Processing data from Leica iCON trades iCS 50 with Grasshopper
Transferring shapes, measurements, and all sorts of geometry from the real world to a computer is something that has been approached in various ways using different technologies.
CMMs (coordinate measuring machines) are the most precise solution albeit immobile, not suitable for field applications, and are really meant to be used on individual parts with up to a certain size.
Non-contact technologies, which utilize some kind of electromagnetic radiation, are either imprecise, expensive, or produce a point cloud/mesh data set which has disadvantages when trying to re-create a precise 3D model of the scanned subject.
During my time in Heesen, I had the opportunity to work with Leica’s iCS 50. It is a system that offers both contact type 3D measurement as well as non-contact triangulation-like functionality.
I was more interested in the contact type measurement, done using a special handheld pen. The accuracy is typically sub-mil with 1mm maximum within a 10m radius. An advantage is that the system doesn’t care what type of surface is being measured. Too reflective? Not reflective? Scatters light? It doesn’t care.
The output we get is also precise and controlled; Each measured position gets translated to a 3D point with the option to chain subsequent measurements with a polyline, thus revealing the order which the points were measured.
I found that kind of output very interesting and promising. I got the idea that if you know the format of the generated output (basically its topology), it would be possible to automate the re-construction of the area/shape/object that was measured. For me, the perfect tool to use to achieve this is Grasshopper. I just love how versatile it is. So I got down to work and wrote a few algorithms, with the intention to be used in a chain, that can process a certain type of 3D measurement from the iCS 50 and produce complete 3D models and even a bill of materials.
The idea is that the end user will make use of the relatively new Grasshopper Player introduced in Rhino 7. That way, no Grasshopper knowledge is required and it is just as easy as following prompts.