This year’s entries indicate a new level of innovation in the creation of 3D visualizations from laser scanning.
NORCROSS, GA, June 16, 2014 – Leica Geosystems (www.leica-geosystems.us) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2014 HDS and MS50 Plan Contest. An annual highlight of the Geosystems HDS/Laser Scanning subtrack at HxGN LIVE, the contest gives attendees the opportunity to show off their state-of-the-art deliverables by submitting plans that incorporate 3D laser scanning.
Historically, the contest has included three entry categories: (1) Buildings/Heritage, (2) Civil/Survey and (3) Plant/Marine. This year’s contest included a new fourth category, MultiStation, to recognize innovative work being done with the Leica Nova MS50, which integrates 3D laser scanning in a high-precision total station.
Thirty entries were submitted and evaluated by a panel of 11 qualified judges based on the completeness and usefulness of the plans, the creative use of point clouds and models, and overall appearance. The first- and second-place winners in each category were as follows:
Buildings and Heritage:
- First Place: F3 & Associates, Inc., Benicia, CA – California Memorial Stadium 3D Hard Copy™
- Second Place: Project Surveyors, Macquarie Park, NSW, Australia – Existing Conditions BIM Model
Civil/Survey:
- First Place: Allegheny Surveys Inc., Birch River, WV – Site Survey of Mohawk Dam for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Second Place: The Land Group, Eagle, ID – Topographic Survey for Vallivue High School Track & Field
Plant/Marine:
- First Place: F3 & Associates, Inc., Benicia, CA – California Crude Oil Refinery Vessel Top Replacement 3D Hard Copy™
- Second Place: Zenith, Perpignon, France – 3D Scan for Clash Analysis in the RBH Plant in Ontario, Canada
Multistation:
- First Place: Brasfield & Gorrie, Birmingham, AL – Grandview Hospital As-Built Survey
- Second Place: 1519 Surveying LLC, Waco, TX – Raw Material Inventory Report
“This year’s contest was difficult to judge—the entries were all very good. We went through multiple rounds of voting,” said Mike Harvey, HDS product marketing manager for Leica Geosystems and the HDS Plan Contest chair. “Ultimately what separated the winners was the overall usefulness of the plans. They were each in a format that could be presented to a client as a final, impressive deliverable.”
A new level of innovation was evident in this year’s entries. F3 & Associates, for example, included 3D printed components that substantially enhanced the 3D visualization of the plans. Other entries creatively merged models with point clouds, or included Leica TruViews for interactive point cloud viewing and measurement.
“We’re seeing a transformation where the market is beginning to view the 3D world as standard,” Harvey said. “As a result, service providers are raising the bar on the deliverables they provide to their clients. The HDS Plan Contest gives surveying, engineering and construction firms the opportunity to evaluate the latest state-of-the-art being offered by their peers while also giving them a target to create something new and even more innovative. I can’t wait to see next year’s entries.
Submissions for the 2015 HDS Plan Contest will open in the spring. For more information, email [email protected].
