Due to inclement weather in Washington D.C., I was not able to make it back to The Woodlands in time for the first day of SPAR 2010, but I sure do have a lot to share with you after day 2. Below are some highlights from the well-attended event:

Zebra Imaging – if you did not have a chance to see them in person, be sure to check out their website because they have developed a truly remarkable product. Zebra Imaging makes digitally-mastered, actively-animated, true-color, full-parallax holographic images. These holographic images are available in full color, or in monochrome (green). Zebra’s holographic images can be scaled to any size, large or small. By tiling together multiple tiles, it is possible to create large city maps, full sized cars, humans, and machinery. Check out a sample video of their technology here. Look for a full post about this technology after the conference.

Trimble Indoor Mobile Mapping Solution (TIMMS) – Simply put, this technology is full-dome mobile scanning for interior applications. The technology uses the same IMU-type technology as aerial LiDAR and mobile mapping, but without the GPS. You simply push a cart around a facility to capture detailed, accurate point cloud data without the hassles of registration. Monthly rentals are available or you can purchase the technology.

Z+F showed off a new digital camera attachment for the Imager 5006i/Leica HDS-6100. The camera mounts on top of the unit and integrates with the point cloud data through the use of their proprietary software. There are batch capabilities that allow application of the RGB values to be applied to multiple scans at once. These values are appended to the ZFS files without affecting the intensity values. It works flawlessly with the HDS6100, however, a hardware upgrade is needed in order to work with the HDS6000. The cameras can be purchased or leased from Z+F directly.

Velodyne Lidar Inc. showed off their real-time 360-degree LiDAR sensor. Velodyne’s sensor was used on the Radiohead House of Cards music video directed by James Frost and Zoo Film Productions for which I recently had the privilege of working with on a new project. More on that once the project has been released… it is big, real big! In the meantime, check out the results from the Radiohead project. It is guaranteed to amaze you!

Deke Smith gave a great presentation on the buildingSMART alliance and the National BIM Standard. Join at http://www.buildingsmartalliance.org. Download the Whole Building Design Guide at http://www.wbdg.org.

I regret that I was not able to attend the first day, but it has been great to see colleagues I have not seen in a while and catch up on some new technology. Look for more info to be posted tomorrow. Follow us on Twitter for real-time updates from the conference.

Written by Vector1Media
Monday, 15 June 2009

Spar Point Research announced today preliminary plans for SPAR 2010, its seventh annual conference on advanced dimensional control work processes and 3D laser scanning technologies for design, construction and manufacturing.

SPAR 2010 will be held Feb. 8-10, 2010 at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center in The Woodlands (Houston), Texas. Further details will be announced soon.

The conference features presentations, workshops and technical seminars on the business and technology of capturing, managing and integrating 3D information. Spar presenters are some of the most experienced professionals from the world’s largest petroleum and petrochemical producers, manufacturing companies, civil and transportation infrastructure engineering firms, industrial metrologists, geotechnical and mining firms, land surveyors, and federal, state and local governments.
Spar Point welcomes presentation abstracts from process and power, civil infrastructure and transportation, and discrete manufacturing facility owners and contractors on their use of laser scanning and other dimensional control technologies to capture and document existing-conditions data for design, construction and operations. Presentations will ideally include metrics identifying the impact of 3D imaging technology on outcomes, such as maintaining or reducing critical path time, achieving cost savings, enabling safety and productivity gains, or other measures. Presentations that address the issues of best practices for contracting, professional development and liability management are also invited.

Proposals must be original and not previously presented at other conferences. Proposals can be forwarded toLinda.McLaughlin@sparllc.com. Questions should be directed to Spar Point’s CEO Tom Greaves atTom.Greaves@sparllc.com or 978-774-1102.