The Future of 3D + 360 Construction Progress Management

CHRISTIAN CLAUS: Thanks so much for joining, everyone, super excited to see everyone in person. It's been quite some time since we had the last AU. Big thanks to Autodesk for bringing us to New Orleans this year. I mean, that's new. It's a lovely town. Let's start the timer-- super excited to be here. And thanks for making it to such an early class.

We have a pretty packed agenda for the next 30 minutes or so. And we'll be talking about a lot of content. Let's jump right in. We'll start with a quick safe harbor statement in good AU fashion and FARO being a publicly-traded company, SO some of the statements in this presentation will be future-looking information. The presentation itself will be about 3D AND 360 and the future of where that is going.

Quick introduction, my name is Christian. I'm the Director of Product at Building Insights of FARO Technologies. I'll be speaking a little bit more about building insights in a second and what it is. I joined FARO through the acquisition of HoloBuilder about a year ago. Before the acquisition, I was with HoloBuilder for about six years, doing product and then later marketing.

I'm grateful and honored to be joined by Will Plato who is the Senior VDC Manager over at Hensel Phelps. He's a wealth of knowledge when it comes to 360 as well as laser scanning, and has built with his team a tremendous reality-capture program at Hensel Phelps. So I'm super excited to have him share his wealth of wisdom with us today. And Will, please introduce yourself and speak a little bit about Hensel Phelps as well.

WILL PLATO: Yeah, so Will Plato with Hensel Phelps, I run the Southwest area of the United States, so Texas and the surrounding states. I've been in the industry about 20 years and with Hensel Phelps for about 15. My career with them started out in the field as a field engineer, working my way up to superintendent before really discovering what VDC was and all the capabilities that it offered.

So understanding the processes of construction, and then being able to go take what FARO and HoloBuilder bring to the table to really go merge that and make our processes more efficient, so talk more about the processes throughout and why we utilize these technologies, and where we use them throughout that lifecycle of the building process.

CHRISTIAN CLAUS: And then after, we'll talk just through how he's using the different types of capture with the different degrees of accuracy from 360s two Point Clouds, stationary scanners, mobile scanners. We'll then talk about where we see the current shortcomings with what is out there in the market, and then see how where we see the future within that overall ecosystem.

And then we'll talk about some really hands-on, up and coming abilities that you will be able to use when you get back on Monday as well as shortly thereafter. And with that, Will, walk us through how you use 360's laser scanning and mobile scanning on your sites and throughout the time duration of the project.

WILL PLATO: Yep, so in our area where we cover a lot of [INAUDIBLE] at risk, hard bid, design build. We really look to go merge that technology with those different lifecycles of the process, so whether that is that early evaluation when we're helping the architects, the owners really start with their programming, go understand what that condition is whether it's greenfield or maybe renovation-type sites, and use the technology really to go deliver the information to all the various stakeholders that are involved in that process.

So 360 photos, easy tool to go use because we can go take all those disparate folks, bring them to that site so they can go see what they're going to be bidding on, what they're going to be working on. We can then can go augment that with either mobile mapping, or terrestrial scans, or SUAS data to really go build that picture of what that environment is.

And once we have that data, then it's a natural progression through design to construction, where some of those tools really evolve more into that as-built verification, the quality control, quality analysis type tools, running those analytics, looking at construction progress and some of that documentation.

And then ultimately, what does the owner want at the end of the day? How do we go deliver that data set that they need and really run all that information from the very beginning to what they need at close out? So the different technologies cover really different vertical segments, if you will.

So 360 Photos, very lightweight, very sharable, but a lot of information there. So when I started with Hensel Phelps, and as a field engineer, we're running out there every week with a point and shoot camera, and capturing hundreds of photos, and dropping them into folders, and all the disorganization, disarray that that turned into, the 360s allow us to go structure that data, allow us to go share it much more easily.

Bring in mobile mapping, GeoSLAM type stuff, that's something that we've been exploring for the last few years. It is getting a lot better. We're almost to the point where we have more reliance on that type of data, but then skipping forward into more of that exact measurement. So what FARO is known for is really that precision data, that clean data.

That's something that we at Hensel Phelps go run throughout the process from greenfield sites, and understanding different characteristics, or maybe renovation-type environments, prior to concrete placement, post-concrete placement, MEP validation, it is that tool.

