Beyond Geospatial: How Allen & Company’s Reality Capture Services Extend the Capabilities of Traditional Surveying and Mapping Methods
Our Advanced Technologies department delivers accurate data sets through the application of Reality Capture solutions for facility scanning with high-fidelity imaging deliverables.
The future of surveying and mapping lies in harnessing the potential of laser scanning, LiDAR, ground penetrating radar (GPR), and many more tools and data capture devices. These technologies can capture and analyze vast geospatial datasets, significantly speeding up the deliverable for our clients and enhancing their decision-making process. Without question, Allen & Company has been at the forefront of the geospatial evolution for surveying and mapping firms, and we use advanced technologies to create value for our customers while exceeding their expectations as forward-thinking innovators. Case in point, we have been working with these advanced geospatial tools for over a decade, allowing us to engage today’s opportunities with proven knowledge, experience, and insight.
Foreseeing how AI-driven tools will improve data accuracy by identifying and correcting errors in surveying and mapping data, Allen & Company uses a combination of traditional surveying and mapping methods, supported by geospatial methods that can reduce human intervention and enhance the reliability of the geospatial data produced in our data acquisition projects. This includes the concept of XR or Extended Reality—a moniker for the aggregate Reality Capture outputs of Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Extended Reality (XR) technologies. These XR environments are expected to revolutionize how we visualize and interact with geospatial data in the surveying and mapping industry.
- Augmented Reality (AR): Another example of Reality Capture applications is how urban planners can use AR to visualize proposed infrastructure projects in their actual locations, helping them assess potential impacts and make informed choices. At Allen & Company, AR technology can support our construction and development clients by providing real-time information while they are on-site, streamlining data collection, and validating construction processes—as well as contributing to existing Building Information Management (BIM) solutions. AR overlays digital information onto the real world, enhancing situational awareness and aiding decision-making in real-time, helping us create solutions never before possible across many industries.
- Virtual Reality (VR): VR is another advanced technology application of our Reality Capture services, which allows users to immerse themselves in virtual environments. This capability is valuable for simulation and modeling applications, and virtual training purposes for military and law enforcement, but also allows Allen & Company’s surveyors and mappers to practice their skills in various scenarios without physically being present at the location. This is why our firm is always willing to take on the most complex and difficult surveying projects—regardless of their size or location.
- Mixed Reality (MR): The continuous evolution of Reality Capture applications can also help us blend the physical and virtual worlds to create a mixed reality (MR) environment. By blending these two media environments, training and simulation can become more realistic by integrating them into simulators or gaming. Some of its outputs include 3D depictions on which a user can become immersed or even a holographic image of a building of interior facilities. Allen & Company operates as a teaming partner in industrial, entertainment, and defense organizations’ projects where we provide data capture services to be processed and implemented into MR applications—making us a remarkable partner with the knowledge and experience to create exceptional results.
It is important to consider how the proliferation of cloud computing is transforming how geospatial data is stored, processed, and shared. Allen & Company uses cloud-based geospatial services to store and manage vast amounts of data securely and with a focus on data integrity. This accessibility fosters collaboration among different stakeholders—from our advanced technology team to our clients and their own customers—and facilitates the integration of geospatial data into various construction, industrial, and simulation applications. It should be noted that cloud computing reduces the hardware and infrastructure costs associated with data processing, enabling even small organizations and startups to access advanced geospatial capabilities.
Allen & Company’s Reality Capture services enable the convergence of cutting-edge technologies such as GNSS, GIS, LiDAR, drones, AR, MR, and VR into our geospatial services. Our goal is to facilitate efficiency, accuracy, and accessibility in geospatial data acquisition and analysis, benefiting a wide range of industries and promoting efficiency in our deliverables. As the world becomes more interconnected, geospatial services will play a pivotal role in shaping our future, enabling smarter decision-making and a deeper understanding of our physical environments.
