate layers.