It's nothing more for us than a tape measure at some points in time. But there's also a lot of data associated with that. So, really, it's about understanding the right tool to go support that process. What are you trying to communicate? What do your stakeholders need?

Do they need low precision data where they're just looking for that imagery? Or are we looking for verification of what's out there? How are we using these tools to go run the quality control, that validation, that verification?

How are we utilizing the tools for the process to go manage the risk on our projects? And so really excited with the partnership that we have with both FARO and HoloBuilder together now, and really them championing that vision to go bring all this stuff together.

And I say bring it together because one of the many challenges that we face-- and I'm sure everyone in this room faces-- is we are dealing with extremely large data sets. And there are so many different point solutions that we use when we go touch this data, whether it's [? recap, ?] [? seeing, ?] [? cyclone, ?] different 360 capture programs, different GeoSLAMs.

Then you're bringing it in into Navisworks and Civil 3D, in Revit, and all these other programs. It can be insurmountable. And you just deal with these [? segments. ?] And coming from somebody that uses a lot of different point solutions, having a partnership with FARO and HoloBuilder to go understand that we need to go get rid of that fragmentation has been huge. So the stuff that Christian is going to mention here is, in our minds, what we're going to go gravitate towards.

CHRISTIAN CLAUS: And Will is by no means alone. Over the last year, year and a half since we got acquired, we've spoken to hundreds and hundreds of contractors out there, owners out there. And this fragmentation of uploading and downloading really, really heavy data sets is one of the key problems faced in the reality-capture space today.

So as we set out with our innovation partners, with our customers and friends in the industry to set out how could we go address it, there was only one tangible solution. And really it came to getting all that data into one place, and allowing you to run analytics on top of that, and run the different workflows within that system, being well integrated with the rest of the ecosystem.

And we are super excited to announce the Sphere Platform. The Sphere Platform is a place where you can capture using all modern types of reality capture, store that data. Let this be your 360s. Let this be a 2D's, your drawings. Let this be your mesh, your Point Clouds, or BIM data that comes in through integrations through players like Autodesk.

And then have a layer of analytics that helps you make sense of this data, and having it visualized in a powerful way that allows you to seamlessly move from one data type to the next, all within the same platform, and having powerful applications built on top of this platform that enable you to run the workflows that you need for the different user groups that you have.

Let this be capturing collaborate. Let this be reality analysis, progress control, or facility management for some of the owners in here, and all built around a powerful integrations and API structure that is integrating with best-in-class solutions such as ACC from Autodesk, and really with the vision of enabling the [? AEC ?] professionals out there to go and manage work remotely.

With that, we have actually stood up an entire business unit within FARO in order to make this a reality and work on it. It's hundreds of people strong. We call it Building Insights to get more insights out of the data. We are around the world.

And we like to say that we are the spirit of a startup with the backing of a publicly-traded company. And we set out to make Sphere a reality and built additional applications and workflows on top of the platform.

Now, let's zoom in a little bit. What does that mean to you specifically? And what does it mean to you in the near term? Well, today we are announcing the 4D Construction Progress Management Solution, which is the first application set that is built on this platform, which will deliver better collaboration, faster site updates, and deeper insights.

Now, let's look at them individually. What do they mean? Let's start with better collaboration. As Will pointed out, there's different data types living in different ecosystems. And these different data types need to be accessed in different ecosystems. You need to share it with your different stakeholders with different types of logins and different types of barriers in between. You need to upload and download data.

So we are super excited to introduce the Sphere Viewer which enables stakeholders within your team to seamlessly jump between the different types of reality capture that are out there. Let this be the 360s, all the point clouds. Let this be the stationary scanning, all the mobile scans, and seamlessly let you jump from one to the other.

Now, the exciting thing, if you are a HoloBuilder user today, is you will have access to this. Starting in Q4, taking your HoloBuilder data into the Sphere Viewer environment. And if you're a Sphere customer, of course, you will have access to this as well, to bring the 360 captures as well as the Point Cloud information in coordinate system.

Now, it's very visual. So let's jump into one quick video that shows one of the projects that through our collaboration Will was able to make available to us and us to share with you. So, Will, why don't you walk us through your site that you have currently going on in the new Sphere Viewer.

WILL PLATO: Yep, so we're going to start with a hospital project that we have down in Galveston, Texas. It's a complete renovation of about 14-story building. And this was a collaboration that we had really to go merge the HoloBuilder environment with the really that substance of what the Point Clouds were able to go deliver.

