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VERSION 4.8NOVEMBER 2010


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©FARO Technologies Inc., 2010. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by

any means without written permission of FARO Technologies, Inc.

FARO TECHNOLOGIES, INC. MAKES NO WARRANTY, EITHER

EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY

IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A

PARTICULAR PURPOSE, REGARDING THE FAROARM, FARO LASER

TRACKER AND ANY MATERIALS, AND MAKES SUCH MATERIALS

AVAILABLE SOLELY ON AN “AS-IS” BASIS.

IN NO EVENT SHALL FARO TECHNOLOGIES INC. BE LIABLE TOANYONE FOR SPECIAL, COLLATERAL, INCIDENTAL, OR

CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES IN CONNECTION WITH OR ARISING

OUT OF THE PURCHASE OR USE OF THE FAROARM, FARO LASER

TRACKER, FARO LASER SCANNER OR ITS MATERIALS. THE SOLE

AND EXCLUSIVE LIABILITY TO FARO TECHNOLOGIES, INC.,

REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF ACTION, SHALL NOT EXCEED THE

PURCHASE PRICE OF THE MATERIALS DESCRIBED HEREIN.

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS MANUAL IS SUBJECT TOCHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE AND DOES NOT REPRESENT A

COMMITMENT ON THE PART OF FARO TECHNOLOGIES INC.

ACCEPTANCE OF THIS DOCUMENT BY THE CUSTOMER

CONSTITUTES ACKNOWLEDGMENT THAT IF ANY INCONSISTENCY

EXISTS BETWEEN THE ENGLISH AND NON-ENGLISH VERSIONS, THE

ENGLISH VERSION TAKES PRECEDENCE.

FARO Technologies Inc. Internal Control File Locations:

\CONTROL\REFERENC\08PRODUC\ENGLISH\Prdpub53\08m55e00 - SCENE - November 2010.pdf

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FARO® SCENE Version 4.8

November 2010

i

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction to SCENESystem Requirements...................................................... 3Installing SCENE................................................................ 3Operation......................................................................... 4

Chapter 2: Scanning

Chapter 3: Scans and WorkspaceTranferring and Importing FARO Laser Scanner LS and

Photon Scans................................................................. 9Tranferring and Importing FARO Laser Scanner Focus3D

Scans ............................................................................ 10Workspace Structure..................................................... 11Working with Scans........................................................ 12

Loading Scans ............................................................................... 12Displaying a Scan.......................................................................... 13

Na vig a ting With in th e View .......................................................14

Visib ility Se tt ing s ...........................................................................15

Lo c a ting O b je c ts in th e View s...................................................15

Unloading Scans............................................................................ 16

Single Scan Points.......................................................................... 16

File Structure................................................................... 17

Chapter 4: Project SelectorWorking with the Project Selector ............................... 19

Default Project Location............................................................... 19

Opening Projects........................................................... 20Filtering, Sorting, Searching .......................................... 20Managing Your Projects ............................................... 21

Adding Existing Projects ................................................................ 21

Creating New Projects.................................................................. 22Project Previews............................................................................. 22

Favorites.......................................................................................... 22

Ignore Projects ............................................................................... 23

Edit Project Information ................................................................ 23


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ii

Key Wo rd s.....................................................................................24

Positio n ..........................................................................................25

Google Earth View........................................................................ 25

Scanner Administration................................................. 25Remote Server Connection.......................................... 25Additional Settings and Information ........................... 26

Switch Off Project Selector........................................................... 26

Default Project Location............................................................... 26Requirements ................................................................................. 26

Chapter 5: Quick ViewChapter 6: Planar View

Chapter 7: Selecting Scan Points

Chapter 8: Coloring the Range

Chapter 9: Processing ScansFilter ................................................................................. 39

Default Filter ................................................................................... 41Stray ................................................................................................ 41

Distance Based.............................................................................. 42

Dark Scan Points ............................................................................ 42Smooth............................................................................................ 42

Preprocess ...................................................................................... 43

Compensation............................................................... 44

Chapter 10: Exporting Scan PointsExporting Slices .............................................................. 48

Single Slice...................................................................................... 48

Several Slices.................................................................................. 49

