Pre-Design Site Survey Step-By-Step Training
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iGUIDE PLANIX System:
The PLANIX R1 and Pro are both iGUIDE camera systems designed to measure and photograph spaces simultaneously to create accurate floor plans, detailed drawings, and iGUIDE 3D virtual walkthroughs. The PLANIX camera system is a critical tool for effectively capturing the required data for site surveys.
*NOTE* Make sure you are familiar with standard PLANIX camera system operations and settings. If you are new to the PLANIX camera system, please review the .
Smart Device (typically a phone or tablet) with the .
Camera Tripod (extendable to maximize different required capture heights) .
Ball Head Camera Mount (to turn the PLANIX parallel to the ground for vertical scans) .
Door Stops (helpful in taking shots of inside closets or areas where the doors automatically close).
Light Stand Tripod (extendable to get above drop ceiling scans).
External Light Source (this helps in low or no light situations).
Backup PLANIX Battery (in case the project goes longer than expected).
Portable Charger for the Smart Device (used to avoid having the smart device shut down midway through a shoot).
Small Screwdriver/Tool Kit (can be used to help troubleshoot certain errors with the camera).
Extra USB Data Storage Device (if using a PLANIX Pro).
These pieces of information are typically provided by the project coordinator. This may also be provided by iGUIDE if it’s a Managed Service project.
On-site contact
Disconnected spaces(s) (i.e. roof access, mechanical rooms, basement spaces)
Unique site capture requirements and limitations
Current occupancy status
Ideal capture time to limit occupancy and maximize site conditions
For the best results, ask that the building be unoccupied at the time of capture.
Ask that all rooms, closets, roof, and required disconnected locations are unlocked and accessible.
Ask that there is no clutter and that there are clear pathways to rooms, windows, and doorways.
Remind the occupants to put away valuable, personal, and sensitive items/information.
Every project has different conditions and, therefore, different camera setting requirements. However, the recommendation below works in various conditions and balances capture quality and speed.
HDR (PLANIX R1 and Pro)
High (-5EV/+2EV)
Noise Reduction (PLANIX R1)
Low
Stitching (PLANIX R1)
Static
Always recommended for an Advance Drafting Services (ADS) project as it maximizes the accuracy of measurement tools.
Begin with a site walkthrough to familiarize yourself with the building and required capture points.
Identify the location of any disconnected locations (e.g., mechanical rooms, roof access) that need capturing.
Validate access to all areas before you start (including disconnected locations), open doors, and turn on lights.
Identify spaces that will require either above-drop ceiling scans or their own vertical scan profile to capture unique ceiling heights.
With the knowledge of the building gained through the initial site walkthrough, identify the most efficient scan path.
Considerations include occupancy, exterior weather, lighting, access, etc.
Create the required floors based on the best practices listed below:
Horizontal scans:
Each building level, including the roof, requires its own Survey floor.
Exterior scans are included on the main floor along with the captured ground-level interior scans (this automatically provides the actual wall thickness).
Any above drop ceiling scans should be captured at the same time as the other regular height horizontal scans on the same floor and tagged for easy identification later (i.e. “above kitchen ceiling”).
Scan the path to any disconnected spaces to link them to the unit, when this isn't possible these spaces should have their own Survey floor.
Vertical scans:
Each elevation profile of the building (vertical slice) or individual rooms requiring vertical scans will have its own Survey Floor.
Each exterior vertical scan location (separate from the vertical slice of the building) will have its own Survey floor and be labelled appropriately (i.e. front elevation, side overhang elevation, etc.)
Each staircase should have its own floor in Survey; multi-level staircases should remain on the same floor to give accurate floor-to-floor and floor-to-ceiling heights.
Tripod:
Set up the tripod and level the ball head mount.
Attach the quick-release (QR) plate to the PLANIX, and then the QR plate to the tripod’s ball head.
Adjust the height of the tripod so the PLANIX camera lens is about 4.5 ft (130-140 cm) from the floor surface. This creates an optimal measurement height and virtual walkthrough experience.
When required, raise or lower your tripod to avoid obstacles and ensure lidar interaction with walls (verify in Survey as you scan). Return the tripod to the default height of 4.5 ft to create a consistent viewing experience.
It’s recommended to duplicate a scan location at the default height and another at a height to avoid obstacles. The scan with the different heights can be immediately hidden in Survey as it’s only for the lidar data.
PLANIX orientation:
Upright.
Lens orientation:
Focus one of the two lenses on the areas you’re looking to capture more detail (windows, fixtures, etc.).
*NOTE*: 360-degree visuals are created by stitching together two 180-degree images. With Static Stitching enabled, a dark line will appear where the images meet when using measurement tools. Please be mindful of its position as measuring in this area can be less accurate.
Open Spaces:
When scanning the interior of a building, perform scans every 5 – 10 feet in a grid pattern, keeping a clear line of sight to the previous scan to maintain automatic scan alignment.