So this is an environment that we're looking at to go help with our trade partners, whether it's mechanical, electrical, plumbing, all those different stakeholders that have to go in there and do all this renovation. We wanted to go really develop that common data environment for those folks so we're not having to go use those point solutions because trade contractors use whatever point solutions GCs go push on.

And it creates a lot of noise, a lot of silos, again, that fragmentation-- so bringing it back home, really that interface that we have come to love with HoloBuilder, the simplicity, and merging that with the scans, and having that functionality, being able to go do the time travels, the back and forth, getting comparisons from different viewpoints.

So the people in the office that are doing the modeling, developing those shop drawings, really getting the materials prepped and ready for the site, are able to go have the latest and greatest information at their fingertips; or from an owner and designer perspective, understanding what's truly out there in the field, understanding if that design intent is going to go work.

Even turning it over to being able to go visualize those Point Clouds, go pull measurements, having all that so you're not having to go download a couple of gigs of data to drop into your model environment. Maybe you just need one or two measurements. Maybe you just need that 360, so trying to make the information that us as the GC to go help the trade partners bringing it into that environment, making it accessible, democratizing that data.

CHRISTIAN CLAUS: So what we just seeing is the ability to coordinate all of your different types of captures, what is your model in one coordinate system, and then seamlessly jump from one to the other. It has new available features such as jumping from the 360 within that same viewpoint straight to the Point Cloud.

Many of you users don't ever want to look at the Point Cloud. They want to look at the 360s because it's seamless to navigate, to explore the virtual job site. Others, they want to run analytics on top of it to get exact measurement, or get the flatness studies.

Or they want to jump into the Point Cloud to work this processes in there. Others just want to stay within the 360 degree environment, and then making whatever data type is needed for the workflow and enabling the workflow available to your specific user when they need it.

Now, we talked about better collaboration and making the data accessible in one environment. It's very important to get fast data in there, and fast data when it comes to 360s, fast data when it comes to Point Clouds, and even automating. So let's talk about that second bucket, which is faster site updates. And we'll start with the fastest capture method, which is the 360.

And we are excited to announce video mode. Video mode is the fastest and most seamless capture method yet in the 360 space. It is in combination with classic mode, continuous mode, and speed mode, the latest addition to the HoloBuilder capture possibilities that your teams have out there, enabling you to give your teams the choice to capture in the fashion that they want to capture and really make it up to the specific workflow and the specific use case that they want to use the data for in the field.

Now with that, I'm excited to announce that this will be available in beta for beta customers of HoloBuilders in October. Now, with that, let's listen to a quick movie. I hope it's not going to be too loud, we'll see, to see what that looks like.

[VIDEO PLAYBACK]

[MUSIC PLAYING]

- Construction projects are complex undertakings and every job site is unique. We understand that different projects require different types of documentation. For some projects, high quality photos are essential, while for others, the documentation needs to happen as fast as possible.

In addition to ClassicMode, SpeedMode, and ContinuousMode, we now introduce you to VideoMode, the fastest and most seamless capture method yet, completing the full spectrum of jobsite documentation methods. VideoMode is a brand new capture method that allows users in the field to simply walk the jobsite while a 360 degree video is being recorded.

HoloBuilder's computer vision algorithms automatically organize capture points taken from the video stream on the floor plan, creating a dense map of 360 degree viewpoints that leaves no gaps. Built right into the Job Walk app, you can now find the VideoMode button.

Simply tap and go. Locate yourself on the floor plan once, and VideoMode does the rest for you while you walk. Choose the capture method that fits your needs best. High quality 360 degree photos and instant accessibility on your floor plan-- ClassicMode has you covered.

For the best trade-off between photo quality and capture speed, level up with SpeedMode and ContinuousMode. But for a super fast enhanced recapture experience, HoloBuilder VideoMode rapidly captures your site, automatically organizing viewpoints on your floor plan.

[END PLAYBACK]

WILL PLATO: So as a GC, I mean, working with all those different capture methods is huge because before we were against VideoMode because as the way we go and train our young employees, our field engineers, was we want them walking out there on site capturing those fixed pictures, not only as a measure of their responsibility and their ability to go repeat a task, but also as that learning environment, for them to go understand what's being built, how many crew members do we have in a site, what's going on. It's really that opportunity for them to go learn how to be a builder.