Tomograph..................................................................... 51

DXF .................................................................................. 52VRML ............................................................................... 53IGES ................................................................................. 53XYZ text ........................................................................... 55


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Chapter 11: ObjectsText Field ......................................................................... 57

Documentation Object ................................................ 58Object Fit ........................................................................ 60

Point ................................................................................................ 61

Mea n Point ...................................................................................62

C o ntra st M ea n Po int ...................................................................62

C o rne r Po int .................................................................................63

In te rse c t ion Po int .........................................................................63

Plane ............................................................................................... 63

Lim ite d Pla ne - Exp a nd Pla ne ....................................................64 Pla ne Fit With C onstra ints ...........................................................65

In te rse c t ion Po int .........................................................................67

Slab.................................................................................................. 68Sphere............................................................................................. 70

Pipe ................................................................................................. 71

Line .................................................................................................. 73Rectangle....................................................................................... 73

Mesh................................................................................................ 73Region............................................................................................. 75Object Marker Tools ...................................................................... 75

Export .............................................................................. 77Import.............................................................................. 78Object Visualization ...................................................... 80Layers .............................................................................. 80Pictures............................................................................ 82

Chapter 12: ColorColorizing Using Scanner Based Pictures .................... 85

Compensating Horizontal Shift..................................................... 86

Colorizing Using Additional Pictures ............................ 88Color Contrast Filter....................................................... 91

Chapter 13: 3D ViewObjects in the 3D View ................................................. 94


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Chapter 14: WebShareCreating a Web Project................................................ 97

Adding Meta Information To Your WebShare Project............... 97Viewing WebShare Projects ......................................... 98

Using SCENE.................................................................................... 98

Using an Internet Browser ........................................................... 100

Examining a SCENE WebShare Project ..................................... 101

Contro l Pa ne l .............................................................................102

Pro jec t C o nte n ts........................................................................103

O ve rview Ma p ...........................................................................104

Pa no ram ic Sc a n View ..............................................................105

Chapter 15: Virtual Scans

Chapter 16: Scan AnalysisInspection..................................................................... 111Measuring Distances................................................... 111

Surface Analysis ........................................................... 114

Chapter 17: Registering ScansCreating Scan Reference Objects............................ 118

Automatic Detection and Creation ......................................... 118Manual Creation ......................................................................... 119

Creating External Reference Objects....................... 120Finding Corresponding Reference Objects ............. 120

Automatic Creation of Correspondences ............................... 121Manual Creation of Correspondences .................................... 125Deleting Correspondences........................................................ 125

Free Registration - Bundle Adjustment ...................... 126Registering Scans Within a Cluster............................................. 126

Registration of Multiple Clusters to Eachother ......................... 128

Using Strict Pair-Wise Registration............................................... 130

Scan Manager............................................................. 131Advanced Registration Features............................... 134

Overall Alignment........................................................................ 134

Batch Registration ....................................................................... 136

Free Registration .......................................................................... 138

Registration With Known Position ............................................... 138


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Registration Without Inclinometer ............................................. 138Manual Registration .................................................................... 139

Correspondence View ............................................... 140Manipulators ................................................................................ 141

Correspondence Lines................................................................ 143Update.......................................................................................... 143

Exclude All, Include All and Include Next................................. 144

Group and Ungroup ................................................................... 145

Place Scans.................................................................................. 145

Chapter 18: WorkspaceAdding Scans............................................................... 147

Importing ...................................................................................... 147Copying........................................................................................ 147

Merging Workspaces .................................................. 148

Chapter 19: FARO Focus 3D ScannerAdministration

Tree View...................................................................... 150Adminstration View ..................................................... 150Managing Snapshots .................................................. 151

Editing the System Snapshot of the Inserted SD Card............. 151Creating a Virtual Scanner Snapshot........................................ 151

Restoring the Local Copy of the Automatic Scanner Snapshot...

