Leica BLK2Go

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gsisman
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Re: Leica BLK2Go

Post by gsisman »

Carbix wrote: Fri Jun 12, 2020 7:29 pm
rrice517 wrote: Fri Jun 12, 2020 6:33 pm My firm recently acquired a BLK2GO. I've been testing it for nearly two months now, and have been unable to get any positive results with multi-level scans. Our office building is three stories, so we tried scanning two floors in one walk just to see how well it would work. This has been attempted several times, with little success.

I am able to scan just the stairwell and it comes out OK, but when I try to scan the office, then go downstairs and continue scanning, I have always had errors that make the scans unusable. My workaround was to scan each floor individually, including the stairs but without going up or down, then the stairwell by itself. This allowed me to align everything well enough to get reasonably accurate floor to floor heights.

I have yet to try it on any ramps, but we will be attempting to scan a parking garage next week - our first attempt to use the device professionally.

Unfortunately, this shortcoming is the least of our problems with this scanner. I think it was released well before it was ready. Most of our problems have been with the hardware, and their support team has been completely unresponsive. The only response we have received from several support requests have been from the sales staff. At this point, I have to imagine it's because they don't have any good answers.
$60k well spent? Do you trust Leica now?

I have high hopes for the VLX. I would like to see a demo of it in the real world and get some sample data. It looks to be the real deal and seeing that they came up with a way to have it place control is nice and smart.

The BLK band has become like a designer hand bag. Over priced and not very practical. Unless you want to look cool on Instagram.
Daniel,

I had a demo of the NavVis VLX yesterday in a parking garage in downtown Bethesda. This garage was completely scanned with an RTC360 in Dec 2018. Once I get the data back from Markel (the NE US Rep)-hopefully next week, I'll be posting the comparison results. My goal right now is to find the easiest way to import the Mobile Scan data into Reg 360. We actually used the same ground control with the VLX (cool way to include named control points on the ground or walls into the mobile scans. I believe I'll have to import it into Recap and then import the RCP into Reg 360 since Leica doesn't allow unstructured data import of E57 mobile data or LAS data into Reg 360. Any ideas on a workflow?
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Re: Leica BLK2Go

Post by Carbix »

gsisman wrote: Sun Jun 14, 2020 4:22 am
Carbix wrote: Fri Jun 12, 2020 7:29 pm
rrice517 wrote: Fri Jun 12, 2020 6:33 pm My firm recently acquired a BLK2GO. I've been testing it for nearly two months now, and have been unable to get any positive results with multi-level scans. Our office building is three stories, so we tried scanning two floors in one walk just to see how well it would work. This has been attempted several times, with little success.

I am able to scan just the stairwell and it comes out OK, but when I try to scan the office, then go downstairs and continue scanning, I have always had errors that make the scans unusable. My workaround was to scan each floor individually, including the stairs but without going up or down, then the stairwell by itself. This allowed me to align everything well enough to get reasonably accurate floor to floor heights.

I have yet to try it on any ramps, but we will be attempting to scan a parking garage next week - our first attempt to use the device professionally.

Unfortunately, this shortcoming is the least of our problems with this scanner. I think it was released well before it was ready. Most of our problems have been with the hardware, and their support team has been completely unresponsive. The only response we have received from several support requests have been from the sales staff. At this point, I have to imagine it's because they don't have any good answers.
$60k well spent? Do you trust Leica now?

I have high hopes for the VLX. I would like to see a demo of it in the real world and get some sample data. It looks to be the real deal and seeing that they came up with a way to have it place control is nice and smart.

The BLK band has become like a designer hand bag. Over priced and not very practical. Unless you want to look cool on Instagram.
Daniel,

I had a demo of the NavVis VLX yesterday in a parking garage in downtown Bethesda. This garage was completely scanned with an RTC360 in Dec 2018. Once I get the data back from Markel (the NE US Rep)-hopefully next week, I'll be posting the comparison results. My goal right now is to find the easiest way to import the Mobile Scan data into Reg 360. We actually used the same ground control with the VLX (cool way to include named control points on the ground or walls into the mobile scans. I believe I'll have to import it into Recap and then import the RCP into Reg 360 since Leica doesn't allow unstructured data import of E57 mobile data or LAS data into Reg 360. Any ideas on a workflow?
Daniel Loney - Owner
Excelsior Measuring inc.
Vancouver - Okanagan - Calgary
www.ExcelsiorLevel.com
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Re: Leica BLK2Go

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gsisman wrote: Sun Jun 14, 2020 4:22 am ....

Daniel,

I had a demo of the NavVis VLX yesterday in a parking garage in downtown Bethesda. This garage was completely scanned with an RTC360 in Dec 2018. Once I get the data back from Marek (the NE US Rep)-hopefully next week, I'll be posting the comparison results. My goal right now is to find the easiest way to import the Mobile Scan data into Reg 360. We actually used the same ground control with the VLX (cool way to include named control points on the ground or walls into the mobile scans. I believe I'll have to import it into Recap and then import the RCP into Reg 360 since Leica doesn't allow unstructured data import of E57 mobile data or LAS data into Reg 360. Any ideas on a workflow?
What were the times for each of the field data capture? Did the RTC360 capture color images? What did they look like? It would be interesting to see screen shots of both sensors.
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Re: Leica BLK2Go

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dhirota wrote: Sun Jun 14, 2020 6:39 am
gsisman wrote: Sun Jun 14, 2020 4:22 am ....

