Leica Offers New ScanStation, Software for 3D Laser Scanning

Leica Geosystems has announced a group of six major new products for terrestrial laser scanning: three new laser scanners and three new point cloud software products. Together, thes products raise the industry’s bar for laser scanning data quality and productivity, both in the field and the office, Leica said.

Leica ScanStation P40, P30 and P16 Laser Scanners. Leica ScanStations P40, P30 and P16 feature advances in LIDAR and digital imaging as the eighth-generation of Leica Geosystems’ high-performance laser scanners. These new, ultra-high-speed scanners increase field and office productivity, while simultaneously grabbing users’ attention with strikingly sharper, crisper scans and HDR true color images — even under many conditions traditionally difficult for scanning, the company said.

Users will be able to capture more useful data from a single set-up, which translates into fewer instrument setups and greater productivity. Three models meet different user needs: the Leica ScanStation P40 and P30 add survey functionality, longer range capabilities (to 270m for P40), and advanced scanner controls for additional versatility and productivity while the Leica ScanStation P16 is a short-range introductory model.

Point Cloud Software. In addition to the major new software releases Leica JetStream and TruView Global products, Leica Geosystems is now offering Leica CloudWorx for Navisworks — a popular design review application from Autodesk — as its newest family member of CloudWorx plug-ins for CAD and VR applications.

JetStream is a combined project data vault and high-performance data streaming server that takes Cyclone data and serves it up in a high-performance format that enables a CloudWorx user to be up to 40 percent more productive when working with point clouds. Much of that gain comes from instantaneous loading and navigation of point clouds — eliminating traditional “waiting times” long associated with point cloud office work.

Lastly, TruView Global greatly increases anyone’s access to TruViews — Leica Geosystems’ application for viewing and measuring scans. Shaking free from prior constraints, TruViews will be accessible within any Internet browser on any mobile device or computer, with no app or plug-in to install.

Taken together, advances in the new scanners and software elevate laser scanning to a new performance and data quality level, Leica said. The new scanners are all ultra-high speed (up to 1 million points/sec) and can capture more useful data from a scene. In addition, increased user access to TruViews plus good HDR digital images will encourage users to publish TruViews even more frequently.

All of these factors drive users to create more dense scans and larger data sets. With the complementary Leica JetStream software, users have the ability to handle these larger data sets with astonishing ease.

The Leica ScanStation P40, P30 and P16 are immediately available. Leica JetStream, Leica TruVeiw Global and Leica CloudWorx for Navisworks are planned for release Q2 2015.

Photos: Leica Geosystems