From the inaugural Re/Cap to today, we’ve covered more ground than a hypersonic alien drone that just committed a felony hit-and-fly. And many new Re/Cappers have joined along the way.
Between that and the breakneck speed with which innovation is moving, Re/Cap HQ thought it was time for a Best-Of issue.
Coming your way is reality capture’s crème de la crème of the past 8 months, a compilation of technology’s most ingenious ideas, astonishing accomplishments, and potent partnerships. Not to mention a few AEC Errors of the Week that reality capture could have surely mitigated or prevented outright.
Enjoy the month-by-month best of the Re/Cap, and thank you for your best in producing a better built world!
Last week: 2024’s top inventions, potential POTUS’ stances on construction’s top issues, dental implants get an AI & photogrammetric assist, a massive Maya city gets stumbled upon, and an AEC Error of the Week featuring a famous bridge in San FranciscOH SH–
University of Virginia alumni Jody Lahendro and Will Rourk share three fiery passions: architectural history, culture, and scanning. And their current project is a remarkably impactful combination.
Lahendro & Rourk are surveying, scanning, and preserving a Rosenwald Schoolfor African Americans that was built in partnership with Booker T. Washington 112 years ago. All for people to experience it via virtual reality walkthrough. Read the remarkable full story with plenty of scanning talk and profiles of the team.
Weather-related disasters are increasing, so The European Space Agency just funded something that ten years ago would’ve sounded like a sci-fi film plot; the creation of Earth’s digital twin.
Obviously, creating a high-res model of our entire planet is a herculean effort, so baby steps are being taken. The first targeted region is the Mediterranean Basin and its “terrestrial water cycle.” With the two-fold vision of monitoring the global water supply and simulating natural disasters, lead scientist & author Luca Brocca of Italy hopes to “provide invaluable insights for sustainable water management and disaster resilience.”
Antero Kukko, Research Professor at the Finnish Geospatial Research Institute, summarized his scanning excursion as “millions of mosquitoes, quick fixes with buckets and cloths and emergency chocolate—it was a journey to remember.”
Looks like the 21st Century has its Ernest Shackleton!
For a journey five years in the making, it lived up the hype, not to mention pure North Canadian/Inuit serenity. Subsequent to the goals of erosion evaluation and “sediment transport in an event of a glacial lake outburst,” findings will be published in Nature Communications.
Read the full account below, rich with history & hydrology alike, as recently featured in American Surveyor.
Sure, the practice has been around since roughly 6,000 B.C. But in the fleeting time since Ronald Reagan was POTUS and hair metal graced our planet with its presence, it almost feels like a millennium’s worth of progress has occurred.
Quality Magazine guides us through all of it in one snappy piece, going from the infancy of coordinate measuring machines, to current gifts-from-the-gods like articulated arm portable CMMs. And fret not – a projection of the oncoming 40 years is included.
Natural Capital’s heightened awareness from citizens, businesses, and policymakers, promising though it is, has one counterforce; woefully uninformed data.
Geospatial information’s accuracy, scope, and fidelity make it the closest thing to a panacea, as explained by an assistant professor from the Philippines and a Principal Consultant at ConsultingWhere. By way of case studies, GDP data, and economics, their collaborative article on GIM International details how we can use geospatial data to propel global living standards – and why we must.
Believed to have been erected in 460 A.D., the Swayambhunath Temple is among the holiest Buddhist stupas in Nepal. And to a small team of American reality capturers, it might now be the most personal.
Helmed by a professor and research scientist at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the team has employed 3D laser scans, photogrammetry and drone photography to capture the venerated temple. The biggest obstacle for this project backed by Lenovo and NVIDIA? Crowds and monkeys! If a reality capture obstacle course-based TV show ever gets greenlit, we might just have our first challenge!
Bird Paradise is the latest addition to the Mandai Wildlife Reserve, which includes River Wonders, Night Safari, and the Singapore Zoo. Its end? Sustainability. Its means? Technology.
