Handheld scanners are getting smaller and more powerful by the moment, but it’s not enough for them to simply capture that much more information. Expectations around what users can do with this information have changed in a big way, with features like autonomous processing and predictive analytics becoming more of an expectation. At RCN 2024, Looq AI showcased a hardware/software platform that delivers on these expectations in every way.
Comprised of the Looq Q-Camera, automated cloud processing and a web-based application for visualization, analysis and collaboration, this end-to-end surveying solution provides survey-grade data that orientates itself in a way that allow users to simply pick up the device and start scanning. The processing of this info is 100% autonomous, with AI that removes people and other irrelevant data to provide users with insights and answers that much quicker.
Those capabilities are making a big difference on topographic survey projects as well as in the utility sector. They’re distinctions that have already created tangible benefits for users.
“On the overhead distribution side in the utility sector, a team of two people used to be able to capture info for 20 poles in a day,” said Dominique Meyer, CEO and Founder of Looq AI. “Using our system, one person can do 250 poles in a single day. Survey teams have been able to replace total stations with a tool and process that scales, so it’s a difference users can see immediately.”
We’ve previously reported on how Looq’s solution appears to overcome many of the shortcomings of past close-range photogrammetry solutions. Their proprietary handheld system combines high-resolution cameras, survey-grade GPS, and an AI processor. The data it captured is then processed in the cloud to create geo-referenced 3D digital twins and ortho-images, complete with AI-generated insights.
By delivering a survey solution that is as powerful as it is easy to use, the platform might be able to overcome many shortcomings of handheld CRP solutions from the past. It's already producing quantifiable outcomes, but the intangible value it can create could truly set it apart.
“The time saving is where you see the ROI today, but the true differentiator is the AI,” Meyer told Geo Week News. “You can quantify the bottom line costs associated with replacing a pole, but the liability associated with that pole falling and hurting someone is in the millions. That’s our differentiator. Our AI can predict when that sort of thing is going to happen, so you can eliminate what are otherwise going to be significant costs.”
