Origins 4.2 – the latest functions

ORIGINS 4.2 – THE LATEST FUNCTIONS

Discover all new Origins functions in the latest release of Origins version 4.2!

Due to our constant development and the inspiring feedback from our users, PointCab Origins 4.2 brings
many new functionalities and enhancements.
Check out the new functions below:

NEW FUNCTIONS

GUI Update: Customize Origins like never before

What it’s for?

Experience Origins with a completely new look and feel: customize and arrange windows in size and position to your liking.

How it’s done:

Just click and drag your windows in Origins and arrange them to your liking.

New License Manager

Click to enlarge the picture

What it’s for?

Discover a new, convenient and easy-to-use way to manage all your PointCab Licenses in one place.

How it’s done:

The new License Manager provides an easy way to manage all your PointCab Licenses. Just take a look at our slides and see how it’s done.

New Tools Menu available

What it’s for?

We have moved!
You’ll now find all options to import Elements and prepare Nebula files in one place in this toolbar.

How it’s done:

Just toggle to the Tools Menu item and find all your options for importing Elements & preparation of Nebula files.

New Vectorizer Tool for rectangles (customer request)💡

What it’s for?

Enjoy a faster workflow and create rectangle vector lines with one click!

How it’s done:

The new rectangle tool of our Vectorizer creates a rectangle of vector lines with one click. Enabling you to speed up your vectorization!

New way to export clusters (customer request)💡

What it’s for?

You can now choose clusters and easily export them as separate projects.

How it’s done:

Just select the clusters you want to export as a separate project and do a right-click. Choose export and that’s it!

New "2D + Z" transformation method (customer request)💡

What it’s for?

Minimize the risk of errors when selecting identical 3D points!

The new 2D+Z transformation method was developed for projects that require rotation around the Z axis and translation in all three dimensions (XYZ). It ensures an accurate transformation while maintaining the perpendicularity of the object. Verticality is maintained through the registration process and derived from the tilt measurement data.

(Note: The screenshots for the 3D transformation are exaggerated to show that the object can be rotated around all axes.)

How it’s done:

When transforming your point clouds in the Transform Calculator, just select “2D + Z” in the dropdown menu and hit “Find constellations”.

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GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS

Improved Orthophoto appearance in color sheet (customer request)💡

What it’s for?
We improved the appearance of the color sheets, for a more crisp look and easier workflow. The upper picture demonstrates the better appearance in detail.

Advanced scan renaming (customer request)💡

What it’s for?

Changing the names of your scans (and cluster) is now a breeze. Just choose the scans you want to rename and give them a new name. Don’t lose track of your projects anymore.

How it’s done:

Just select your cluster and start to rename it to your liking. Everything in brackets is editable.

Hide scan names in quality matrix

What it’s for?

Turn on / off the scan names in the quality matrix.

How it’s done?

Simply press “n” on your keyboard to hide or show the scan names.

Language Settings moved

How it’s done?

Struggle to change Origins to your preferred Language? You’ll now find all languages in the Settings Menu in Origins.

Automatic update for FARO API

What it’s for?

Origins now check automatically for the latest FARO API and suggest you to update it.

Hide scan positions in top view (customer request)💡

What it’s for?

Hide or unhide your scan positions by cluster in the top view.

How it’s done?

In the Advanced Importer select your cluster, open the menu with a right click and select un/hide scans to hide or unhide them.

Riegl SDK Update

What it’s for?

PointCab Origins 4.2 now supports all Riscan datasets.

EXTENDED DATA FORMATS – IMPORT / EXPORT

Trace your footsteps

What it’s for?

You can now import your trajectory files from Mobile Mapping Systems and beautifully visualize your path.

How it’s done?

Open “Import Elements” under Tools and choose “Import trajectory”. Browse your files to add your XYZ coordinates from the traj.txt file. Adjust the data types like in this example and you are ready to go!

Click to enlarge the picture

Import Ladybug panoramas (customer request)💡

What it’s for?

Now you can import your Ladybug panoramas into PointCab Origins.

How it’s done?

Under “Import Elements” choose the “Import Ladybug” tab and start importing your Pano-Views!

Click to enlarge the picture

Import Matterport panoramas (customer request)💡

What it’s for?

Now you can import your Matterport panoramas into PointCab Origins.

How it’s done?

When importing Matterport files, the panoramas are imported directly (no need to go to Import Elements – Import e57).

Import Viametris panoramas

What it’s for?

Now you can import your Viametris panoramas into PointCab Origins.

How it’s done?

Under “Import Elements” choose the “Import Viametris” tab and start importing your pano-views!

Click to enlarge the picture

BUG FIXES

Global Surveyors Day

GLOBAL SURVEYORS DAY

March 21 is officially declared Global Surveyors Day.

A good reason to take a closer look at the history and background!

ABOUT THE HISTORY OF SURVEYING

THE BEGINNINGS

The beginnings of surveying can be traced back to the construction of the pyramids, where property boundaries were defined using hemp ropes and knots. Greek philosophers such as Pythagoras and Aristarchus of Samos were investigating the shape of the earth and the movement of the planets. During the Roman Empire, surveying played an important role in the development and administration of conquered territories.

