FAQs 3D Scans
While 3D scanning has existed for several years, its practical applications have recently expanded significantly.
This is because software, internet speeds, and hardware have improved, making the technology more affordable and available to a larger audience.
Here in these FAQs, FacilityScan answer a raft of questions which you might have, but if we have missed anything please do get in touch.
A 3D virtual tour is an immersive, interactive digital representation of a real-world space that allows users to explore it remotely from the comfort of their own device (computer, tablet, or smartphone). It goes beyond static photos or videos by providing a sense of presence and the ability to navigate through the environment as if they were physically there.
In summary, ten benefits of a 3D virtual tour are:-
- Enhanced Engagement and Immersive Experience: Provides a realistic and interactive way for viewers to explore spaces remotely, leading to greater interest and understanding.
- Broader Reach and Accessibility: Allows anyone, anywhere, to virtually visit a location, expanding your audience and overcoming geographical limitations.
- Improved Marketing and Sales: Creates more compelling online listings and marketing materials, attracting more qualified leads and potentially accelerating sales or bookings.
- Time and Cost Savings: Reduces the need for physical visits, saving time and travel expenses for both you and your audience.
- Accurate Documentation and Measurement: Captures precise spatial data, enabling accurate measurements, floor plans, and as-built documentation.
- Enhanced Collaboration and Communication: Facilitates remote walkthroughs, discussions, and decision-making among dispersed teams and clients.
- Valuable Insights and Analytics (Subscription Dependent): Provides data on how users interact with the tour, offering valuable insights into their engagement.
- Versatile Asset Creation: Enables the generation of high-quality still photos, floor plans, point clouds, and 3D models for various purposes.
- Competitive Advantage: Offers a cutting-edge way to showcase spaces and services, setting you apart from competitors who rely on traditional media.
- Improved Decision-Making: Provides a comprehensive understanding of a space, leading to more informed decisions for potential buyers, renters, event planners, and other stakeholders
The primary method is to obtain the iframe embed code. This code is available from your cloud based account with us.
Simply paste it into the HTML of your website page where you want the tour to appear. Remember to adjust the dimensions for optimal display. Don’t worry! We will help and guide you in this process.
Contact the professionals at FacilityScan.co.uk for a tailored quote on your 3D Virtual Tour / Digital Twin & AEC Needs
3D scan data is utilised across a remarkably diverse range of industries, leveraging its ability to capture precise geometric information for various applications. Here’s a breakdown of some key sectors and their uses
- Real Estate: This is perhaps the most prominent industry mainly leveraging 3D virtual tours
- Residential: Allowing potential buyers to virtually walk through properties from anywhere in the world, saving time and broadening the reach to out-of-state or international buyers. This can lead to increased engagement, more qualified leads, and potentially faster sales at higher prices
- Commercial: Enabling businesses to showcase office spaces, retail units, warehouses, and other commercial properties to potential tenants or buyers remotely
- Property Management: Facilitating virtual inspections, documenting property conditions, and providing virtual tours for prospective renters
- Manufacturing and Industrial: Virtual tours offer benefits for training, remote monitoring, and showcasing facilities
- Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC):
- As-Built Documentation: Creating accurate 3D models of existing buildings, infrastructure, and sites for renovation, retrofitting, or expansion projects. This captures the precise location and dimensions of structural elements, MEP systems, and architectural features. Example: Scanning a historical building to create detailed as-built drawings for restoration work
- Site Surveys and Analysis: Generating detailed topographic maps and 3D models of construction sites for planning, earthwork calculations, and monitoring progress
- Building Information Modeling (BIM): Integrating 3D scan data into BIM workflows to create accurate digital representations of projects, facilitating collaboration and clash detection
A Digital Twin is a dynamic virtual representation of a physical asset, process, or system (and sometimes even people or organizations) that spans its lifecycle. It’s more than just a 3D model; it’s a living, evolving digital replica that is continuously updated with real-time data from its physical counterpart through sensors, IoT devices, and other data sources.
In summary, having a digital twin of your facility offers significant benefits by providing:
•Improved Operational Efficiency: Remote monitoring, predictive maintenance, optimised workflows, and better resource allocation.
•Reduced Costs: Lower travel expenses for inspections, proactive maintenance preventing costly breakdowns, and optimised energy consumption.
•Enhanced Collaboration: Real-time virtual access for teams, stakeholders, and external experts, facilitating better communication and faster decision-making.
•Data-Driven Insights: Accurate measurements, performance analysis, and identification of areas for improvement based on real-world data.
•Better Planning and Decision-Making: Virtual simulations, scenario testing, and informed decisions regarding space utilization, renovations, and upgrades.
•Improved Documentation and Compliance: Accurate as-built records, asset tracking, and streamlined compliance processes.
•Enhanced Safety and Training: Virtual safety walkthroughs, immersive training environments, and remote risk assessment.
•Increased Asset Lifespan: Proactive maintenance and performance monitoring can help extend the life of your equipment and infrastructure.
Ultimately, a digital twin empowers you to understand, manage, and optimize your facility more effectively, leading to increased productivity, reduced risks, and a stronger bottom line.
The process starts with us visiting your site with either our Matterport Pro 3 or Leica BLK 360 LiDAR scanners.
We secure the scanner to a tripod and use the scan capture app on our tablet PC to systematically acquire a series of scan points throughout the facility or building. The number of scan points needed depends on the size and complexity of the space.
Once scanning is complete, the data (point clouds and images) is uploaded from the mobile device to the Matterport Cloud where it is processed to create the 3D measurable digital twin data.
The difference is down to the technology and experience. Most Virtual Tour providers use standard digital cameras like the Insta 360 or the Ricoh Theta, or even the Pro2 infrared scanner from Matterport. Whilst these are good for reality capture and produce nice tours, they’re not suited for external use or unfinished (low light or dusty) sites. Therefore, not ideal when you are creating your facilities digital twin.
At FacilityScan we have over 3 decades of engineering and survey experience. We use the Matterport Pro3 and Leica BLK 360 LiDAR laser scanners. LiDAR or Light Detecting and Ranging scanners offer superior accuracy, speed and comprehensive capture capabilities for creating high fidelity digital twins. They output high frequency laser light rather than digital photography or infrared, so they are not dependent on favourable lighting or weather conditions.