The build was a delicate process, obsessing over preserving natural topography however and wherever possible. But Obayashi Singapore Pte Ltd saw to its roaring success, employing laser scanners, drones, BIM, digital twins, and a flock of other technologies to make Bird Paradise…one of innovation as well. Full story below.
The Icelandic Institute of Natural History operates a photogrammetry lab, and boy do they have much bigger (and hotter) fish to fry than old viking camps.
The catch with volcanic eruptions is their ripple effect. From colossal plumes to savage weather, extreme conditions practically become a given. But precise GNSS geo-referencing is empowering experts to monitor volcanic and seismic activity like never before. Click below for the Scandinavian scoop on digital elevation models, orthoimages, 3D mesh, and preventing fatalities.
Osteosynthesis treats bone fractures by adjoining them to screws, plates, wires and the like. It’s not a new treatment per se, but it sure is getting treated to some new tech.
Specifically, a 3D camera system has been developed that will potentially introduce orthopedic AR systems non-invasively, “eliminating the need for the invasive AR markers conventionally required.” The real endgame? Implants better placed, patients better off. Make an appointment with the peer-reviewed study below, being sure not to miss the process and photos.
Yes, it’s actually pronounced “Jeh-dye,” yes it’s a device that shoots laser beams from the bloody International Space Station, and yes, we now hold precious data on the Amazon, the Andes, and Patagonia.
And ain’t nothin’ science-fiction about it.
The Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation has just been extended by NASA, meaning for at least six more years, this laser blazin’ cosmic canopy capturer can keep getting researchers the stored carbon data of millions of trees. How exactly? Let ScienceFriday tell ya, along with bonus abilities GERD possesses as it shines a light on the dark side of natural disasters.
SEE THE FOREST FOR THE TREES INDEED
If you thought ticket prices were high, check out where Esri and the City of Denver are residing to enhance public safety!
Firefighters and geospatial gurus united for one colossal goal – comprehensive coverage of Red Rocks’ 700 acres, in order to forge a digital twin detailing everything from surrounding terrain to $7 water bottles. The result? A new model of public safety and first responder empowerment, regardless of emergency type. Check the setlist below courtesy of Esri itself, spanning the gear, software, process, vision, and more.
There’s a trope in many a crime movie. The cop/detective/federale/upset parent doesn’t just want to know where the villain/boss is, but where he or she is going to be.
Well, in Alaska, call the spruce beetle “El Chapo.”
The Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection calls this bugga the “most damaging insect in Alaska’s forest.” But Simon Zweibeck of the University of Alaska Fairbanks might have a remedy – predicting where infestations may occur before they even start, by way of his machine-learning mapping system. Bug out on his algorithmic process and the wildfire ripple effect of his system below. Or, get granular in the original scientific paper, published in the ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing.
On the whole, 2023’s Napoleon did not garner the same praise as director Ridley Scott’s signature flicks (Alien, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Blade Runner). But its visual effects sure did.
They earned the biopic an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, thanks to the slick, 1,000,000-image based reality capture of Visualskies. It actually prompted confusion, as viewers weren’t sure when and where visual effects were even used. Tip thine cap to LiDAR and photogrammetry, which have proven far more convincing than average CGI. Befores & Afters has the full story available as an excerpt of their magazine issue, packed with keen insight from Duncan Lees, Visualskies’ Director of LiDAR.
The Fabric of Saint Peter is not a cassock collection, oh no. It’s the institution formed by Pope Julius II in 1506 to reconstruct and preserve St. Peter’s Basilica.
And in doing so, the 500-year-old body just became a beacon of modernity to boot.
In anticipation of 2025’s Jubilee celebrations, The Fabric sought two things: pinpoint architectural detail, and continuous structural monitoring. Engineering firm Italferr was up to the task, and was commissioned to create a digital twin of the basilica. GIM International details the build-up & context, the meticulous process, and what it means going forward.
Alabama’s Edmund Pettus Bridge was the site of 1965’s ”Bloody Sunday,” during which 600 Selma-to-Montgomery marchers were viciously attacked by state troopers. So as an iconic symbol of America’s civil rights movement – one with a unique construction methodology to boot – three capturers knew this vital bridge had to be documented.