During the Middle Ages, surveying was simplified and geometry was regarded as one of the liberal arts. The rediscovery of ancient writings in the 15th century, including Ptolemy’s “Geographia” led to an upswing in cartography. The Age of Discovery required more accurate maps and instruments, which led to the development of new surveying techniques.

MODERN ERA

Surveying experienced a further upswing in the 18th century. Following the French Revolution, the surveying and archiving of all properties was achieved with the introduction of the land tax register. In almost all of Europe, the introduction of the metric system in the second half of the 19th century put an end to the variety of different units of measurement.

Nowadays, modern technologies such as GPS, laser scanning and photogrammetry make it possible to measure our world comprehensively, digitally and with high precision.

GLOBAL SURVEYORS DAY

NATIONAL SURVEYORS WEEK IN THE USA

The first “National Surveyors Week” was proclaimed on February 13, 1984, by the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM). In addition, the 40th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, signed a proclamation calling on citizens to recognize the achievements of professional surveyors. The proclamation therefore acknowledged the important role of land surveyors, who were instrumental in establishing settlements in North America. George Washington, the first recognized surveyor, is probably the most famous among them.

National Surveyors Week starts every year on the third Sunday in March and is historically one of the first official events to regularly celebrate the achievements of surveyors.

GLOBAL SURVEYORS DAY

Global Surveyors’ Day has been officially celebrated since 2018, which conveniently coincides with National Surveyors Week, which has existed for some time.

Global Surveyors’ Day was first introduced and celebrated on March 21, 2018, at the Conference on Land and Poverty at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, DC, USA.

The day is supported by many organizations, including the CLGE, NSPS, and FIG.

DIFFERENT SURVEYORS DAYS AROUND THE WORLD

Although “Global Surveyors Day” was officially declared in Washington DC in2018 and supported by the Council of European Geodetic Surveyors (GLGE), in Germany, for example, Surveying Day is often still celebrated on March 5 instead of March 21. The reason for this is that the GLGE already proclaimed March 5 as Surveying Day in 2012, the birthday of the famous cartographer and globe maker Gerhard Mercator.

In Iran, on the other hand, the day falls on September 4 – the birthday of the Iranian surveyor and astrologer Al-Biruni.

Regardless of when the day is celebrated where in the world, everyone seems to agree on one thing: surveyors and geodesists make incredibly important contributions to the well-being of mankind and therefore deserve our attention and recognition.

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PointCab Recap & Round up 2023

2023: Recap & Round-up

PREFACE

Since the beginning of the 2020s, one crisis seems to be chasing after the other. Unfortunately, 2023 is no exception. This year too, conflicts and natural disasters are keeping the world on edge.

Once again, we can only express our sympathy and hope that 2024 will bring improvement in this respect.

DESPITE A DIFFICULT WOLRD ECONOMY:
POINTCAB CONTINUES TO GROW

Although the global economy as a whole and the construction industry in Germany, in particular, are struggling, we are expanding our development team. We are working on new products and improving our existing product portfolio. Particularly noteworthy in this area are our 4Archicad plugin, PointCab Origins, and PointCab Nebula.

4 ARCHICAD PLUGIN – A RESOUNDING SUCCESS

In 2023, our 4Archicad plugin celebrates its first birthday and is already breaking all records: never before has a PointCab plugin achieved such sales figures in such a short time. The recipe for success? Our customers. Thanks to the close cooperation and valuable feedback from our “power users”, our developers are able to create a product that is perfectly tailored to the needs of Archicad users and easy to use at the same time. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all contributors and look forward to working with them in the future.

POINTCAB ORIGINS – SCAN2BIM AND MOBILE MAPPING

As in previous years, we are constantly working on further adapting our core product PointCab Origins to the needs of our customers and the new technical developments in the laser scanning market. For one thing, we have implemented even more customer requests in our updates in 2023. Furthermore, we have introduced Origins 3D, a new product aimed specifically at users working with mobile mapping data and looking for a simple Scan2BIM workflow. We have also added further functions for mobile mapping users (e.g. simple import of NavVis panoramas) to further expand the workflow for this target group.

POINTCAB NEBULA – A NEW ERA

In order to make PointCab Nebula accessible to a wider range of users, we have continued to adapt and develop our cloud solution over the past year: an improved 3D viewer and faster loading of pano views are just some of the impressive results. However, the biggest innovation, which we have been working on in the background for some time, is scheduled for 2024: Nebula will be available as an independent solution for all major cloud platforms (e.g. Google Drive, etc.) and can be used independently of Origins. This means that anyone can use Nebula to share and visualize their point cloud projects via a link, regardless of the hardware or software they use.

DRIVING INNOVATION - POINTCAB PARTICIPATES IN RESEARCH PROJECT

Of course, it is important for us to keep our finger on the pulse and keep up with the latest technologies. That’s why PointCab is taking part in a research project on neural networks in partnership with the DHBW.

NEURAL NETWORKS AND VISUALIZATION IN VR

The idea is simple: existing mesh models (e.g. of machines) are to be automatically recognized in a point cloud and visualized in a VR environment. This not only makes it possible to create a digital twin of a factory, for example, but also to precisely plan an expansion or modification.

