BLK360
BLK2GO
BLK2GO PULSE
BLK ARC
BLK2FLY
BLK3D
BLK247
Software
Accessories
What a year it’s been for Leica BLK! We rounded up the best of 2023 to showcase how Leica BLK and Hexagon continue to push the boundaries of reality capture with two new product launches, a slew of immersive customer stories, and some exciting media appearances. Plus, we’ll give heads up for what’s coming in 2024.
New products and partnerships with new innovations
Leica BLK2GO PULSE First-Person Scanner
2023 saw the release of the Leica BLK2GO PULSE, a brand-new first-person handheld imaging laser scanner that continues the success of the original Leica BLK2GO. The BLK2GO PULSE was launched at INTERGEO in October, and Hexagon began a partnership with Sony to develop the technology behind the BLK2GO PULSE – a sensor fusion of GrandSLAM and dual Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensors that deliver complete, colorized 3D point clouds to a user’s smartphone instantly in the field.
But we didn’t stop innovating there. The BLK2GO PULSE also offers a first-person scanning method where the user attaches their smartphone to the scanner. Dual solid-state ToF arrays capture data and stream it to the smartphone screen, mimicking the human field of view.
From there, users push a button to instantly capture what they see while they walk with the scanner, holding it in one hand. Data is available right away, ready to share, export, or upload to the cloud. There is no other more intuitive scanning method available for reality capture, and it is a first-of-its-kind scanner. We’re really proud of it, and hats off to our design team for creating such a stunning reality capture solution.
Reality Cloud Studio, powered by HxDR
Imagine a way to work with reality capture data in the cloud – and with automation processes to make your work easier and faster than ever before. We’ve delivered that tool – and it is called Reality Cloud Studio. Launched at HxGN Live, it is a cloud-based application for reality capture data storage, automated processing, immersive visualization, and up-to-date collaboration, it is a seamless way to work with your reality capture data in the cloud with a simple, browser-based UI.
Reality Cloud Studio is Hexagon’s very first reality capture Software as a Service (SaaS). Built on our Hexagon Digital Reality (HxDR) cloud platform, Reality Cloud Studio represents five years of active development to create the most ambitious point cloud management, visualization, collaboration, and storage service ever conceived.
Combining cutting-edge technologies from key Hexagon companies (Leica Geosystems, Luciad, Technodigit, and Immersal), Reality Cloud Studio is a scalable application where customers can begin automatically processing and meshing point clouds in the field, collaborate in real-time with key stakeholders, and export data in a variety of standard industry formats — all from the cloud. Highly automated and with an intuitive interface optimized for cloud streaming, Reality Cloud Studio is the next step forward for the reality capture industry.
Awards, accolades, and industry recognition
Of course, we are always humbled and proud of the industry recognition that Leica BLK continues to receive. 2023 was another year of success for Leica BLK laser scanners, receiving multiple industry awards and achieving recognition for our disruptive innovation.
The next-generation Leica BLK360 was recognized as a 2023 CES Honoree, a Built Design Award Winner in Construction Product Design, the recipient of an Irish Construction Excellence Award in Construction Product Innovation – Digital, and received yet another win at the Muse Design Awards in Product Design – Computer Information and Technology.
As for our brand-new scanner, the BLK2GO PULSE and its first-person innovation was announced in December as a CES 2024 Honoree in digital imaging and photography, in addition to receiving a Wichmann Innovation Award in the hardware category.
Reality Cloud Studio, a remarkable achievement for cloud-based reality capture, also received a Wichmann Innovation Award for software.
Leica BLK doing the heavy lifting, told through customer stories
Leica BLK360 Scans at Philae, Egypt, with Professor Nick Hedley
Dr. Nick Hedley, Director of the Spatial Interface Research Lab at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, has over 20 years of experience in virtual environments, mixed reality, and geovisualization – and he is an expert in reality capture.
Dr. Hedley and the BLK360 made their way to Philae, Egypt, to scan a temple and improve upon his photogrammetry of the same structure. However, photogrammetry has its limits – and especially in Dr. Hedley’s case, where the need to seamlessly move from strongly sunlit exteriors into dark, shadowy building interiors pushed him to look for new reality capture methods.
The BLK360 had the exact combo of speed, agility, ability to scan in light and darkness, and how it can track its position from scan to scan – precisely what Dr. Hedley needed.
Read more at Smithsonian Magazine
Preserving Volterra, Italy, with Leica BLK
Volterra, Italy, is a walled, hilltop city and a wonderful historic site full of ancient artifacts and structures. Such a historic site deserves to be preserved for posterity – the question is, how much can be preserved, and how much can be discovered about Volterra’s long history?
Laser scanning has proved to be a perfect method for digitally preserving Volterra’s unique buildings and features and making new discoveries among its ruins. Case Technologies, Inc., partnered with the Volterra-Detroit Foundation, runs an annual workshop using laser scanners such as the BLK2GO, BLK360, BLK2FLY, and Leica RTC360, and Leica Geosystems was proud to sponsor this year’s workshop. Check out how much they preserved, how they did it, and what they discovered.
Read more on the Leica BLK Blog
Documenting Ancient Cavates at Bandelier National Monument, US
Near the banks of the Rio Grande River in New Mexico, US, the Pueblo people carved out homes, storehouses, and communal spaces in soft, volcanic tuff nearly 1,000 years ago. These villages spanned miles – true architectural wonders. Known as “cavate dwellings,” they are a type of natural, sustainable architecture.
Two graduate students at the Harvard Graduate School of Design – Jialei Tang and Gracie Meek, who respectively specialize in urban planning and landscape architecture – were quite curious about how what makes these cavates unique. So they used the BLK360 to map these dwellings for the very first time.
Read more on the Leica BLK Blog
Making headlines
Leica BLK also continued to make media appearances throughout 2023, and here’s a short list of some of the articles we think you might find most interesting.
For Construction Pros: Leica BLKFLY Lidar UAV Gets Indoor Scanning Upgrade with BLK2FLY
Keep on the lookout in 2024!
Each year brings new innovations for Leica BLK and the software that makes our scanners sing. What will 2024 bring? We’re under lock and key, but keep tuned to our channels to be the first to find out.
See you next year!
- The Leica BLK team