In addition to grid scans, collect a scan from the center of each room for virtual walkthrough presentation. Capture multiple center point scans for large rooms.
You should have at least 2 scans in every room to maximize the accuracy of both the floor plan and measurement tools.
Constantly reference Survey and ensure no missed spaces appear in the floor plan. Thoroughly capture inside closets, staircases and elevators to eliminate empty spaces.
For small spaces (closets), capture in the doorway and then as much into the space as possible. The LiDAR data must interact with all walls. This might require moving obstacles out of the way before scanning or removing the PLANIX from the tripod and place it on the top shelf or floor to avoid any obstacles or shelving.
Building Entrances, Exits, and Room Transitions:
Capture both sides of building entrances, exits, and room transitions with the doors open.
*NOTE*: Bring door stoppers to keep doors open during scans.
Windows:
Position the PLANIX camera 3 to 5 feet away from the windows and orient the lens to be facing the window.
Adjust camera height to ensure lasers collect window dimension details (lower basement and high windows).
*NOTE*: Raise blinds or move curtains to ensure LiDAR captures the full window boundaries. If you can’t completely remove window coverings from view, it’s best to center them on the window so the edges can be captured.
Horizontal Scans of All Building Levels (Including the Roof):
The first scan should be taken immediately inside the front of the front door.
Then, while keeping the front door(s) open, take a series of scans from the inside to out. This will help align exterior scans to interior scans. As a part of this transition, remember to have at least 2 scans outside of the building roughly 5 and 10 feet away, ensuring visual capture of the front entranceway.
Depending on the site conditions and the planned scanning route, it is recommended to either complete the exterior scans to capture the perimeter of the building, or return inside to capture the remaining interior scans.
Capture Real-Time Tags for all equipment encountered (e.g., mechanical services, HVAC, phone/alarm, utilities).
*NOTE*
Each tag should include clear, legible photos of equipment labels.
Take multiple close-up pictures as needed—more information is always better.
Horizontal Scans of the Exterior of the Building:
On the same floor as the main floor interior scans, scan every 20 feet along the outside perimeter of the building (5 to 10 feet from the building). One of the two lenses should be focused directly on the building for best results.
Scan at every building corner (at the same 5 – 10 feet distance from the building), capturing both exterior wall lengths.
Scan in front of all building system equipment (Gas and Hydro Meters) and remember to also tag the equipment with Real-Time Tags.
Scan in front of any windows and doors.
Horizontal Scans Above All Drop Ceilings:
The purpose of above-ceiling scans is to see what is above them. Clear, unobstructed images are the most important, and quality lidar data isn’t required.
Conduct at least 1 above-ceiling scan in every room with a drop ceiling.
If necessary, remove one or two ceiling tiles and either extend your tripod or remove the PLANIX camera from your tripod and place it directly on top of the drop ceiling to capture this data.
*NOTE* Keep tiles removed until vertical scans (detailed below) are also completed. Ensure the tiles are returned to their original placement once the shoot is done.
Horizontal Scans of the Roof:
The 2D LiDAR must detect objects/obstacles around the roof perimeter to create an accurate roof plan. Since some roofs lack high parapet walls, remember to adjust the camera height, similar to indoors, to help the LiDAR detect low barriers. If no walls exist, continue to scan at regular density to capture rooftop equipment and tag assets as needed. iGUIDE’s Drafting team can often use the interior floor plan to create an outline the roof for visual purposes.
Scan at the rooftop access point (door, ladder, hatch).
Perform scans every 5 to 10 feet in a grid pattern.
*NOTE* It's usually only required to scan the roof top directly above the unit. On larger roof tops, scan your path from the access point to your more dense above unit roof scans.
Scan in front of all building system equipment (HVAC, RTU) and remember to also tag the equipment with Real-Time Tags.
Tripod:
Maintain the height of your tripod.
PLANIX Camera Orientation:
Rotate the ball head mount so that the PLANIX camera is horizontal (parallel to the ground).
Lens Orientation:
For optimal results, have one lens facing directly to the ground.
LiDAR Orientation:
Be mindful of the LiDAR 2D plane; to successfully capture elevation data with vertical scans, the 2D plane must be facing the features you're looking to capture.
Align the first vertical scan in Survey so that the floor/ground is at the bottom of the Smart Device screen, this makes it easier to verify the quality and completeness of your scans.
When creating a vertical profile with a series of scans, you must maintain PLANIX orientation and focus on keeping the LiDAR plan aligned across all your scans. To help with this, use a floor or ceiling reference to help keep it aligned.
Vertical Scans to Create an Elevation Profile (Vertical Slice) of Every Level of the Building:
Start outside at the front of the building (at least 20 feet away) and scan every 5 to 10 feet in a straight line through the building and out the rear, creating a slice of the building.
If you encounter a drop ceiling while creating the vertical slice, remove tiles as required to capture both the full roof deck height and bottom of roof joist heights. Reference Survey to ensure the LiDAR captured both.
