Multivista, a leader in construction documentation services, has launched 3D Images as part of its suite of visual documentation services for the construction industry.

The service is powered by the Leica BLK3D, a handheld 3D imager that allows real-time, professional grade, in-picture 3D measurement. This enables all stakeholders such as contractors, developers, and owners to have a complete and precise record of different stages of the build, from mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) to finish, and everything in between.

Multivista enables customers to see behind walls, in slabs, beneath floors, and underground through the firm’s documentation services, according to Russ Bollig, global product manager for the BLK3D at Multivista. “With 3D Images, our customers will be able to accurately measure what they see in captured images. It’s an industry changing capability,” he tells Gulf Construction’s ABDULAZIZ KHATTAK.

A sample image taken by the BLK3D of the MEP stage of a site.

He says construction photo documentation captures critical milestones of building sites, so they can be used as a reference at any point by contractors, developers and owners, architects, and facilities managers.

Multivista’s precise 3D Images service provides measurement information at critical stages of construction and enables high accuracy planning for completed spaces. This is especially beneficial for complex building and renovation projects during construction, for documenting MEP, pre-slab, and underground utilities.

He says customers can also use 3D Images with finished conditions for space planning or identifying in-wall systems ahead of a renovation or repurpose of space, helping to avoid costly destructive verification methods.

The BLK3D Imager – developed by Leica Geosystems – employs a unique combination of a calibrated stereo-camera, advanced algorithms and real-time edge computing fused with leading Electronic Distance Measurement (EDM) technology, meaning accuracy within millimetres can be achieved by Multivista’s 3D Images service, Bollig explains.

Each image will have precise 3D measurements within a 2D photo – a ground-breaking capability that will enable high accuracy planning as well as verified records of critical building systems and help to avoid costly destructive verification methods.

“By enabling precise measurement of 3D dimensions on a 2D photo, Multivista can bridge the gap between overly simple, inaccurate techniques (tape measure, estimation) and accurate but more expensive and complex data capture methods such as laser scanning,” says Bollig.

Each 3D image is a momentary, complete and precise record of everything seen within the image, enabling Multivista to offer measurement in the image in real-time or creation and confirmation of additional measurements at any point thereafter.

The 3D images are viewable on Multivista’s proprietary, cloud-based software platform called the Multivista Documentation System (MDS), which delivers inspection-grade photographic coverage linked to interactive project plans to an unlimited number of authorised users on each project.

Multivista securely hosts over 250 million images in dedicated high availability (HA) server clusters. Server infrastructure is distributed across state-of-the-art data centres in the US, Canada, and the UK, each with redundant n+1 power, biometric access control, and 24/7 on-site security and monitoring.

Multivista’s indexing system provides users the speed of accessibility and the permanence of photographic documentation through integrated hosting, archiving and the cross-indexing of every image by both time and location (within 24 hours of every shoot).

Clients can access all of their visual construction documentation through the MDS which is a single interactive platform.

Offering a full suite of solutions on an intuitive cloud-based web platform, Multivista is part of Hexagon, a global leader in digital solutions that creates autonomous connected ecosystems (ACE). Hexagon has approximately 20,000 employees in 50 countries and net sales of approximately €3.8 billion ($4.24 billion).

Multivista’s 3D Images service will be offered throughout the company’s 77 global markets.