ADSK Solutions was working with Allpoints providing solutions to our customers since May 2012. We kept this quit and only interfaced with our direct clients because of the advantage that it offered. AllPoint software solutions was incredible. The general concept was scanning without targets. The scanner was attached to a laptop and used robotic technology to know where it was in space. Move the scanner to the next location and it would know it’s relation to the last scan. As the scanner moves around the facility it dumped each scanworld into a queue and the software registered them together in the background while the scanner continued. The project was registered automatically by the time you left the site.
Did I mention NO TARGETS are used? ALLpoints also offered software known as Insight. This provided a solution to view and measure point clouds on the internet.
I am not sure what took so long for a company to acquire ALLpoints. It was obvious this is a big part of the future for capturing existing conditions. Scanning providers have dreamed of capturing data without the use of targets for years. I am eager to learn about Autodesk vision of this software. The possibilities are endless and I think this will be a point in the timeline that we all remember that changes capturing existing conditions for the better.
If you are thinking about purchasing a scanner or working with point clouds but have decided to wait. It is time to get started. Automatic registration is the one simple piece that was missing for Lidar, Mobile, and Static scanning to become that everyday tool that we thought it would become one day.
More information on Autodesk acquiring Allpoint. https://www.sparpointgroup.com/News/Vol11No5-Autodesk-buy-of-Allpoint-is-part-of-bigger-things-to-come/
POINT CLOUD GURU 