More Details on the Indoor Mapping ZebeDee

I had a chance to chat with Graham Hunter from 3D Laser Mapping last week about the Zebedee, or more correctly the ZEB1 – the latest product addition to his growing 3D data capture systems business. This is the second handheld scanning device they have announced in the last month.

Graham explained that they are focusing first on explaining and demonstrating the technology. Once that is all proven out he will focus on the marketing.

He provided the following set of FAQs that provide more insight on the overall product and associated business model. Let us know what you think of this system.

1. What level of “noise” is typically present on a flat surface of a wall captured with a ZEB1?

Up to 30mm.

2. What is the accuracy and precision of the resultant point cloud produced from the ZEB1?

Wall to wall distances in a normal office environment have been shown to be 5mm – based on measurements to a best fit plane on each wall.

3. How is it geo-referenced?

The delivered point cloud is in a local coordinate system relative to the position of the scanner head at the start of scanning. The data can be transformed into a known coordinate system using your own post processing software or we can supply some suitable software.  We are expecting many users will be experienced with point cloud processing and geo-referencing so you can use your existing workflow.  The current version of ZEB1 does not support intensity so the targets have to be spheres or poles.

4. How much can you capture in 15 minutes?

In simple terms, you can capture data for the area that you can walk in 15 minutes. We have a demo data set of the World Forum building in The Hague (the location of SPAR Europe) which was captured in 8 minutes.

5. Does it record intensity of return?

No.

6. Where is the data logged to?

The data logger is a small PC (with Atom processor).

7. What are the raw and processed data volumes?

For our demo data set, which took 8 minutes to capture, the raw data is 135Mb and the processed data is 65Mb.

8. What is the processed data format?

Our software will save the data in .laz, .las, .ptg, .pts and .ply.

9. Will all processing be done from UK?

We will run multiple servers at different secure locations around the world depending on demand. Technical support will be centralised in the UK with technical support over extended work hours to cater for all time zones.

10. Can I see some demo data?

We have captured data at the World Forum building in The Hague, which is the location of the SPAR Europe conference. The metrics are: Data capture time: 8 minutes. Data processing time: 6 minutes.

Screenshots of the data are available and a fly-through can be found at http://youtu.be/K8wd6Nsqkks. This demo data is available on request.

11. My IT Department says that the data cannot leave our building for security reasons. Is it possible to process the data on our servers?

Our development plan includes the provision of an on-site processing server. This means that the data stays with you – but we will need remote access to the server for software upgrades and support. The pay-as-you-go model will remain the same.

12. Can I be billed monthly for data processing?

We have an Enterprise pricing model based on advance payment (Quarterly or Annually) for an estimated usage pattern. The price per 15 minutes of data will remain the same with a discount for advance payment. We will provide monthly reports on usage. The next year’s price will be based on the typical usage in the current year.