151

Transferring a Modified Snapshot to Your Scanner ................. 152Managing Scan Projects ............................................ 152Transferring Firmware Updates To Your Scanner...... 153Restoring Manually Created Scanner Backups....... 154Scanner Service Request............................................ 155

Chapter 20: Reference Handbook Menu Bar ............................................................... 157

File ................................................................................................. 157

New .............................................................................................157

O p en...........................................................................................157

C lose ...........................................................................................157

Sa ve ............................................................................................157


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Sa ve As… ...................................................................................158

Im p o rt… ......................................................................................158

Exp o rt… ......................................................................................159

Print… ..........................................................................................159

Print Pre v iew ...............................................................................160

Print Se tup…...............................................................................161

Re c ently Lo a d e d Wo rksp a c es.................................................161

Exit ...............................................................................................161

Edit................................................................................................. 161

View .............................................................................................. 162Tools............................................................................................... 162

Op tions…....................................................................................164 DrawToCAD.................................................................................. 176Window......................................................................................... 176

Help............................................................................................... 176

Conte nts.....................................................................................176

Ab o ut SCENE..............................................................................177

Lic ense Ma na g e r ......................................................................177

Scanner......................................................................................... 178

Sc a nn ing ....................................................................................178 Sc a nne r Adm in ist ra t ion ............................................................178

Shutd ow n Sc anne r....................................................................181

Se lec t Sc a nne r...........................................................................181

Ab o ut FARO Sc a nPlug in ...........................................................182

Toolbars......................................................................... 182Standard Toolbar......................................................................... 182Planar View Toolbar .................................................................... 183

Point Selection Toolbar ............................................................... 183Measurement Toolbar................................................................. 184Object Marker Toolbar................................................................ 184

3D View Toolbar........................................................................... 185

Correspondence View Toolbar ................................................ 186Scan Toolbar ............................................................................... 187

Context Menus ............................................................ 188Frequently Used Commands...................................................... 188

Commands For Fit Objects......................................................... 1893D Picture Fit (Fit of a virtual scan) ............................................ 189

3D View .................................................................................... 190

3D View - Selected Area ............................................................ 196Constraints Object....................................................................... 196

Constrained Plane Fit .................................................................. 197


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Line Fit ........................................................................................... 197Picture ........................................................................................ 197

Pipe ............................................................................................... 198

Pipe Fit........................................................................................... 198Planar View and Quick View .................................................. 198

Scan Points Selection in Planar View or Quick View ............ 200

Plane ............................................................................................ 202Expanded Plane ........................................................................ 203

Plane Fit ........................................................................................ 203

Slab................................................................................................ 203Slab Fit........................................................................................... 203

Point .............................................................................................. 203Point Fit.......................................................................................... 204

Sphere........................................................................................... 204Sphere Fit ...................................................................................... 204

Pipe ............................................................................................... 204

Pipe Fit........................................................................................... 204Rectangle..................................................................................... 204

Rectangle Fit ................................................................................ 204

Region........................................................................................... 204Scan .............................................................................................. 205

Scan Fit ......................................................................................... 207

Scan Folder .................................................................................. 208Scan Manager ......................................................................... 212

Virtual Scan (3D Picture) ............................................................ 213

Workspace ................................................................................ 214Snapshot (Focus3D Scanner Adminsitration) .......................... 216

Properties...................................................................... 216Checkmarks ................................................................................. 216Frequently Used Properties ......................................................... 217

Gene ra l ......................................................................................217

Tra nsfo rm a tion ...........................................................................218

3D Picture Fit................................................................................. 219

Constraints Object....................................................................... 220

Constrained Plane Fit .................................................................. 221Measurement............................................................................... 222

Object Marker.............................................................................. 223

Picture........................................................................................... 223Pipe ............................................................................................... 224

Pipe Fit........................................................................................... 224

Plane ............................................................................................. 225


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Plane Fit ........................................................................................ 226Slab................................................................................................ 227

Slab Fit........................................................................................... 228

Point .............................................................................................. 229Point Fit.......................................................................................... 229

Sphere........................................................................................... 230

Sphere Fit ...................................................................................... 230Text ................................................................................................ 231

Documentation Object.............................................................. 232

Virtual Scan (3D Picture)............................................................. 232Scan Fit ......................................................................................... 233

Scan Folder .................................................................................. 236Scan Manager............................................................................. 237Pull ................................................................................................. 240