However, a lot of work is required to achieve this goal. Test data sets must be recorded and analyzed in a neural network (AI algorithm) to train it so that it can reliably recognize the objects to be identified later on. In addition, further algorithms must be developed to enable classification and segmentation of the point cloud.

At the moment, we are already able to automatically recognize ceilings and floors in the point cloud and are working on further expanding the neural network.

EVENTS 2023

Unbelievable but true: PointCab celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2023. A reason to celebrate!

10 YEARS OF POINTCAB AND MORE

In 2023, our team was once again on the road and participated in various events to get in touch with our customers and partners in person. Particular highlights were BauScan in Magdeburg, GeoWeek in Denver, and, of course, Intergeo in Berlin. Of course, we couldn’t miss the opportunity and celebrated our 10th anniversary there in a typical Berlin atmosphere. Many thanks to everyone who celebrated with us. We are already looking forward to the next 10 years together!

NEW AND OLD PARTNERSHIPS

THE POINTCAB NETWORK CONTINUES TO GROW

Our largest hardware partner to date, GeoSLAM, was acquired by FARO in 2023. Many customers have been wondering what impact this will have on their Draw software and its availability in the future. We are pleased to announce that our OEM partnership will continue with FARO and our software solutions will continue to be available to FARO customers under a new name (TBA).

Last but not least, more resellers have joined our network this year. These include FEIMA in Hong Kong, TOPOSTORE in Romania, as well as dron-e and LE Soluzioni Srl in Italy.

WHAT ELSE REMAINS TO BE SAID?

THANK YOU!

Anyone who has read our recap up to this point will have noticed that our success this year can once again largely be credited to our customers and partners. We would therefore like to take this opportunity to thank our partners and customers once again for their loyalty, wonderful cooperation, and valuable feedback.

Last but not least, we would also like to take this opportunity to thank our team. They tackle their work with incredible motivation and enthusiasm every day, Without them, we would not be where we are today after 10 years in this industry.

With this in mind, we say: Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and here’s to a successful 2024!

Feima Robotics & PointCab announce bundle

Feima Robotics and PointCab announce bundle to create an End-to-End Mobile Mapping Solution for customers worldwide

By entering a strategic partnership, Feima Robotics, and PointCab have created an all-in-one mobile mapping solution, covering the complete Scan to BIM workflow. It streamlines and integrates the mobile mapping and point cloud processing workflow, resulting in an affordable and user-friendly experience.

a strong partnership and great potential

Richard Steffen, CEO of PointCab is confident about the success of the partnership:
“With Feima Robotics we have found a reliable partner to further simplify the Scan to BIM workflow for a broader worldwide user base. The fusion of a state-of-the-art mobile mapping solution with our Origins Software fills the gap from reality capture to CAD deliverables and we are pleased by the innovative and user-friendly End-to-End solution emerging from it. We see great potential in this international partnership and are excited for the future ahead.”

Shijie Zhang, VP of Feima Robotics sees a great chance in the cooperation with PointCab:
“Feima Robotics is dedicated to providing our customers with geospatial solutions with integrated software and hardware. In the past years, we have released about 20 more types of intelligent UAV systems and dynamic 3D mobile scanning platforms. We feel now is a good time and pace for Feima Robotics to expand our overseas business. Together with PointCab, we work to provide the best possible mobile mapping solutions for our Chinese domestic and overseas clients.”

STRIVING FOR THE PERFECT WORKFLOW

Handling point cloud data from mobile mapping solutions is often a complex task to do.

How do you ensure good data quality? And how do you process the captured data to create CAD-ready deliverables?

The new hardware + software bundle from Feima and PointCab addresses exactly those issues, providing mobile mapping customers with a well-thought-out End-to-End Solution, tailored to easily process huge datasets.

State of the art mobile mapping solution...

The Feima SLAM100 handheld mobile mapping solution comes with a wide field of view. Therefore, data can be comprehensively captured from all corners within a max. range of 120m. The optional three 5-megapixel cameras allow simultaneous acquisition of texture information, colorized point clouds, and local panoramas. Automatic acquisition for extracting of control points and converting them into local and global coordinate systems is just one of many handy features the SLAM100 is equipped with. Additional mounts and accessories (for UAVs, GPS, Vehicles, a.m.m.) allow diverse data collection for a wide range of applications.

Feima’s mobile app for Android and iOS allows synchronizing all project information to the cloud. Feima’s SLAM GO POST software makes post-processing of the collected data easy. Helping to produce partial images, display point clouds, and optimize results with just a few clicks.

...meets powerful and intuitive software

After importing the Feima data into Origins, stunning ortho photo views are automatically created by the software, providing a clear visualization of the project. This allows the user to navigate through the data in a more intuitive fashion.

With the help of ortho photo views, creating layouts, sections, floor plans, and more can be done with just a few clicks. In addition, the Origins pano views are unmatched when it comes to a fast and clear visualization of mobile mapping data. Preferably used for CAD and BIM modeling, taking measurements and gathering 3D information directly in the pano views helps to speed up the workflow immensely. On top of that, semi-automized tools like the Vectorizer also help to generate CAD-ready deliverables easily. Vectorized layouts, flatness deviations, volume determination, and much more can therefore be created in seconds.

