At 2015’s Year in Infrastructure conference, it seems like all anyone wanted to talk about was UAVs and Bentley’s new photogrammetry software, ContextCapture. The software allows for users to snap pictures on cameras as simple as those on smartphones and use those pictures to generate what Bentley calls a “reality mesh.”
This software will make a big difference in the way that construction, architecture, and other industries dependent on visualization and measurement operate. Listening to some of my fellow conference attendees, there was also some excitement (and worry) that it could disrupt laser scanning as the leading technology for 3D imaging.
Luckily, I had a chance to catch up with Bentley CEO Greg Bentley and hash some of these ideas out. We spoke about topics including:
– why ContextCapture, the company’s easy photogrammetry technology is a big deal
– how laser scanning isn’t going away
– why we’re getting closer a world where 3D capture is performed constantly
– the best way to use UAVs to go “furthest, fastest” with a project
– why it’s not about photogrammetry vs. laser scanning, but about reality meshes vs. point clouds