Push ............................................................................................... 240

Scanner Parameter..................................................................... 240

Sc a n ............................................................................................241

G ene ra l ......................................................................................242

Tra nsfo rm a tion ...........................................................................242

Sc a n A rea ..................................................................................243 O p e ra t io n ...................................................................................244

O p e ra to r.....................................................................................245

Sc a nne r Info ...............................................................................245

Sc a nne r Se tt ing s........................................................................246

Sta tus ..........................................................................................247

C am e ra ......................................................................................248

Chapter 21: DrawToCADInstallation .................................................................... 251Working with DrawToCAD .......................................... 252

Chapter 22: CoordinatesLocal Coordinates....................................................... 253

Polar Coordinates........................................................................ 253

Cartesian Coordinates................................................................ 254

Global Coordinates .................................................... 254Coordinate Transformation ........................................................ 255

Coordinate Transformation of a Scan ...................................... 257

Transformation and Registration................................................ 259


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Chapter 23: File FormatsSurvey Data .csv .......................................................... 261

General Scan Data Format .xyz................................. 261Binary Scan Data Format .xyzb.................................. 261Scan Data Format .ptc ............................................... 262Scan Data Format .ptx................................................ 262Scan Data Format .ptz................................................ 263Scan Data Format .zfc................................................ 263IGES ............................................................................... 263

Chapter 24: Error Messages

Chapter 25: Frequently Asked Questions

Chapter 26: Implementation Notes

Chapter 27: GlossaryTechnical Support.................................. 273

Software License Agreement............... A-1

Purchase Conditions............................. B-1

Industrial Products Service Policy........ C-1

Industrial Service Policy........................ D-1


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1Chapter 1: Introduction to SCENE

Chapter 1: Introduction to SCENE

SCENE Version 4.8 is the high performance and practical 3D point cloudsoftware tool for the professional user. It is specially designed for viewing of,

administration of, and working on extensive 3D scan points from high resolution

3D laser scanners like the FARO® Laser Scanner Photon. SCENE processes and

manages scanned data both highly efficiently and easily by using the new

automatic object recognition, scan registration and positioning.

This document contains all general information and specific instructions needed

to use SCENE. If you have any questions or need further instructions for any

procedure, contact your Customer Service Representative by Phone, Fax or E-Mail. See “Technical Support” on page 273. You can also reach the Customer

Service Applications and Training group via Internet e-mail at the following

addresses:

• [email protected]



Visit the FARO Customer Service area on the Web at www.faro.com to search our

technical support database, which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Listed below are some of the visual and typographical conventions used in each

of the sections.

ALL CAPITAL text Indicates directory names, menu names, buttons,

tabs, key names, acronyms, and modes. For example,

“Click SAVE.”

monospaced text Indicates alpha/numeric characters or values youenter in a field on the screen. For example, “Type

0. 005 for the tolerance setting.”

bold text Indicates anything you must input using your

keyboard exactly as it appears. For example, “Type

a:install”.

SMALL CAPS text Indicates dialog box, button names, and window

names. For example, “Click OK to close the DEVICE

window.”

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.faro.com/http://www.faro.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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You may also see a few new words. It is important that you understand the

meaning of these words before proceeding.

Warning

A WARNING notice denotes a hazard. It calls attention to an operating

procedure, practice, or the like that, if not correctly performed or adhered to,

could result in personal injury or death. Do not proceed beyond a WARNING

notice until the indicated conditions are fully understood and met.

Caut ion

A CAUTION notice denotes a hazard. It calls attention to an operating

procedure, practice, or the like that, if not correctly performed or adhered to,

could result in damage to the product or loss of important data. Do not proceed

beyond a CAUTION notice until the indicated conditions are fully understood

and met.

Note

A NOTE notice denotes additional information that aids you in the use or

understanding of the equipment or subject. Specifically, they are not used when a

WARNING or CAUTION is applicable. They are not safety related and may be

placed either before or after the associated text as required.

digitize Indicates the recording of XYZ coordinates of a point or location in 3D space. The word digitize is

the same as the term measure when referring to

points.

choose or select Indicates that you are initiating an action. For

example, “Select FILE < INSERT < CAD PARTS.”

left-click, right-click,

click, or press

Indicates that you press and release the

corresponding mouse button or keyboard key. Alsoused when referring to the hardware device buttons.

