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august 2019 csengineermag.com 51 When Jarrod Black PLS, a surveying and mapping director for Georgia- based Rochester & Associates Inc., wants to get project data into a client's hands, he considers a few questions: What level of detail do they require? How much skill do they have dealing with 3D data files? Are they set up with the right kind of software/hardware? The answers help Black determine if a simpler and quicker report can satisfy their needs, especially if the client – often a structural engineer or architect – only wants to visualize the space, get a sense of scale and go a bit beyond 2D plan sheets. Black's thought process underscores the challenge surveyors face when they want to share information from massive data sets collected from their optical, photogrammetry and scanning systems. That is, the powerful data and software can be too cumbersome and technical for some stakeholders to work with. In these situations, having a just-right tool to satisfy a minimal require- ment can make all the difference in fast, efficient communication. Easier viewing, sharing In 2016 during the Trimble Dimensions user conference, Black talked with Trimble software developers about the need for a software-agnos- tic viewer that could run on a browser. Last summer, Trimble invited him to take a sneak peek at its solution, Trimble Clarity, a cloud-based application included in the Trimble Connect collaboration platform, before it was released at the INTERGEO conference. Trimble Clarity makes it possible for industry professionals, whether land surveyors, civil engineers, land developers or site managers, to easily visualize and share three-dimensional point cloud data with cli- ents. It also directly integrates with Trimble Business Center, enabling users to publish their 3D point cloud and imaging deliverables from the Trimble SX10 Scanning Total Station or other Trimble VISION instruments. "I used to spend hours creating a zip drive, FedExing it over, or upload- ing the data," Black says. "Clarity makes it extremely easy for a client who just wants to peruse the data without having a whole lot of skill in doing anything point-cloud based. I can email them a link, they click on the link, and within a couple of minutes they are looking at the data. It also has some nice tools." These include the ability to perform 3D measurements, annotate ob- jects and quickly collaborate with project stakeholders, such as the structural engineers and architects with whom Black typically uses the software. "The other thing that's nice is if I do make some changes or any type of revision, the site is automatically updated," Black said. "So, I'm not constantly needing to upload these massive files." Avoiding a data-sharing headache The growth of 3D data in geospatial and related industries is creating a pressing need for tools that increase utilization of the large data files to move data analysis from the specialist to the generalist. As hardware has become less expensive, more surveyors are making use of the wide range of data capture technologies, and as a result, are collecting massive data sets. But while the process of collecting the data may be straightforward, what to do with the data is not. At a recent Trimble Business Center user group, many of the pain points shared by 40 attendees centered on one theme: "We have successfully collected a bunch of data, but we don't really know what to do with it." Collaborating with confidence Cloud-based Solutions Democratize 3D Deliverables By John Fomby Surveyors and clients are better able to communicate by using features for measuring and annotating high-density 3D scan data. Georeferenced scans automatically appear in the map to enhance the sense of scale for the client.

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