Laser scanning is changing the way surveyors work and collect data. In the past, the survey of a building or structure required the use of a Total Station to record chosen three-dimensional positions. These would then be processed in AUTO CAD and used to generate elevations. With laser scanning this has fundamentally changed.
The scanner records three-dimensional positions at a predetermined resolution (1mm upwards) over a chosen area, generating millions of high-accuracy coordinates. The surface of a scanned structure is then represented as a dimensionally accurate point cloud in full 3D. In the drawings shown here you can see that details at high levels can be accurately drawn.