*NOTE*
It's best to roof deck height, roof joist height and drop ceiling height at multiple point along the slice of the building.
When removing ceiling tiles, it's best to remove a few in a row to capture robust data.
Vertical Scans at the Top and Bottom of Every Staircase:
Capture vertical scans at both the top and bottom of each staircase, with the LiDAR plane in line with the direction of the stairs.
If a staircase has landings, take an additional scan at each landing. Keeping the LiDAR plane aligned with the top and bottom scans.
If the staircase turns, treat each section as a separate staircase, capturing scans at the top and bottom of each section.
Maintain the orientation of the PLANIX as you scan staircases. If the tripod is on the left railing side, PLANIX on the right, keep that orientation for the complete staircase, even as it turns.
*NOTE*
Keep staircases spanning multiple floors on the same Survey floor to build accurate floor-to-floor and floor-to-ceiling profiles.
Capture multiple floors of a staircase, even if it's out of scope.
Vertical Scans of the Exterior, Capturing Elevation Data:
The immediate front and back have already been captured with the "slice" scan, but remember to ensure exterior vertical scans are completed every 20 feet along the exterior perimeter.
Each location should have its own floor in Survey, and include 2 scans that are 5 and 10 feet away from the building along the same plane.
Use references like parking space lines to help keep you aligned.
Take additional scans of architectural elements such as overhangs, changes in roof lines, and signage, as well as profiling the sides of the building where applicable.
*NOTE* When possible, turn the PLANIX perpendicular under overhangs to capture their profile detail. Create this scans on their own floor in Survey.
While scanning horizontally, both interior and exterior, capture Real-Time Tags for all equipment encountered (e.g., mechanical services, HVAC, utilities).
Each Real-Time Tag Includes:
The descriptive name of the asset.
At least one photo of the full asset.
Photo(s) of the equipment specifications label (these images must be zoomed in and legible).
The Assets You’re Required to Include:
Interior:
Electrical panel (EP) / Load center.
Main Circuit Breaker (MCB).
HVAC
Furnace (F) / Boiler (B).
Heat Pumps (HP).
Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV).
Hot Water Heater (HWH).
Water Softener (WS).
Water Meter (WM).
Incoming Water Line (IWL) Shut Offs (Measure Diameter and Tag).
Exterior:
Gas Meter (GM).
Incoming Gas Line (IGL) (Measure Diameter and Tag).
Hydro Meter (HM).
Transformer (TX).
Incoming Water Line (IWL) and Meter (WM) (Measure Diameter and Tag).
HVAC
Roof Top Units (RTU).
Air Conditioners (AC).
Heat Pumps (HP).
Remember to tag all building systems equipment (including a detailed picture of all equipment labels).
Ensure all horizontal scans of all building levels (including the roof) have been captured.
Ensure all horizontal scans of the exterior of the building have been completed.
Ensure all horizontal scans above all drop ceilings have been captured.
Ensure all vertical scans are captured to create a slice of every level of the building.
Ensure all vertical scans of every staircase has been captured.
Ensure all vertical scans of the exterior, capturing elevation data, have been captured.
Validate the capture quality by ensuring there are no missing areas within any floor's floor plan, and that quality LiDAR data is on every required feature surface and corners.
Transfer the project data from your smart device to your computer.
Create a copy of the project data and store it safely as a backup.
Open and process the project in Stitch.
Confirm data organization (Floors).
Validate scan alignment on each floor, both horizontal and vertical.
Validate data quality and completeness again. There should be no missed area within the floor plan and ensure quality lidar data on every required surface and corner.
On Horizontal Floors:
Ensure the above ceiling shots are individually labelled.
Hide any scans that are not to be included in the virtual walkthrough.
Raised or lowered height scans, duplicate scans, scans that are too close to each other, etc., can all be hidden.
Save the project.
Create the Stitch.tar file.
Log into your iGUIDE portal.
Select "Create iGUIDE".
Choose Property Industry:
Architecture & Remodel would be the optimal choice for a Pre-Design Site Survey.
iGUIDE Radix
iGUIDE Premium
CAD Package (Includes iGUIDE Premium, 2D Floor Plan (DWG Format), Point Cloud Data (DXF Format)
Add-Ons:
Exterior Elevations (DWG Format).
Flat Roof Plan (DWG Format).
Pitched Roof Plan (DWG Format).
Reflected Ceiling Plan (DWG Format).
Plotted Drawings (PDF Format).
3D Model (RVT Format).
Enter the Property Address.
Upload your project's stitch.tar file to the iGUIDE portal.
Once the iGUIDE is completed an email will be sent to the account's email address.
For R1 cameras, please follow the steps from the support page. For PLANIX Pro and Core cameras, please follow the steps from the support page.
To download Stitch please use the , and select the Stitch software for your computer.
For more information on Property industries, please visit our support page on .
Choose your iGUIDE Package: (Learn more about )
For more information on iGUIDE Packages and Add-ons, please visit our support page on .