Thanks to its broad inter-compatibility, all Origins results can be exported to all prevalent CAD and BIM software. PointCab’s optional CAD Plugins for AutoCAD, Revit, ZWCAD, and more offer an even better-optimized workflow, enabling CAD/BIM users to directly transfer all point cloud data into CAD objects without the need to export/import it first.

This End-to-End Solution of powerful hardware combined with the easy-to-use and intuitive software makes this bundle a perfect match for starters and pros alike!

👉Read the Chinese press release from Feima Robotics

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Origins 4.1 – The latest functions

ORIGINS 4.1 – THE LATEST FUNCTIONS

Discover all-new functions in the latest 4.1 Origins Release!

Due to our constant development and the inspiring feedback from our users, PointCab Origins 4.1 comes with many new functionalities and enhancements. Check out the new functions below.

NEW FUNCTIONS

Polygon editor for area-based tools

What it’s for?
View and edit the coordinates of your polygon points in the job editor!

How it’s done:
When creating a surface the coordinates of the polygon points appear in the job editor and can be adjusted there. This affects all functions of the area tool and all functions that are related to areas: Merger, point cloud export, volume, and mesh.

Export origin point of sections in .dwg (customer request) 💡

What it’s for?
When exporting a section, the center of the section is exported as an additional CAD element called “origin point”. This way the reference point is preserved and you are quickly able to restore it, in case you need it. (A crosshair will be displayed in AutoCAD)

How it’s done:
Go to Layout & Section Tool > Create Section > Settings > Layout/Section/Space Warp > CAD > Activate “Add Centerpoint to dwg/dxf” under “Option”.

Customized 3D Point export to .dwg

What it’s for?
Now you can choose your preferred data format for exporting points to .dwg!

How it’s done:
In the Job Editor under “CAD” you can now find the “Text visibility in Export”. Here you can define where PointID, Point Number, and X, Y, Z information shall be exported to. When the 3D points are exported, the corresponding folder opens directly. Therefore right-clicking “show in folder” is no longer necessary. In the .dwg file, the selected information will be displayed next to the point. The same functionality is also available under the “File” tab in the Job Editor.

“Save as” Functionality to .pcp (PointCab Project)

What it’s for?
Finally, a new way to duplicate your project! Previously, you could only archive a project and then had to pack and unpack it again… These times are finally over!

How it’s done:
Just go to File > Save As: Origins saves a copy of your current project state in the background. Isn’t that great?

Export Orthophotos position (customer request) 💡

What it’s for?
Export the positions of several layouts with ease!

How it’s done:
Select all your layouts with the selection arrow or Ctrl + A, then copy them with Ctrl + C and simply paste them into your text editor. You will easily get all layouts with name and order Lefthandle | Righthandle | Center, as well as all 3D points.

Toggle on/off names of Panoramas

What it’s for?
Finally a clearer display of panoramas – due to a third option!

How it’s done:
The names and positions of the panoramas can easily be hidden by pressing the “P” key. We love the new feature, try it out yourself right now!

Sections with enhanced reflectivity

What it’s for?
The new option enhances the reflectivity in your panoramas and in sections!

How it’s done:
In the panoramas, there is a new sheet that enhances reflectivity. If the “Enhanced reflectivity” slider is checked, the reflectivity will be displayed with increased contrast. To use it for sections just create a new one and set the reflectivity to 100% in the Job Editor under “Processing” and activate the slider for “Enhanced Reflectivity”. Now calculate your job and the sheet with “Enhanced Reflectivity” is available. Lookin’ good, isn’t it?

Click to enlarge the picture

Export all panoramas in different file formats

What it’s for?
This new option helps you to convert your panoramas into your desired image file format. You can choose between png, jpg, tif, bmp, webp

How it’s done:
Before exporting the desired panoramas, choose your preferred format for exporting in the settings under General > Export > “Panorama format”.
Once that’s done, go to the Advanced Importer > “Import” tab: do a right click: select All scans > “Save all Panoramas” and export all panoramas in your preferred file formats!

⚠️Cloud-to-Cloud (C2C) Test / Beta⚠️

What’s it about?
We intend to offer a full-fledged cloud-to-cloud (C2C) registration in Origins. For now, this is our first attempt to provide C2C in Origins 4.1.

Here’s what to keep in mind:
We explicitly don’t recommend using this C2C in its current form to register actual projects!

But we would like to encourage you to test our C2C beta and we’re excited about your experiences and feedback about it.

Discover all details in our C2C Test / Beta PDF

GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS

Plane position names inside the plane area

What it’s for?
Improved visibility: In the Registration Editor, the labels of the recognized layers are now displayed within the respective layer.

Optimized Nebula Export

What it’s for?
Just a much faster Nebula Export to get your point cloud projects into the cloud!
Who doesn’t want that?

Shortcut Manager improvements

What it’s for?
We have added a Clear-Button in the Shortcut Manager. Maybe just a little improvement for your user experience but we think you deserve it.

How it’s done:
Settings > Shortcuts: New “Clear Button” to delete user-defined shortcuts.
The “Record Button” can then be used to record as usual.