So we always thought VideoMode, you're walking through a site where you're going to capture environmental conditions that may be unsafe. You may catch someone doing something unsafe. How do you go edit that type of information? And also with that was the quality of the cameras.

But now with that hardware that's improved, our trade's understanding those processes that we're running on our job site, and then with HoloBuilder really having all these different options for us to go capture the data that's happening on site, we feel that the VideoMode is something that we're going to go start executing on our sites.

CHRISTIAN CLAUS: And one of the exciting things is really the hardware. So we've been looking into this over the years quite a bit. But really now we feel it's the right time to have that balance between the speed and the resolution of the hardware. And with the latest camera generation that came to market in the last year or two, this just really upped the game on the resolution of the video, so very exciting development.

We speak about [? faster ?] capture [? yourself. ?] But let's talk about being able to automatically capture. And with this, we are introducing the robotics API. The robotics API is the ability for robots out there in the field that are either out there to capture, for the sole purpose of capturing, or capture as a byproduct of putting drywall in place, putting layout out there, being able to make that data useful by integrating it in the greater jobsite.

And the robotics API is available to developers today. So if you are a robotics manufacturer from around the world, we would appreciate you reaching out. Or if you know somebody in the industry, please introduce them. We'd love to have them use the robotics API to send data into the virtual jobsite.

The first robot that will be using the robotics API is Boston Dynamics's Spot, with our update to Spot Walk, now enabling the latest and greatest additions and updates that Boston Dynamics's Spot has to be utilized.

And then just in the end of that entire capture process, which includes automatic routing and automatic scheduling of the walks, to then upload the data into the virtual jobsite right from there. As mentioned, the robotics API is available today for developers. Spot Walk 2.0 is going to be available in Q4.

All right, we spoke about fast capture on the 360 side. Let's talk about fast capture on the Point Cloud side. And as some of you may have heard, FARO recently acquired GeoSLAM, a mobile mapping solution out of the UK that enables you to capture your site really fast and in three dimensions, getting depth information, measurable information out there, that allows you to capture on a frequent basis to what Will's point earlier, that allows you to track on a weekly basis, on a biweekly basis, the progress on site, while getting also depth information. Now GeoSLAM is in the market and it's available today. It's going to be integrated into the Sphere Platform in Q4.

And then, finally, the highest point of accuracy that FARO is so known for also is getting faster with stationary scanners. The latest generation of scanners that was released this year is speeding up the actual capture on site. And what is very exciting to the Sphere ecosystem is that it comes with an application called Stream.

Stream enables you to preregister the Point Clouds that you're scanning out there while you're in the field, and then straight from the mobile application, upload that data into Sphere, so skipping a lot of steps in between that, again, save you the hassle of uploading and downloading different data sets. So throughout the different accuracy types, it's about faster capture out in the field to have the most complete virtual jobsite that is possible.

WILL PLATO: Yeah, and that's important to us, especially as a [? GC ?] and our commitment to FARO in really retaining that quality that we're getting. But when we're out there on a deck at 5:30 in the evening, especially this time of year when the sun's going down quicker, and we've got to go capture that [? 9, ?] 10,000 square feet and get ready for that 2:00 AM placement, our current process has been running two or three FARO scanners across that deck, going back inside, running that through Scene, dropping that into Navisworks, doing our model comparisons, creating the snapshots, and really trying to go give our trade contractors that information.

Where are our penetrations, blockouts, [? edge of deck, ?] embeds, all that stuff to go control that upfront quality before we go make things hard and gray. And so having this ability to go upload that information from the field, get all that information aggregated together so we cannot be up at 1230 in the morning pulling together reports, and then hoping our trades have the two or three guys extra to go make those corrections, it's going to be powerful.

We we're able to go maintain what we're doing to go help those trades, but do it in a much more efficient manner, and again make that data available within that platform.

CHRISTIAN CLAUS: Awesome, thanks will. And speaking about faster capture, better collaboration, let's talk about more insights. As you are capturing more information out there and making this data more available, you want more analytics to happen in the background that analyzes the data for you so that these long night shifts become shorter and shorter. And hopefully we will get to go home on time one day.

And with that, we'd like to introduce you to ProgressAI. ProgressAI is the latest generation of the AI that we've been developing at HoloBuilder. It detects progress or a status on a floorplan, allowing you to understand what is the work that is [INAUDIBLE] to be done, that should be done based on the floor plan, and then compare that to the detection that happens within the 360 degree photos, creating a percent complete between what you have planned to build in terms of walls, ceilings, floors, et cetera, and then comparing it against what the system sees based on the latest updates to your virtual jobsite, delivering a percent complete.

