NavVis launches 6D SLAM indoor mapper

Mapping company NavVis has launched the M6, a next-generation indoor mobile-mapping system that the company says can overcome the scalability and data quality constraints of reality capture technology.

Surveyors and architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) professionals can now use reality-capture technology for large-scale indoor mapping projects. The M6 can be used for factory planning and creating and updating as-built BIM (building information modeling) models and construction monitoring.

The NavVis M6 is an all-in-one system that captures 360-degree immersive imagery, photorealistic point clouds, Bluetooth beacons, Wi-Fi signals and magnetic field data.

The NavVis M6 features a mobile lidar system that lets it scan up to 30 times faster than stationary devices, letting users capture up to 30,000 square meters in a day.

Cutting-edge 6D simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) technology significantly improves the quality of data captured. Thanks to 6D SLAM, M6 continuously scans even complex indoor environments, including uneven surfaces or changing elevations such as ramps, open spaces or long corridors without compromising the quality of the data.

M6’s innovative software is complemented by hardware features designed to improve the quality of data and ease of capture: four laser scanners with a range of up to 100 meters are arranged to maximize scan coverage, while six cameras automatically take high-resolution images during mapping. The innovative design of the M6 includes camera placement that keeps the operator in a blind spot.

NavVis IndoorViewer software gives stakeholders access to the scanned environment through an interactive virtual building in their browser.

“The NavVis M6 marks a quantum leap in indoor mobile mapping,” Felix Reinshagen, CEO of NavVis. “Anyone who needs to scan large properties, run repeated scans or would like to move into the field of reality capture will profit from the groundbreaking data quality.

“With M6, users can now quickly capture large, complex indoor environments for typical tasks such as updating floorplans, documenting construction progress or creating as-built BIM models. At the same time, M6 captures the data needed to provide customers with additional deliverables such as browser-based immersive walkthroughs and indoor navigation,” Reinshagen said.