Project main files backup

What it’s for?
When changes are made to the project, Origins now creates automatic backups in the background!

How it’s done:
You don’t have to worry about it, origins will create the backups for you automatically!

Customizable zoom speed

What it’s for?
Adjust the zoom speed in the 3D viewer the way you prefer it.

How it’s done:
Open the 3D Viewer and click on the Gear Icon in the upper left corner. Then you’ll be able to adjust your zoom speed in the “3D View Parameter” in the Job Editor. This setting can also be found under Settings > GUI > 3D Control > Zoom Speed

Advanced project information

What it’s for?
This handy feature keeps you on track with your project information!

How it’s done:
You might have noticed it already when opening Origins: in the Last Projects overview, more project details are now displayed!
Curious about more information? Just open your project and go to “File” > “Project Info”. Now you can view your “Project Information” above the Job Editor. Have a look at e.g. the creation date, date of last changes, total processing time, and much more!

Layout center line visible in all standard views

What it’s for?
The red dotted line of a section, which marks the center of a section, will now also be displayed in the left-view orthophotos window.

How it’s done:
No need to change anything. Origins does that automatically now.

Save into FARO project file (customer request) 💡

What it’s for:

We have added the new function “Save into FARO project file” by user request.

How it’s done:

With this function, registration values (scan positions and rotations) can be directly written into an existing FARO LSPROJ file.

EXTENDED DATA FORMATS – IMPORT / EXPORT

FARO SDK/API update – Support of FARO Premium Scans

Fantastic news for all FARO Focus Premium users!
As of now, the scans can be imported from the Premium Scanner.

Import e57 files with panorama (for Mobile Mapping scan data)

What it’s for?

Now you can write panoramas in .e57/.las format from datasets of NaVvis, GeoSLAM, and Stonex.

How it’s done with .e57 files:

Create a new project and open your scan data. Select the .e57-file and save it to start importing your e57-file as a point cloud.
Proceed to import the panoramas under “Tools” and click on “Import elements”
Navigate to the “Import E57” tab and select the same file. There you can see how many panoramas are included. Click on import.
Last step: simply calculate the panoramas in the job list.

How it’s done with Stonex files:

Create a new project and open your Stonex data. Select the .las-file and save it to start importing your .las-file as a point cloud.
After your Stonex point cloud has been successfully imported into Origins, go to “File” > “Import Elements”.
Navigate to the “Import Stonex” tab and navigate to the location of your .txt file and press “Import”. Make sure that the option “Copy images to project” is activated.
The panorama views appear as circles in your project and as jobs in the job list that need to be calculated. After Origins has processed the images, you can open them as usual by selecting the Panorama tool and clicking on the scan point in the standard views.

Please note:
The Stonex panoramas are just hemisphere panoramas (180 degrees) and therefore the point cloud cannot be back-projected onto them, which means that no measurements can be made. They are purely suitable for visualization purposes.

BUG FIXES

PointCab appoints new CTO & CMO

PointCab CEO and co-founder Dr. Richard Steffen has decided to strengthen the PointCab leadership with the appointment of a new CTO and CMO.

Both picks are dedicated young professionals who have been with PointCab for a couple of years. Senior Developer Martin Graner, will be taking over the position of CTO from Dr. Richard Steffen. Global Marketing Manager Nicole Herber will fill the newly created role of CMO where she will take a more eclectic role in PointCab´s future endeavors.

Martin Graner, CTO

Steffen explains the decision as follows: “We are still nimble and lean yet not the small start-up we were ten years ago. With the company growing economically as well as in terms of a variety of new areas in the future to come, it is no longer feasible for me to fill the double role of CTO and CEO. Luckily, I have found a natural successor in my role as CTO with Martin. He started working with PointCab in 2016 and has since proven himself time and time again. He’s a quick and strategic thinker and the knowledge he’s built up around our products over the years can easily compete with my own. He’s become a trusted voice in our decision-making process and has my full confidence. I’ve never thought the day would come of myself saying this, but undoubtedly with Martin taking on the task, I look forward to stepping down as CTO and dedicating my time fully to my role as CEO.”

Steffen continues: “I am also happy to say that I’m just as confident with Nicole as our new CMO. When she started as a Marketing Manager in 2019, I have to admit that I treated our Marketing as more of an afterthought mainly working with external entities. Our COO Chris McAuliffe saw the need to change things up and hired her to build up our own Marketing Strategy on various levels. Since then, she not only did just that but also opened our eyes to what potential still lays ahead. That’s why we decided to strengthen our Marketing department with Nicole leading the change. From day one, she was full of ideas with the drive and can-do attitude to accomplish them. She’s proven to be a great mentor for her team and a strong sparring partner for our leadership team. “

Nicole Herber, CTO

Concluding Dr. Richard Steffen notes: “With Martin and Nicole in their new leadership roles, I’m confident we have positioned ourselves well for the future. Their appointments allow us to further grow, while simultaneously strengthening our existing teams and structures. As an employer, we strive to provide the opportunity and mentorship for our employees to achieve their full potential.