Danielle Willkens, Junshan Liu, and Shadi Alathamneh harnessed terrestrial scanners, 360° cameras, UAVs, structure from motion, BIM, and more to honor the Southern landmark. Get the case study’s abstract below, where you’ll also find a download option for the exceptional full paper if desired.
…Which is that Switzerland is apparently the equivalent of Einstein, plus that guy who won Jeopardy! for like three months straight, multiplied by ChatGPT v27.
Because they just landed three of their cities in the top 10 of a smart cities ranking project. Drawn from a combination of hard data and survey responses, the initiative was a co-creation by the Smart City Observatory and World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization. Get the rankings below, with lists dedicated to Europe, the United States, and the globe itself.
There’s cool, then there’s Roman cool. The 1,600-hectare Attingham Estate in England’s West Midlands was the former, and now it’s the latter.
The National Trust, the independent conservation body which owns the estate, commissioned their largest survey yet of the property. The results, born from innovative scanning and geophysical workflows? Ruins of two villas and a cemetery. Talk about dead on!
Great though the discovery is, it’s not shocking, given that the region is near one of Roman Britain’s most populous cities, Wroxeter. You know a historic preservation story’s big when Newsweek runs with it, so conquer your curiosity the way the empire did continents, below.
The physics of “drag force” surrounds us. But in the water, it can be a nuisance and a half to swimmers.
However, a breakthrough from a math professor and his students may help diminish it, delighting Team U.S.A.’s Olympic swimmers set to chase gold this week.
Ken Ono teaches mathematics at the University of Virginia, and despite not even needing floaties, created digital twins of swimmers August Lamb and Kate Douglass. With the help of his students, sensors called “inertial measurement units” are shedding unprecedented light on drag force, and other physics and performance data. Click below for a flawless backstroke of coverage on IoT World Today, and here for the proper study and deeper dive.
Know that scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey, where the Cretaceous-era ape finds that bone then realizes it doesn’t just exist, but oh goodness that it can be used?
Today, the construction and real estate industries are that ape. Technology is that bone. And a subsequent transformation is set to occur worldwide.
But the seismic shift won’t just be industrial or technological. It will be prominently human, as current jobs will be recalibrated, and new ones will be imperative. Forbes detailed this imminent shift, harnessing copious data, informed predictions, construction & real estate trends, government initiatives, and demographic study. It’s an enthralling, wholly exciting piece.
EMERGING JOBS IN CONSTRUCTION AND REAL ESTATE
Camden, New Jersey and the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia maintain levels of poverty that are incomprehensible for most of us. But Hopeworks, a Camden-based nonprofit, continues to empower local youth through technology.
And GIS is the linchpin.
With over forty members between full-time staff and interns, the GIS team boasts about as many successful projects to their name, as they do employed, successful graduates. Esri shines a bright light on the joyous story in the link below, exploring the who’s-who of partner companies, project details, other technological focuses, the RISE map, student success stories, and much more.
Coral reefs are enduring an epidemic of “bleaching,” in which their algae is expelled due to heat stress, threatening the coral and causing a signature depletion of color.
The operative word here is “threatening.” They’re not always destroyed outright, and some reefs are more resilient than others, sometimes substantially. It is a bona fide mystery…
…that reality capture may help solve.
By way of photogrammetry and 3D modeling, a new study led by University of California San Diego and Arizona State University marine biologists is providing an unprecedented glimpse into coral bleaching. It’s an enthralling Maui saga, spanning seven years and nearly 2,000 coral colonies. Dive in below.
At 104 years old, Austria’s Salzburg Festival is iconic because of the music and drama it resurrects from the past.
Now, it’s storied because of what it signals for the future.
German tech titan Siemens used #SalzFest to test one of its boldest ventures yet – an acoustic digital twin, using the festival’s majestic performance hall and the tunes of Mozart as guinea pigs. Read TheNextWeb’s thorough account below, on how advanced sound wave analysis and digital twins could usher in a future of acoustic-driven architecture, rehearsals in replicas, and so much more. A no-brainer top Re/Cap for 2024 you do not want to miss.