Daniel,

I had a demo of the NavVis VLX yesterday in a parking garage in downtown Bethesda. This garage was completely scanned with an RTC360 in Dec 2018. Once I get the data back from Marek (the NE US Rep)-hopefully next week, I'll be posting the comparison results. My goal right now is to find the easiest way to import the Mobile Scan data into Reg 360. We actually used the same ground control with the VLX (cool way to include named control points on the ground or walls into the mobile scans. I believe I'll have to import it into Recap and then import the RCP into Reg 360 since Leica doesn't allow unstructured data import of E57 mobile data or LAS data into Reg 360. Any ideas on a workflow?
What were the times for each of the field data capture? Did the RTC360 capture color images? What did they look like? It would be interesting to see screen shots of both sensors.
When we captured with the RTC360 it was Nov-Dec 2018 (first unit rented this side of the Mississipi) I was told. Unfortunately it was also the first or initial FW version. Our guy scanning was scanning at night with all lights in the garage on . Most were HDR imagery (2:30 minutes scans if I remember/Medium settings) some fill in scans for detail were no imagery. We had overkill of points because the old beams and need for capturing conduit and piping and no sector scans with RTC. One of the floors was 2+ billion point by itself! Reg 360 which we processed with doesn't allow decimation. Maybe tomorrow I'll post some screen captures. Or you can download Jetstream Viewer and take a peek at it yourself on our Azure Jetstream if you PM me. There was cleanup to these as far as removing parked cars, as they are archive scans and we were learning new stuff, but many were published from the later Reg 360 software which allowed the export of customized limit boxes.
Marek didn't have the same constraints with the VLX as when we did the RTC and he didn't follow a specific path but we tied into the same controls. We were trying to gather good comparison areas.
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Re: Leica BLK2Go

Post by Augusto 3D »

So whats the veredict on the BLK2GO ?

We have a BLK360 and were thinking of selling it and upgrading to and RTC but then someone brought up the BLK2Go. Now we are in this case we would keep both BLK scanners. Based on all the reading, I am starting to be concerned with the drift and accumulated error. Our main driver is speed to complete scans or larger (40K - 80K SF) facilities. We know that the BLK wouls be too slow. Would the RTC alone be better, or is the winner combo either device plus a BLK2go.
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Re: Leica BLK2Go

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Very hard decision. If I had to choose I would pick the RTC. I love the speed of the BLK2GO and now with the latest firmware update and new version of REG360 the data looks much better and less stringy. But the RTC can do a full scan with 5 bracket HDR photos in 86 seconds. That is still lightning fast compared to any tripod scanner. But an architect can scan with a BLK2GO run it through PointFuse Powered by JetStream and get an LOD 200 Revit model out before lunch. So maybe I'm still undecided.
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Re: Leica BLK2Go

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gsisman wrote: Sun Jun 14, 2020 4:22 am My goal right now is to find the easiest way to import the Mobile Scan data into Reg 360. We actually used the same ground control with the VLX (cool way to include named control points on the ground or walls into the mobile scans. I believe I'll have to import it into Recap and then import the RCP into Reg 360 since Leica doesn't allow unstructured data import of E57 mobile data or LAS data into Reg 360. Any ideas on a workflow?
Just for interest ..

http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Pars ... GEOSYSTEMS$
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Re: Leica BLK2Go

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jamesworrell wrote: Fri Apr 02, 2021 10:51 pm
gsisman wrote: Sun Jun 14, 2020 4:22 am My goal right now is to find the easiest way to import the Mobile Scan data into Reg 360. We actually used the same ground control with the VLX (cool way to include named control points on the ground or walls into the mobile scans. I believe I'll have to import it into Recap and then import the RCP into Reg 360 since Leica doesn't allow unstructured data import of E57 mobile data or LAS data into Reg 360. Any ideas on a workflow?
Just for interest ..

http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Pars ... GEOSYSTEMS$
James

Reading through this. It is pretty clear that Leica is working on the problem of pretty much every conceivable combination of point scans and Image generated point clouds from their sensor M series, P-series, BLK & BLK2GO, and possibly Captivate. Right now I would just be satisfied with a simple combination of Static Scan & Mobile scans (Unified cloud in an E57 or LAS format) inside of REG 360. Maybe that is v2021.1.0 ? Nah that will be further out.....Thanks, Never thought of looking in the patent office records for upcoming developments-at least we know they are heading that way, but I could have guessed that just by watching the development of the sensors. Just wish they could see that they may gain a customer of a third party scanner or aid an existing customer who adds a non-Leica scanner because their software is good, why shut out another sensors data that would be hampered anyway by bringing it into their software (i.e. you're not going to get the photo spheres from VLX, but you could should utilize the refined point-clouds in E57 or LAS format joined with other Leica Pointclouds and accessible in ACAD products through Cloudworx.
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