2022: Recap & Round-up

Introductory remarks

2022 was yet again a troubling year when it comes to world events.
At the beginning of the year, everyone was looking forward to the pandemic fading and everyday life resuming more or less the way it was before. However, a rude awakening came with the start of the assault on Ukraine in February. As the year continued, more crises followed like the fight for freedom in Iran and natural disasters like wildfires all around the world or the devastating floods in Pakistan.

As a company, some of these events affected our economic situation and our business. However, what affected us, the people behind the company, more was the human suffering behind those events.

So before we give you the 2022 recap for the company PointCab, we as the PointCab team would like to acknowledge our privilege to be able to work and live freely and unharmed in 2022, while so many others did not. Our heart goes out to the people of Ukraine, Iran, Pakistan, and all others who have to endure loss, suffering, sickness, and tragedy.
May 2023 bring you peace, relief, and hope.

New Releases: Nebula

We’ll start our recap not chronologically but with one of our more recent releases: PointCab Nebula. For the first time in our company’s history, we have developed a new product that is designed to be used independently from our desktop application and main product Origins. Granted, we’re not fully there yet. At the moment Nebula users still rely on Origins to create point cloud projects fit for upload into the Nebula cloud solution. However, we are dedicated to transforming Nebula from a platform for sharing and managing point cloud data to your all-in-one tool with point cloud processing abilities. So stay tuned!

New Releases: CAD Plugins

While releasing a new major product might be enough work done in one year for many, it’s not for us. That’s why we also expanded our product portfolio with 3 new plugins in 2022. The 4Autocad plugin was released first in May. Since Autocad is one of the most popular CAD software on the market, we felt it was time to provide a more simple point cloud workflow.

Just 3 months later, the 4ZWCAD plugin followed. During the whole development process, we were supported by the ZWSOFT team, which resulted in a plugin perfectly adapted to the needs of ZWCAD users. When ZWSOFT invited us to speak at ZWORLD in Italy to present the plugin it was received very positively by ZWCAD users and dealers alike.

Last but not least and just in time for Christmas, the 4Archicad plugin was released at the request of our customers. Thanks to their input and feedback, we were able to release yet another plugin that seamlessly fits into the CAD workflow.

Events in 2022

Thanks to the pandemic calming down, we’ve managed to resume a full schedule of live events again in 2022.

Highlights include the Geoweek in Denver, digitalBAU in Cologne, and Intergeo in Hannover. However, we were also fortunate enough to be invited to wonderful events by our partners like Viakom’s sailing trip, GeoSLAMs Germany Tour, and many more.

Attending these events has been a pleasure all around and we can’t wait to see more of this in 2023.

Partnerships: New & Old

Speaking of our partners, we are happy to report that we have added a few in 2022 but also made some changes. Due to a strategic reorientation of both companies, we have decided in mutual agreement that BIMm Solutions and PointCab will go their own ways from now on. However, we will of course continue to help all customers with PointCab 4BIMm licences and BIMm solutions will do the same.

When it comes to new partnerships in 2022, Viakom is probably the most prominent one. Viakom is now our biggest software partner and provides the secure cloud & hosting infrastructure for PointCab Nebula. Furthermore, ZWSOFT has officially added us as their software partner for third-party ZWCAD applications. Reseller-wise, we are happy to announce that Stonex has joined our network internationally. There would be a lot more to report about more resellers who joined us, more software partners who have opened up their workflow to ours, and established partnerships being further nurtured. However, this would exceed the limits of our little recap here.

Whats left to say?

We like to thank all of you, our followers, customers, and partners for your continued support. Because of you, we have had a successful business year which has succeeded our expectations. Thanks to you, we are able to continue our mission to further facilitate point cloud processing &handling.

Thank you very much & see you again in 2023!

THE LATEST FUNCTIONS IN ORIGINS

THE LATEST FUNCTIONS IN ORIGINS

These are the new improved functions in PointCab Origins!

Our latest version of PointCab Origins comes with a whole package of new features and enhancements. Lots of the new features and improvements are based on feedback from our users. Thank you so much for your constant input!

New top 3 Origins Functions:

We have summed up the three most important Origins innovations in this video for you:

Vectorizer lines are now much easier to handle, improved registration results with planes, and a new intuitive way to select scan positions with the area tool!

More improvements & new features in Origins:

New preset for SLAM projects

Origins now offers a specific preset for SLAM projects!

When creating a new project in Origins with a SLAM dataset, the new option “SLAM scanning project” can be chosen in the dropdown menu. In the advanced options you can see that a preset with the correct values for SLAM projects is set here already. After importing the data, you can see that the default views provide a decent representation of the data. You get a result with nice point distances and sharp rendering of the orthophotos. The preset delivers the best result for most SLAM data.

Customize 3D points

XYZ separators can be named as desired and their sort order can be adjusted flexibly!

If your CAD software requires 3D points in a certain format, arrangement, or with special separators, this can now be defined in the settings. To do so, just open the settings and go to the “Sketch/Panorama”tab. Here the XYZ Column Separator can be defined as desired. This also applies to the XYZ Decimal Separator. You can also sort the order of the point number, X, Y, Z values, and the point ID. Everything adjusted to your needs? Then confirm with OK. In the Job Editor under “File” you can export the desired 3D points. If we take a look at the exported 3D points, we will see that the comma separator for all points is e.g. a colon and the columns are separated by e.g. a semicolon. Exactly as we had defined before. This way, 3D points can be conveniently exported for your CAD software without having to laboriously adjust them by hand.

