Use of the 3D laser scanner technology in the Built Environment

Capturing and modelling 3D information of the built environment is a big challenge. A number of techniques and technologies are now in use. These include EDM (Electronic Distance Measurement), GPS (Global Positioning System), and photogrammetric application, remote sensing and traditional building surveying applications. However, the use of these technologies cannot be practical and efficient in regard to time, cost and accuracy. Furthermore, a multi disciplinary knowledge base, created from the studies and research about the regeneration aspects is fundamental: historical, architectural, archeologically, environmental, social, economic, etc. In order to have an adequate diagnosis of regeneration, it is necessary to describe buildings and surroundings by means of documentation and plans. However, at this point in time the foregoing is considerably far removed from the real situation, since more often than not it is extremely difficult to obtain full documentation and cartography, of an acceptable quality, since the material, constructive pathologies and systems are often insufficient or deficient (flat that simply reflects levels, isolated photographs,..). Sometimes the information in reality exists, but this fact is not known, or it is not easily accessible, leading to the unnecessary duplication of efforts and resources. Systems that measure range from the time-of-flight of a laser pulse have been available for about 25 years, so this does not constitute new technology. However, the development of fast measurement (up to 10000 measurements per second) and a scanning mechanism (using rotating mirrors) has only occurred in this decade or so. Packaging these components into a robust and reliable instrument has resulted in the innovation of a 3D laser scanner. In this chapter, we discussed 3D laser scanning technology, which can acquire high density point data in an accurate, fast way. Besides, the scanner can digitize all the 3D information concerned with a real world object such as buildings, trees and terrain down to millimetre detail Therefore, it can provide benefits for refurbishment process in regeneration in the Built Environment and it can be the potential solution to overcome the challenges above. The chapter introduces an approach for scanning buildings, processing the point cloud raw data, and a modelling approach for CAD extraction and building objects classification in IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) format. The approach presented in this section can lead to parametric design and Building Information Modelling (BIM) for existing structures. In this chapter, while use of laser scanners are explained, the integration of it with various technologies and systems are also explored for professionals in the Built Environment