Reality capture
Reality capture is survey-grade laser scanning and photogrammetry of a building as it actually stands, turned into a point cloud and a Revit-ready as-built model. It replaces the measured survey on refurbishment and retrofit projects, so the design team starts from what is there rather than from record drawings that may be decades out of date.
When scanning beats a traditional measured survey
Scanning earns its place whenever the cost of being wrong about existing conditions is high: tight structural tolerances, congested riser and ceiling voids, heritage fabric that cannot be opened up, or a building with no reliable record drawings at all. A scan captures everything in view at once, so a question that surfaces six months later can be answered from the data rather than from another site visit.
On straightforward projects with good record information, a conventional survey may still be the right call. We will say so if that is the case.
How a capture actually runs
We walk the building first to plan set-up positions and identify access constraints, then scan — typically after hours or at weekends where the building is occupied. Each scan position overlaps its neighbours so the cloud can be registered into a single coordinated dataset, tied to OS Ireland coordinates where the project requires it.
Registration and quality checking happen in Cyclone Register 360, after which we model the as-built in Revit to the level of detail you need: structural grid, slab edges, risers and exposed services for a design-stage model, or a lighter LOD 200 model where the output is for facilities management.
Survey-grade laser scanning and photogrammetry across Ireland and the UK. From single-room scans for fit-outs to full-building captures for heritage records — we turn dense point clouds into Revit-ready as-built models, registered to OS Ireland coordinates where required.
What you get
- Registered point cloud (.e57, .rcs, .rcp)
- As-built Revit model (LOD 200–300)
- Orthophotos and 360° walk-throughs
- BIM-ready linked files for design teams
- Optional Matterport-style virtual tour
Software stack
Frequently asked questions
- How accurate is a point cloud survey?
- Bimco delivers registered point clouds at survey grade, typically in the 5mm to 12mm range depending on scanner, set-up density and the size of the building. We state the achieved registration accuracy in the handover report rather than quoting a headline figure.
- How long does a scan take?
- One to four weeks from capture to delivered model for most buildings. Site capture is usually the short part — a few evenings — with the majority of the time going into registration, quality checking and as-built modelling.
- Does the building need to be empty?
- No. Most of our scanning is done in occupied buildings, working after hours or at weekends to keep sight lines clear and avoid disrupting occupants.
- What does a point cloud survey cost?
- As a rule of thumb we budget 0.6% to 1.2% of construction cost for a point cloud survey on a refurbishment project. The return typically comes from avoided design-stage rework rather than from the survey line item itself.
- What do we receive at the end?
- A registered point cloud in .e57, .rcs or .rcp format, an as-built Revit model at the agreed level of detail, orthophotos and 360° walkthroughs, and linked files ready for the design team to work against.