For shipping lanes, maps and imaging aren’t just crucial for routing efficiency; they’re musts for safety, as accidents remain commonplace to this day. Why? Modern mapping is still performed by conventional ships with antiquated workflows…
…workflows that are about to walk the plank, thanks to the TAPS platform of Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies, and Image Exploitation (IOSB).
Team ISOB, in the midst of a three-year survey project, has developed an autonomous surface vehicle wielding unprecedented aquatic survey capabilities, thanks largely to the photogrammetric glory visible above. Digest Quality Digest’s quality exploration of the process, technology, and positive consequences, all with an assortment of excellent photography.
Fun fact; we don’t actually know the true center of our planet. But a partnership between the U.S. Space Force, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and NASA aims – literally – to change that.
This tenacious trio will install two LRAs (laser retroreflector arrays) onto two of NASA’s Space Geodesy Program’s satellites. Through satellite laser ranging, the earth’s center will be established, drastically easing the tracking of planetary changes from events such as tsunamis and earthquakes, and more gradual alterations. Get to the core below, including what the heck 48 mirrored corner cubes will do, thanks to Tomorrow’s World Today.
14.3% of today’s workers in the construction industry are women, with lawyers, analysts, and real estate brokers comprising the bulk of that figure.
But while 14.3% may sound paltry, it’s nearly triple the percentage of just half a century ago. And as more women enter the space, an uptick in dollars has followed.
But discrepancies still exist, and perhaps more notably, state-to-state wage data has more range than I-90. Construction Coverage wanted to get to the bottom of it, with a sprawling study drawn from U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data. The result was a ranking of the best-paying states for women in construction, on a median annual wage basis, adjusted for cost-of-living differences.
It’s tough to ascertain which part of the opioid crisis is more haunting, the sheer human and familial destruction, or the complexity arising from synthetic products a la fentanyl, mental health concerns, and more.
But GIS, while far from a panacea, is proving to be an instrument of analysis, harm reduction, and even outright prevention.
It’s the nucleus of a new blog series launched by Esri entitled Trends in Health GIS. Honoring National Overdose Day, The first installment presents “where-we-are” data pertaining to the macro state of the opioid crisis, before relaying the power of medical claims, overdose reports, hotspot mapping, and much more. It’s a paragon of how technology can improve not just our world, but us.
A news outlet publishes an article. A mammoth error is soon discovered. Big whoops, sure, but it can be edited with a few clicks and of course, blamed on the new intern!
That editing stage is a fairytale for manufacturing, wherein colossal errors can mean danger, recalls, and a conveyor belt of other problems. And such errors are frequent, due to inspection assets often being outnumbered by manufacturing assets.
It’s one of many reasons the term “Industry 4.0,” code for “smart manufacturing,” has sped into the built environment zeitgeist. Quality Magazine recently championed what it calls the next frontier in manufacturing, full of robots, photogrammetry, inertial measurement units, algorithms, and previously unthinkable precision.
As memories of dial-up days fade, and our sprint toward Ready Player One days hastens, the term “connectivity” has become ubiquitous. Thing is, it’s used often in a social or cloud-based sense, rather than its literal sense which may be most vital; rip-roaring, high-fidelity fiber internet.
And, almost in secrecy, geospatial data, 360° cameras, AI, LiDAR and digital twins are emerging as keystones to its much-needed expansion.
The expected wave of quantum and 5G options, and its subsequent role as a death knell for wired connections, has yet to arrive. This means, until proven otherwise, there are two types of projects to manifest our digitized future: fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and to-the-premises (FTTP). GIM International provided an incredibly upbeat upload on how it’s all coming to be through technology: workflows, benefits, gap-closing, four international case studies, and a whole data center’s worth of analysis.
Even if the technology firefighters actually put their hands on has improved over the decades (the extent to which is debatable,) one technology realm they rely on for their heroism has not; evacuation routes.
