Reality Capture: Photography, Videos, Laser Scanning and Drones

Abstract

Reality capture technologies have a wide range of applications (from initial ideas of colors and shapes to objects in the real world) and are affected by many factors (i.e., equipment capacity, data format, etc.). This chapter presents an overview of different reality capture technologies when users need to monitor the progress of a project and quickly compare as-built to design-intent models to ensure quality control and disclose any issues. Using reality capture technologies, such as photogrammetry, videos, or laser scanning, can help bring real-world aspects into designs. One main objective of capturing real-world objects is to obtain geometrically precise and visually rich data and efficiently create digital models. Aiming at this objective, this chapter focuses on the methodologies and skills of reality capture technologies, including the discussions on digital business processes, workflow/operations, the transformation of real-world objects into digital twins, and integration with other innovative technologies. This chapter also defines domain requirements and resource limitations in a quantitative manner and examines the capabilities of a few leading methods supporting the implementation of reality capture technology.