WILL PLATO: Yeah, and this is huge because-- I mean, I think I had a side job with FARO for a while in HoloBuilder as a kind of an AI psychologist. So I'd be on their, calls late at night with their German team going, OK, why does the computer think that insulation is a [? CMU ?] wall today, when yesterday it was registering just fine.

So really it's that progression of the site AI module that we've been working on and developing in the past. And this is something that we're really excited about because you may have picked up on it, but really that location-centric information, where we're combining those 360 photos with the scans, all those scans being registered to those real-world coordinates.

So it's not, again, just separate data sets living in a viewer, they're actually being combined so we can go run those analytics. And for HoloBuilder users, ProgressAI will be available for beta in Q4. Let's talk about not just whether progress has happened in the field, but whether something was installed correctly.

And some of you may have seen the recent announcement of Flatness Check that enables you to understand where the floor was poured correctly and what the levelness is. And with that, let me play a quick video here to introduce you to Flatness Check.

[VIDEO PLAYBACK]

[AUDIO LOGO]

[MUSIC PLAYING]

- In the concrete industry, pouring a flat, level slab is a critical first step in any jobsite [INAUDIBLE]. For foremen and superintendents looking to save time, improve quality and prevent costly rework, the new FARO Flatness Check app is ideal.

The Flatness Check app allows you to collect and register scans in real time to analyze specific locations set to your project's tolerances. Flatness check enables the immediate visualization of floor flatness and floor levels. It does so in real time with an augmented reality colorized heat map generated from Point Cloud data collected by a FARO focused laser scanner.

Integrated with Sphere, FAROs cloud-based platform, now other involved parties and trades can better coordinate their work and share their progress. Detect uneven areas in just minutes and fix those deviations fast, even while the concrete is still wet. This ensures that schedules are kept and projects are completed with faster and less waste.

A standard iPad is all it takes. Download in the Apple store or through a link in the FARO's Sphere portal. When there's no tolerance for out of tolerance, when quality control means a structure that stands the test of time, when cutting-edge 3D technology separates leaders from the followers, there's FARO. Follow the leader.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[END PLAYBACK]

WILL PLATO: So I've been fortunate enough to be able to go use this across several of my projects, both in that application and then also really in that post environment where after we've pulled [? resource, ?] checking to go make sure, what does that heat map on the floor look like?

And that is a much better process to really go communicate that information in the field versus the current process where we're taking that information, dropping it into Civil 3D, coming up with our color gradients, annotating [? eighth ?] quarter, high-low, whatever, really trying to go tell the field, and then pulling dimensions off of grid lines, all those little analytics.

Whereas now through that Sphere platform, we're able to go bring that really live out into the field. And so we've done a lot of testing with FARO, out there running the [? grade ?] rods, rechecking that, making sure that what that scanner is telling us, that we can go trust it. And I can stand here before you today and tell you that it actually works.

CHRISTIAN CLAUS: Awesome, thank you Will. And with that, we threw a lot at you. So I appreciate you still sitting here. We spoke about the 3D Construction Progress Management Solution as the initial scope of applications available on the Sphere platform.

We spoke about better collaboration with the Sphere Viewer. We spoke about faster site updates with VideoMode, the robotics API, GeoSLAM as well as Stream. And then we spoke about deeper insights with ProgressAI as well as Flatness Check.

If you have questions about any of these solutions, I do invite you to come visit us at Booth Con214 down in the exhibit hall, or meet one of my colleagues with a FARO shirt on, or come speak with Will or me after. We are excited to be meeting you and discussing the different scopes of the solutions.

With that, I want to thank Will for joining and sharing his wisdom today, and also the continued partnership and collaboration, as well as you all for joining, and also all of your civil engineers out there that have given input over the years.

And then last but not least, thank you so much to all the engineers over at FARO as well as the designers and the product team who made much of this happen together with their software engineers working with US civil engineers.

I always like to say that when you put civil engineers and software engineers in one room, magic happens. And with that, we look forward to continue building insights with you. Thank you so much. Enjoy the rest of this SHOW. Enjoy New Orleans, and have a great rest of your day.

[APPLAUSE]