Drones Are Only Part Of Larger Picture

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As important as drones are, they are only a single part of a much larger picture. Future 3D capture solutions are the technologies of the future. URC Ventures’ latest product, Structure Report, uses the pose-estimation technology in the iPhone’s new ARKit to make it easy for employees to perform accurate, reliable 3D scanning in the field. This solution proves that smartphones could do even more to democratize 3D capture than drones. ARKit is a new framework that allows you to easily create unparalleled augmented reality experiences.

CEO David Boardman argues that “there are more phones than drones..” There are no rules and regulations for operating an iPhone. “You don’t have to go to the FAA testing center and get a license and maintain it every couple of years,” he said. “Anybody can do it.”

“We’ve built a lot of specialized algorithms for ensuring optimal collection of imagery and helping guide people through that process, and that’s where we focused on when developing IP over these past six years.”

According to spar3d.com, smartphone 3D capture is just another milestone on the way to true democratization of 3D capture. While drones offered a faster method of capture than traditional tools, they still created a capture bottleneck because only a relative few could operate them. Smartphones take things a step further by offering both the miniaturized hardware and the sensor fusion technology that enable every person to perform 3D capture, regardless of expertise.

”The next step, says Boardman, is to think of the bigger picture: taking all this technology we’ve developed in recent years and using it to enable real-time image processing of millions of images — no matter where that imagery comes from. That means processing imagery from not just drones or smartphones, but also wearable cameras, cameras on your vehicles, and fixed mounted cameras. It means compressing the traditional capture, process, and deliver workflow into a timeframe so short it feels instantaneous.