THE LEICA BLK360 AND X-PAD FUSION: SLEEK HARDWARE MEETS POWERFUL SOFTWARE
Posted by Nurul Basher on
The Leica BLK360 is a thing of beauty. Its curved black dome houses a spinning mirror elegantly within the split bell, with all the functionality to use it provided by a single button, and a colour coded light that finishes off the space-age aesthetic. But what’s under the bonnet is much more impressive than the good-looking exterior. It boasts the ability to do 360,000 laser scan setpoints per second with the user able to select high, standard and fast resolutions as well as High-Dynamic Range (HDR) and thermal imaging. And it’s fast, taking less than three minutes for a full-dome scan in standard resolution and 150MP spherical image generation. All-in-all the Leica BLK360 is packed with technology for something so small, weighing in at under a kilo.
Ultimately though, it doesn’t matter how quick a laser scanner is or how nice it looks because the most important thing is the deliverable. For the user, the scanner needs to work quickly and produce good, accurate data that can be turned into something useful and put in front of their highly-discerning clients. This is where the open platform of the Leica BLK360 comes into its own; it not only works with Leica’s Register360 software, but also with Autodesk’s ReCap360 (1 year free subscription included with every BLK360 purchase) and Matterport’s Capture App. This gives great flexibility when working with different hardware if for example you already have a Matterport Pro2 camera. As well as this range, the BLK360 also works natively with Geomax’s hugely powerful X-Pad Fusion software. Scans can be downloaded, point clouds can be pre-registered and registered in one place and then the data can be processed into whatever outcome is needed. Elevations and floor plans are easy to draw, surfaces and volumes can be calculated with a few clicks. But the key strength of X-Pad Fusion is that it can draw in data from a variety of sources; GNSS receivers, total stations, laser scanners and even drones.
With the sleek hardware of the Leica BLK360 and the flexible power of X-Pad Fusion, a geospatial professional can handle everything that’s thrown at them. So why not see for yourself? Surveytech are pleased to provide free demonstrations of the BLK360 and X-Pad Fusion has a one-month free trial for new users.