Island Scanning - Can't see the wood for the trees

Picture Example courtesy of Wikipedia page on Florida Mangroves

This weekend we had the privilege to scan a residential property in Captiva Island, FL. The Beaches and scenery where straight out of a tourist brochure and the scan conditions were hot, sunny with a tropical island breeze.

Once arrived at the Project site we noticed right away that the entire property around the house was covered by palm trees, shrubs and bushes and the parcel was surrounded by tall dense Florida mangroves.

The Scan Settings were adjusting accordingly and it was a beautiful and peaceful place to scan.

Back at the Office registering the date we saw the sheer volume of busy busy data. Each leaf waving in the wind made the Point Cloud look like a snip out of The Matrix movie. This made for higher processing power and slower rotation times.

Tip for situations like this is to use the clipping box to crop the data to make it as manageable as possible.

Have you ever Scanned areas with dense and busy foliage. How did you deal with the data?

Scan On,
Sarah

Check yourself before you Scan yourself!

Personally I am a strong advocate of not being in my Scans. However sometimes you can not avoid it. So what do you do in the Situation where there is nowhere to hide. 

You can do the following:

• Walk around the Scanner while scanning, by Staying on either the Information Screen or Battery Compartment side. (DO NOT make any eye contact with the Scanner)
• Hide underneath the Scanner / Tripod
• Hide Behind Walls or Equipment
• Delete you Image and Point cloud Data in Post Processing (a lot of time and afford goes into this)
• Strike a Pose - Like I did in the picture above

Reasons you should try to avoid being in yours Scans:

• Possible Block Targets
• Possibly Block Important Equipment or Critical measurements
• Busy Data

Honestly, it all depends on mainly the Clients preferences and secondly your personal preferences. 

Has this ever happened to you? If so, Share your pictures and tell your story below.

Scan On,

Sarah 

Scanning Upside Down

In case you did not know but you CAN use any FARO Focus or X Series Scanner to scan upside down.



Reasons why to Scan Upside Down:

1. Get a Close Scan to the Ground
2. Get a Scan from a Very Low Vantage Point
3. Scan Underneath Objects

Be Aware:

1. Altimeter Settings might be affected (you can always change that in Post Processing)
2. Tripod to Scanner mourning is Save and Secure
3. The Scanner should have at least 1/8"-1/4" Clearance to the ground so it can spin freely

Tell us about your Up Side Down scanning experience in the Comments below.

Scan On,

Sarah 

FARO 3D Documentation Conference 2014

FARO 3D Documentation Conference

Opening Strong
Key notes by FARO's CEO Jay Freeland and Senior Product Manager Oliver Buerkler

 The Seminars

Who Doen't love Robots
The Automated selfdriving Scanner

 And it carries your Tribod, Bags and Everything your scanning heart desires.

Networking

The Swan and Dolphin was a great location for this Conference. Not only because it was convenient for the FARO Team as headquarters is located just outside of Orlando in Lake Mary, FL. 

Conclusion in 3 Simple Facts

1. The 2014 was FARO's year of the 330 Scanner. 
2. Also Scene Software had some major improvements. 
3. Keynote speakers where very informative and illustrated some amazing used of using FARO Scanners in Commercials, North Pole and to Preserve History.

Also check out the Interview that SPAR 3D had conducted with FARO's CEO Jay Freeland.

Scan On,
Sarah

DimTec 3D will be at FARO 3D Documentation Conference 2014 in Orlando, FL

We are Excited to announce our presence at the FARO Conference 2014. Please make sure to contact us and schedule meetings at the conference. We are looking forward to meeting all of you in person and thank you to the amazing FARO Team in advanced for setting up this Conference.

Scan On,
Sarah