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Unlike conventional measurement methods, 3D laser scanning captures not just individual points but entire surfaces—ensuring deformation-accurate results. The scanner generates point densities of several million points per square meter, creating a colored, three-dimensional point cloud of the real-world environment.
For hard-to-reach areas, such as tall church towers, drone imagery can be used to supplement the scan.
A point cloud is an excellent tool for documenting a historic building. It enables virtual walkthroughs as well as structural simulations to assess the need for restoration.
Deformation-accurate as-built plans can be derived from the point cloud—as demonstrated in our reference project at St. Martin’s Church in Forchheim.
As mentioned earlier, surveys using 3D laser scanning are always deformation-accurate. However, the as-built plans derived from this data are not automatically deformation-accurate A highly qualified draughtsman who is familiar with point clouds and the historic building trade is required to create deformation-accurate as-built plans of historic buildings. In this process, the point cloud serves as a template for the drawings. In addition, further relevant information is incorporated into the plan documentation.
Depending on the level of detail, the plans may include:
One of the key advantages of creating as-built plans from a point cloud—beyond those already mentioned—is that a complete digital record of the building is already available.
This means additional plans can usually be generated later without the need for another on-site visit.
Photogrammetry enables the creation of a point cloud from a large number of photographs taken from various angles.
This process is known as Structure from Motion (SfM) combined with Dense Image Matching.
As a purely optical method, photogrammetry can be ideally combined with electro-optical 3D laser scanning to generate a complete and detailed digital representation of a building.