This ossification means that determining their quickest path is an educated guess, drawn from a combination of experience, shared wisdom, and any surface knowledge they’ve gleaned.
Well, thanks to some University of Utah researchers, firefighters, disaster responders, rural health care workers, and others will get to hit their stride like never before.
No, literally, this routing revolution is called STRIDE.
The “Simulating Travel Rates in Diverse Environments” is a first-of-its-kind, airborne LiDAR-based model that accounts for vegetation density, ground roughness, slope, and other nuanced factors. STRIDE will grant the aforementioned saviors paths of optimized travel, saving time, resources, and lives. Take a hike with Phys.org by clicking below, or you can put the lab coat on for the full scientific study published on Nature.com.
In their dotage, most former presidents take to more golf and maybe the occasional six-figure speech (which is probably selected based on golf club proximity.)
But Jimmy Carter, celebrating official centenarianhood, is teeing off with technology.
A deft woodworker long before entering The Oval Office, #POTUS#39 has a vast catalog of gorgeous completions. And to honor it, some University of South Florida researchers have elected photogrammetry and structured light scanning.
And that’s just the first term! The real endgame is the U.S. National Park Service enlisting the cream of the global woodworking crop to use the digital models to build exact replicas. Article and video courtesy of Yahoo! linked below.
781 Lahaina homeowners were living in their residences before last year’s catastrophic wildfires claimed them. Today, regardless of whether the owners intend to rebuild or sell the lot, surveys, plans, and permits are required – just not before the often exorbitant upfront costs.
Or rather, were required.
For Lahaina homeowners who resided in their home pre-fire, no-cost lot surveys, plans, and permits, are being provided by The Lahaina Homeowner Recovery Program. Funding originated from a $3 million grant from the Maui Strong Fund of the Hawaii Community Foundation (HCF).
Logistics are still being finalized, but the current plan is to contract land surveyors to complete eight to ten semi-contiguous properties at a time to lower costs and optimize the process. Click below for the scoop on a fascinating network effect, and an uplifting story set in an area largely devoid of them, courtesy of IslandNews.
Northern California’s Oroville Dam is America’s tallest at 770 feet. And after its February 2017 spillway saga, it had almost as many pages of investigative paperSo, the Bernoulli principle-rich story goes:
As torrential downpours blanketed the region, the main spillway’s concrete slabs began failing. Upon closer investigation, whaddya know, crater-sized erosion had occurred under the chute.
With water continuing to cascade over the damaged spillway, threatening further erosion and failure of the entire structure, the decision was made to utilize the emergency spillway for the first time in the dam’s history. So what if it hadn’t ever been tested!
Welp, its call to action resembled that of asking the elderly gentleman seated ringside to come fight peak Mike Tyson. An entire hillside eroded, and with the specter of an uncontrolled release of water looming, 188,000 residents downstream were evacuated.
No one was hurt, but many were angry, and the subsequent investigation unveiled vulnerabilities galore. Most notably, the root cause of the emergency spillway’s failure was “a mischaracterization of the foundation material during and after design.”
Ultimately, given how close this was to generational catastrophe, it instantiates technology’s role in engineering, construction, maintenance, and even response.
Reality capture harnessing modern metrology tools could have surely aided that faulty foundation. Regular LiDAR scans and photogrammetric surveys tracking every nook and cranny of the spillways would’ve caught early signs of deterioration before erosion reached Mariana Trench depths. Integrated with BIM models, virtual stress testing is a duck in water. Drone mapping and inspection = a panoramic safety net against aquatic attacks, height be dammed. And given the soggy state of affairs, a digital twin would have been an ever-dry win.
It’s a motif here, but reality capture doesn’t just yield good decisions. It makes bad ones harder to make, and past mistakes easier to observe. So if hindsight is 20/20, well, reality capture is too.
Practical Engineering’s video breakdown of the Oroville Dam
Ever heard of a building that gives complimentary flying lessons? Meet Bridgewater Place in Leeds, UK – the skyscraper that decided to double as the world’s largest hair dryer.
