Beyond the visible

Author:莫妮卡·米勒·罗杰斯（Monica Miller Rodgers）

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could measure within a photo? Just take the photo on a device, touch the photo between point A and point B, and acquire the exact measurement you need?

The thought of this ideal situation was the starting point for the BLK3D development team. The result is the latest BLK innovation: a handheld device allowing for in-picture measurements. Now capturing multiple accurate measurements at once really is as simple as taking a photo on your smartphone.

TheReportersat down with Johannes Hotz, business director, to learn more about the new BLK3D.

The BLK3D is the newest in a line made for professionals who need simple measurements in their daily work. Can you tell us more about the innovation?

当我们最初分析了market, reviewed competitive product offerings and conducted several interviews with existing and potential customers, we quickly realised that there is a huge demand for a tool that captures visual information, and provides inspection grade-3D measurements that are automatically indexed to structural plans as well as location and date stamped.

There are several, image-based collaboration platforms out there. They take millions of photos to document construction site progress, however, not a single of those pictures allows you to determine the exact position of a pipe that now, for example, may be hidden by natural construction site progress.

BLK3D将在所有上述的需求。我t is a handheld, Android-based, 3D, in-picture measurement system and project organiser powered by photogrammetry and innovative edge-computing. It creates a completely new market category for measurement and documentation related devices. It enables professionals who need measurements to carry out their daily tasks to effortlessly capture and manage digital data. Plus, it works both indoors and outdoors. This ensures the support of many use cases across many different industries – from the Architecture, Engineering, Construction (AEC) market, forensics to supporting insurance companies and loss adjusters.

When starting the project, what was your target to achieve?

We wanted to establish a cross-functional, multi-cultural team of specialists around the world to achieve something great. We wanted to use the great technologies we have available within Hexagon and create a product that - at this point in time -simply didn’t exist. The entire development team had one major target - bring a vision to life, develop exclusive technologies and make those available to the widest variety of people who never thought this would even be possible – the BLK approach. We used existing technologies, re-invented them in terms of how we use them, miniaturised the system, and made it for real time.

How does the BLK3D work?

我f you can take a photo with your smartphone, then already have all skills you need to use the BLK3D. Simplicity was the most important design principle throughout the entire project.

To be more precise, the BLK3D uses on-device edge processing to make multiple, 3D image measurements available on the device in real time. Users only have to take the photo, and then they can create 3D measurements in a 2D photo.

捕获后，将索引所有视觉测量信息，并按时间顺序自动存储，以及所有分配的标签。然后可以将这些测量结果导出为PDF，并与其他项目团队成员或分包商共享。甚至可以选择从图像中创建或数字化3D对象（点，线，区域）并将其导出到各种CAD格式中。

Ultimately, there is the possibility to create BLK3D floorplans. Here, the user can attach BLK3D images to each wall of the room and review those images over time. Meaning, users can document entire construction progress and review and measure it at any point thereafter.

Finally, we developed a new desktop application that allows users to comfortably measure in the BLK3D images and easily organise all projects and photos ever taken.

Who is the BLK3D made for?

Keeping in line with the values of the BLK line of simplicity, seamless integration, design orientation and highest quality standards, we designed the BLK3D so it provides quick and precise measurements in the most simplistic way possible.

The capturing, visualising and indexing of the 3D measurement information with on-device edge processing allows for instant interaction. Especially beneficial to those in structural work in the different mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) stages, along with architectural, facility management, window fitting, insurance adjusting, public safety and utility professions, the BLK3D reduces time and resources required to measure and document a job accurately.

What benefits will customers enjoy with the BLK3D?

主要的好处是节省时间和简单性。如前所述，没有什么比拍摄对象的照片更简单，更快的，然后可以选择测量3D捕获的所有内容。

BLK3D将传感器和软件组合在一个手持设备中。所有捕获的数据均在设备本身上处理，并立即准备好测量信息进行用户交互，从而大大减少了传统方法的时间。无需连接到网络或云即可访问基于图像的测量结果，并且将图像纳入了不同的构造阶段，从而自动创建了时间顺序的项目进度历史记录。接下来，有熟悉和简单性。BLK3D的用户体验基于熟悉的刷牙手势和直接的自我解释应用功能。不需要额外的培训来使用已经熟悉的设备。然后有精确的结果。BLK3D提供了很高的精度，可确保您拥有正确的信息而无需返工。最后，还有最重要的安全。从单个图像和远程图像中，用户可以访问所需的所有信息 - 高度，宽度，深度和区域。 No longer needing to access hazardous spaces, crews are kept safer on site.