Improved automerger

Create a separate image for each layer with one click!

When creating a section, the automerger can be activated in the settings under “Merger/Web Export/Nebula”. In the dropdown menu you can define for which layers an Auto Merger should be generated. We leave all of them active and confirm with OK. In the Job Editor under “Processing”, we can now set e.g. Indexed and Reflectivity to 100%. We process the job and the automerger and take a look at the results. We find individual auto-merger files for Indexed, Layout and Reflectivity in the results in the previously defined export formats.

Assign virtual panoramas faster

We improved the virtual panoramas!

For better distinction and visibility, the panoramas are now displayed differently. Colored dots show that the panorama has already been processed, gray dots indicate that it has not been processed yet. When looking at the results, you will notice that the processed panorama already has a Preview Image, which can now be displayed in other software. This makes it easier to distinguish virtual scans from others, similar to our normal scans.

Inverted mouse control (customer request)

By customer request, Origins 4.0 R10 now features the ability to change the mouse control in the panorama view!

If we look at a panorama and zoom in, we can move the panorama by pressing the middle mouse button. If we drag the mouse to the left, the image moves to the right. For some users, this may not be intuitive. In the settings under “General”, the mouse axis can now be inverted both horizontally and vertically. If we move the held-down mouse to the left, the image also moves to the left. The vertical control is now also inverted. By the way, this setting also affects the standard views.

Colorize distances & new color picker (customer request)

Customize the look of distance measurements!

The appearance of a measured distance can now be customized to your liking in the Job Editor. Both the line color and the opacity of the distance, as well as the label, can be customized to your taste. The new color picker offers even more functions and easier handling.

Section Cycling

Easier handling if many sections are on top of each other!

If there are many sections on top of each other in one place, it is difficult to select the right section. With the shortcut Ctrl+E, you can now open a dropdown menu to get directly to the desired section.

Extended constellation search

Improved Cloud 2 Cloud calculation!

When registering two scans with low overlap, it may occur that the automatic Cloud 2 Cloud calculation doesn’t find the matching constellation right away. For a more precise overlap of two scans, you can now reject the result and Origins will restart a constellation search. This process may take a little longer, but will be more precise and offers a higher chance to find a matching constellation. The process can be repeated as many times as you like until you get a satisfying result.

National Surveyors Week – background and trivia

NATIONAL SURVEYORS WEEK - BACKGROUND AND TRIVIA

In the United States National Surveyors Week is celebrated every year starting on the third Sunday of March. The week is dedicated to surveyors and is intended to honor and educate the profession. While it started out in the US, National Surveyors Week is nowadays celebrated by many around the globe. This year, we like to honor the occasion by giving you a little background info and trivia.

Since the beginning of recorded history, surveyors have been instrumental in advancing society. The construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza in 2700 BC is one of the earliest examples in the history of land surveying. Surveying is also used in transportation, communications, mapping, and establishing legal boundaries for land ownership. Many scientific disciplines also use this important tool for research.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are approximately 54,800 surveyors in the United States. They have expertise in:

– Geometry / Trigonometry,
– Regression analysis
– Physics, Meteorology
– Engineering
– Programming languages
– Law

While the fundamentals of surveying have remained the same, the surveying instruments today are much more technologically advanced than in the past. Drones and lasers have now replaced most of the work done with a telescope on a tripod. Remote sensing and satellite imagery are becoming more accurate and affordable, so they are used more and more these days. Probably the most important new technology in recent years is three-dimensional scanning (3D laser scanning).

History of National Surveyor Week

The first National Surveyors Week was proclaimed on February 13, 1984 by the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM). In addition, the 40th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, signed a Presidential Proclamation urging citizens to recognize professional surveyors and their remarkable contributions. There are many famous land surveyors who have played a major role in the history of the settlement of North America. George Washington, the first recognized land surveyor, is probably the most famous of them all.

Current use of laser scanning

Today, there are numerous industries that have discovered laser scanning for themselves. The advantages are obvious: laser scanning makes it possible to create a precise digital image of reality – the digital twin.

This is why PointCab Origins is also used in various sectors. We have compiled a selection of industries in which laser scanning is used. Common areas of application are:

– Architecture
– Heritage
– Construction (As Built)
– Industrial plants
– Surveying
– Craftsmanship

This is also how our PointCab Origins point cloud software is used in various fields.

Want to learn more? Then check out these links:

National Society of Professional Surveyors website: https://www.nsps.us.com/

Washington as Public Land Surveyor: https://www.loc.gov/collections/george-washington-papers/articles-and-essays/george-washington-survey-and-mapmaker/washington-as-public-land-surveyor/

Initiative to win over young talent: https://www.getkidsintosurvey.com/

PointCab Origins trial version: https://pointcab-software.com/en/point-cloud-software/trial-version/

PointCab Mobile Mapping Weeks

POINTCAB MOBILE MAPPING Weeks

Learn how to harness the power of Origins with GeoSLAM, NavVis or Emesent.

