Acute3D鈥檚 Smart3DCapture is used for what the developers call 鈥榬eality modelling鈥�. High-resolution, 3D representations are generated from digital photographs taken with any camera, whether highly specialised or embedded in a smartphone.
The idea of reality modelling is to process the existing conditions to represent them within design modelling and construction modelling environments. Rapid technology advancements in scanning and photography 鈥� and especially using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)鈥� are making the capture of such observations affordable, according to Bentley.
Acute3D software can be used at any scale from a site to a city, said Bentley, with precision limited only by the quantity and quality of photography. The approach is designed to ensure that the existing conditions are considered throughout the design, construction and subsequent operation of any infrastructure asset.
According to the company, photo sequences from UAVs are likely to become the most feasible source for surveying, construction monitoring and inspection workflows. It said that 聽Acute3D鈥檚 accuracy and scalability are making it a preferred technology for this use.
Bentley Systems founder and CTO Keith Bentley said, 鈥淭he world-class Acute3D developers have already achieved two breakthroughs, which remove the barriers to the adoption of reality modelling. First, Acute3D has made it possible for anyone to sufficiently capture existing conditions with just a camera. Of equal importance is the value of the Acute3D result. Rather than a voluminous cloud of discrete points, Acute3D produces a 3D 鈥榬eality mesh鈥� 鈥� intrinsically in the same geometric idiom as engineering models, readily aligning the real-world context.鈥�
Acute3D was co-founded in 2011 by Dr Jean-Philippe Pons and Dr Renaud Keriven, who have attracted and led ateam of researchers and developers, headquartered in Sophia Antipolis - the French 鈥楽ilicon Valley鈥�. Since its founding, Acute3D has attracted a rapidly expanding user base that includes Nokia, Pasco and Saint-Gobain, and OEM licensees that include Airbus Group and Autodesk. In China, internet giant Tencent is working with Acute3D to do 3D city modelling for several mega-cities, from both aerial and street view photography. Other applications of Acute3D have included existing conditions capture for construction sites, manufacturing facilities, mining operations, pipelines, and oil and gas exploration.
Pons said: 鈥淲hen Renaud and I founded Acute3D, our vision was to make widely available, at industrial precision, what we now describe as reality modelling. With our team, we are very pleased to be joining Bentley to complete our reach. Together, we have already shared and embarked upon many new initiatives to incorporate reality modelling within design and construction modelling.鈥�
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