Taking a look at IMAGINiT’s infrastructure division

At Autodesk University 2014 held in Las Vegas in December, Kevin Breslin Infrastructure Solutions Manager, IMAGINiT Technologies talked about new technologies that are being used by their consulting company and their clients this year. IMAGINiT  is a provider of software, training, support and services to design and engineering companies and Autodesk Authorized Reseller and Autodesk Training Center.

La Pata Gap Closure, Orange County, California. Image courtesy of Huitt-Zollars and Orange County Public Works

The list of technologies includes “not just laser scanning,” but digital cameras, drones, acquiring information at relatively low cost, and extracting from it accurate, 3D models that can be integrated into most design technology.

“The concept is not new,” says Breslin. “We’ve been acquiring existing conditions forever. Surveying is not new, but the tools & technology that we have now extend the range of possibility. For us it is a holistic approach to reality capture. We are looking at it from the 3D laser scanning side, but also looking at other technologies such as hardware and software. We are focusing more on how we can work with our customers to get the results they need without focusing so much on the technology they need or a piece of hardware.”

Reality capture is taking off. No longer does it cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in hardware. “There are different tools for different jobs; some tools yield a higher degree of accuracy and certain environments. Depending on the needs and level of accuracy an organization needs, we can help them find more cost effective tools and help them gain a great deal of rich, detailed information.”

Breslin talks about how a cell phone camera photo can drive a 3D color mesh model that you can then import into AutoCAD Civil 3D, Revit, etc. “That’s a big change we’ve seen – cameras, UAV drones, quadcopters – it’s really exploded.”

There is a lot of technology available that allows you to incorporate reality capture data into AutoCAD or Civil3D, so there has been no need for IMAGINiT to create anything for that. The company focuses more on workflow issues.

“We are more focused on how we use it to drive toward the end result the customer is looking for,” explains Breslin.

IMAGINiT works with the technology for UAVs, quadcopters, etc, that can be used indoors and outdoors. The company has a new group dedicated to delivering reality capture services, that is a spinoff of the laser scan group.

Tags: 3D cities, 3D printing, AEC, architects, architecture, AutoCAD, Autodesk, Autodesk Revit, Autodesk University, BIM, building, building information modeling, CAD, Cloud, collaboration, construction, design, engineering, IMAGINiT Technologies, infrastructure

Categories: 2D, 3D, 3D PDF, 3D printing, AEC, AECCafe, architecture, AutoCAD, Autodesk, BIM, building information modeling, Cloud, collaboration, construction, consumerization, engineering, field, field solutions, file sharing, IMAGINiT, infrastructure, point clouds, project management, reality capture, sustainable design

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