Between December 7th and 16th, we are hosting special webinars together with these 3 mobile mapping providers to show you the different mobile mapping workflows with Origins.

EMESENT WEBINAR: FROM POINT CLOUDS TO CAD DRAWINGS

Dezember 7th, 9.30AM (CET)

Emesent’s Hovermap solution shows its strength when it comes to terrain that is difficult to access. Mounted on a drone, the intelligent mobile mapping solution autonomously scans the area using LIDAR. In this webinar, we will show you how to get the most out of Hovermap data with Origins.

NAVVIS WEBINAR: IMPROVING CAD WORKFLOWS WITH MOBILE MAPPING TECHNOLOGIES

Dezember 9th, 5.30PM (CET)

In this webinar, Pascal Groothedde explains how he, as a NavVis user, uses Origins in daily practice to transfer his data into the CAD system. He presents one of his projects and shows us how his workflow works. Martin Graner (PointCab) and Frieder Kirn (NavVis) will also be on hand to share tips and tricks on mobile mapping with Origins + NavVis.

GEOSLAM WEBINAR: MOBILE MAPPING - EASY, SIMPLE AND EFFECTIVE SCAN TO CAD

Dezember 16th, 11.00AM (CET)

Our Origins solution is perfectly adapted to the workflow with GeoSLAM devices. So well, in fact, that Origins has been integrated with GeoSLAM as a OEM software under the name GeoSLAM Draw. In this webinar, our experts show you step by step how to transfer your GeoSLAM data into your CAD system and how Draw helps you with this.

ORIGINS 4.2 – THE LATEST FUNCTIONS

NEW FUNCTIONS

GUI Update: Customize Origins like never before

New License Manager

New Tools Menu available

New Vectorizer Tool for rectangles (customer request)💡

New way to export clusters (customer request)💡

New "2D + Z" transformation method (customer request)💡

GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS

Improved Orthophoto appearance in color sheet (customer request)💡

Advanced scan renaming (customer request)💡

Hide scan names in quality matrix

Language Settings moved

Automatic update for FARO API

Hide scan positions in top view (customer request)💡

Riegl SDK Update

EXTENDED DATA FORMATS – IMPORT / EXPORT

Trace your footsteps

Import Ladybug panoramas (customer request)💡

Import Matterport panoramas (customer request)💡

Import Viametris panoramas

BUG FIXES

GLOBAL SURVEYORS DAY

ABOUT THE HISTORY OF SURVEYING

THE BEGINNINGS

MODERN ERA

GLOBAL SURVEYORS DAY

NATIONAL SURVEYORS WEEK IN THE USA

GLOBAL SURVEYORS DAY

DIFFERENT SURVEYORS DAYS AROUND THE WORLD

Want to keep up with the latest pointCab news?

2023: Recap & Round-up

PREFACE

DESPITE A DIFFICULT WOLRD ECONOMY: POINTCAB CONTINUES TO GROW

4 ARCHICAD PLUGIN – A RESOUNDING SUCCESS

POINTCAB ORIGINS – SCAN2BIM AND MOBILE MAPPING

POINTCAB NEBULA – A NEW ERA

DRIVING INNOVATION - POINTCAB PARTICIPATES IN RESEARCH PROJECT

NEURAL NETWORKS AND VISUALIZATION IN VR

EVENTS 2023

10 YEARS OF POINTCAB AND MORE

NEW AND OLD PARTNERSHIPS

THE POINTCAB NETWORK CONTINUES TO GROW

WHAT ELSE REMAINS TO BE SAID?

Feima Robotics and PointCab announce bundle to create an End-to-End Mobile Mapping Solution for customers worldwide

a strong partnership and great potential

STRIVING FOR THE PERFECT WORKFLOW

State of the art mobile mapping solution...

...meets powerful and intuitive software

Want to keep up with the latest pointCab news?

ORIGINS 4.1 – THE LATEST FUNCTIONS

NEW FUNCTIONS

Polygon editor for area-based tools

Export origin point of sections in .dwg (customer request) 💡

Customized 3D Point export to .dwg

“Save as” Functionality to .pcp (PointCab Project)

Export Orthophotos position (customer request) 💡

Toggle on/off names of Panoramas

Sections with enhanced reflectivity

Export all panoramas in different file formats

⚠️Cloud-to-Cloud (C2C) Test / Beta⚠️

GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS

Plane position names inside the plane area

Optimized Nebula Export

Shortcut Manager improvements

Project main files backup

Customizable zoom speed

Advanced project information

Layout center line visible in all standard views

Save into FARO project file (customer request) 💡

EXTENDED DATA FORMATS – IMPORT / EXPORT

FARO SDK/API update – Support of FARO Premium Scans

Import e57 files with panorama (for Mobile Mapping scan data)

BUG FIXES

PointCab appoints new CTO & CMO

2022: Recap & Round-up

Introductory remarks

New Releases: Nebula

New Releases: CAD Plugins

Events in 2022

DESPITE A DIFFICULT WOLRD ECONOMY:
POINTCAB CONTINUES TO GROW