Completed in 2007, this 32-story giant quickly went from a cool breeze of an idea to a tempest of turmoil.
Thanks to downwash, it created winds so strong at its base that it turned simple strolls into X Games entries. Why? ‘Twas built right at a major intersection; because nothing says “urban planning” like a vortex of chaos at a busy junction.
Now, predicting or even planning for wind patterns in urban environments is trickier than taking a tea party in Boston seriously. But here’s the kicker – we have the technology! Reality capture and digital twin tech could have saved Leeds from becoming the UK’s unofficial wind surfing capital.
See, the initial wind assessment conducted for the planning application suggested the building would have minimal impact on wind speeds. However, this proved to be inaccurate once construction was completed, because what informed it was inaccurate.
If only a technology existed that improved accuracy…
You know, like high-precision LiDAR and photogrammetry, forging an accurate 3D model of the site and surrounding area. A digital twin, combined with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, allowing the prediction and visualization of wind patterns around the proposed building under various conditions. Design iterations being rapidly tested virtually, optimizing the building’s shape to minimize dangerous wind effects at street level.
Mid-construction, regular use of LiDAR or photogrammetry could have ensured the as-built structure matched the wind-optimized design. Real-time wind measurements could have been compared against simulations, allowing for potential adjustments.
And voilà, instead of spending boatloads on post-construction “fixes” like barriers, canopies, and actual wings (talk about a flying buttress), issues would have been nipped in the bud.
Remember, in AEC, it’s always better to capture reality before reality captures you in its wind-tunnel death grip. Stay grounded peeps.
In 2003, Los Angeles got a new jewel in its cultural crown: the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Designed by architectural maverick Frank Gehry, this $274 million symphony center was meant to be a harmonious blend of acoustics and aesthetics. Little did anyone know, it would also become a master class in unintended consequences.
Picture this: you’re strolling down Grand Avenue, minding your own business, when suddenly – BAM! – you’re hit with a light so bright you’d swear you’ve stumbled onto that test scene in Oppenheimer. But no, it’s just the Walt Disney Concert Hall, casually reflecting sunlight with the intensity of a thousand paparazzi flashes as Beyoncé leaves a restaurant.
The culprit? Those sleek, stainless steel panels forming the building’s exterior. While they looked stunning on paper (and in person, if you’re wearing welding goggles), they turned out to be nature’s own fun-house mirrors, focusing sunlight into searing beams that could fry an egg on the sidewalk—or at least make you feel like one.
Nearby residents found themselves baking, with temperatures on their properties skyrocketing by up to 15 degrees Fahrenheit while the glare raised sidewalk temperatures to 140 degrees. The glare was so intense that drivers squinted their way through the area as if looking for the next soap opera star.
But fear not, for every architectural oopsie comes with a lesson (and usually, a hefty repair bill). The solution? Sandblasting. Yes, you read that right. The same technique used to remove graffiti was employed to dull the shine on about 13,000 square feet of steel. The price tag? A cool $180,000.
So how could reality capture have prevented this dazzling debacle?
3D laser scanning and photogrammetry could have created an accurate digital model of the building. This would have allowed architects to visualize how sunlight would interact with the surfaces, illuminating potential glare issues long before the first concert was scheduled.
Simulations using that shiny new model could have predicted how sunlight would traverse the building throughout the day. Armed with this knowledge, designers could have adjusted angles, materials, or even added some strategic shading elements to keep the glare at bay.
Thermal Cam’d Drones could have taken to the skies to map heat patterns and monitor the building’s impact on its surroundings. This would have provided real-world data to validate the initial simulations and identify any lingering hot spots.
Building Information Modeling (BIM)would have allowed architects and engineers to collaborate more effectively, ensuring that every shiny curve and corner was optimized for both aesthetics and comfort.
Post-Construction monitoring and inspections using reality capture could have helped identify any new glare issues that may arise over time, allowing for timely adjustments to keep the concert hall a welcoming space for all.
Let this saga remind us that the best designs are those that harmonize beauty with functionality, ensuring that everyone can enjoy the view…free of sunglasses.
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