Scan-to-BIM

Scan-to-BIM refers to the process of 3D laser scanning a physical space or site, to create an accurate digital representation of it. That representation can then be used for designing, assessing progress, evaluating options, construction verification, as-built modeling.

To capture a digital representation of a space, a laser within the scanner case rotates at high speed. As the invisible laser beam hits various objects or materials, their position relative to the scanner and to other elements of your site or building is recorded as a piece of digital data – this is known as a “point”. When several of these points are collected they begin to build a highly accurate 3D digital picture of the space or site being scanned. A large collection of these points is commonly referred to as “point cloud”.

With your scan complete, the data captured can be taken out of the scanner on a simple USB drive. For most scanners you will need to open the raw scan data in a software that calibrates it before it is ready for sharing with others or for importing into design authoring software or into your project’s common data environment (CDE).