For example, “After selecting a file from the OPEN

FILE dialog box, click OK to open the file” or “Press

ESC at anytime to cancel a command.”

drag Indicates that you press and hold the LEFT MOUSE

button down and move the mouse. Release the

mouse button to finish. This word is often used when

changing the size of a window or toolbar.


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System RequirementsThe following are the recommended hardware and software requirements for

SCENE.

Hardware

Processor:

• 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor with at least 1.5 gigahertz (GHz).

Main memory:

• A scan with 30 million scan points takes up approximately 400 MB when

loaded in full resolution. Therefore, your computer should have at least 1 GB

of main memory.

Mouse:

• the mouse should have 2 buttons and a scroll wheel.

Graphics Card:

• the graphics card should support OpenGL and have its own memory.

Network Card:

• required for licensing SCENE.

Software

Operating System:

• Windows XP, Vista or 7 operating system (32bit or 64bit versions)

• NOTE: We recommend using a multi-core processor system with a 64-bit

operating system with at least 4GB of main memory.

Installing SCENETo Install SCENE:

Insert the Installation CD supplied with the scanner, select the product and follow

the installation instructions on the screen. An installation wizard will guide you

during installation. You must belong to the group of administrators or power

users to install the software.

License:

After the trial period, you need a license to use SCENE.

If you change your hardware or if you want to use SCENE on a different

computer, you will also need a new license, as the license is bound to a system

ID.


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With the license manager (Help License Manager) you can view your licenses,

send an e-mail to FARO requesting a license (Send) and add the licenses that

you have received from FARO (Add). After adding a license, press OK or

Apply. For more information, see “License Manager” on page 177.

Operation

The SCENE window is made up of the following areas:

Menu bar - contains all the menus with commands for the general operation.

Figure 1-1

Figure 1-2


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Toolbars - provide a quick and easy way to access common menu features

with the mouse.

Scan bar - the functions for configuring the scanner and for performing theactual scans are accessible from the scan tool bar. The scan bar is only available

for SCENE and SCENE Record if the Scanner Control plug-in has been installed.

Not available in SCENE LT.

Status bar - displays command and scan point data details and responses to

the last command executed.

Structure view - displays the structure of the Workspace, including all sub-

folders and objects. The structure view is moving aside if you do not need it any

more. The released space on your screen is allowing SCENE to display morescan data. Whether the structure view stays visible or is folded away

automatically may be controlled by the pin needle button at the top right of the

structure view window.

Scan and object views - the visual presentation of the scan data and other

objects. Scans and objects can either be displayed in a quick view, a detailed

planar view or in 3D view. One or more views can be displayed in the view area.

The scan and object views can be displayed as tabbed or as unanchored windows.

Tabbed windows are the standard display option and allow you to maneuver between multiple windows by clicking at the tabs of the windows. This is

intended to free more space on your screen. You can change between the two

display options under View - Tabbed Documents. Views displayed as

unanchored windows can be minimized by clicking on the minimize button in

their title bar. Views displayed as tabbed documents have additional display

options that can be accessed by right-clicking on their tab or title bar. A further

display option is the presentation mode. SCENE is minimizing all menus and

toolbars to provide maximum space on the screen for scan data. This feature iscontrolled via the View menu or by using CTRL-F11 or ALT-ENTER as short cut

command.


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7Chapter 2: Scanning

Chapter 2: Scanning

SCENE Version 4.8 implements all functions to configure and control the FAROLaser Scanner LS and the FARO Laser Scanner Photon in order to perform high

resolution 3D scans. Please refer to the corresponding chapters in the scanner

manuals to learn more about connecting to these scanners and controlling them

with SCENE. The FARO Laser Scanner Focus3D can be controlled with it's

integrated touch interface only. Please refer to the FARO Focus3D manual for

more information about this.


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9Chapter 3: Scans and Workspace

Chapter 3: Scans and Workspace

When working with SCENE, you have on the one hand, the scans with theirmillions of data records of position, reflectance, and color for single scan points,

and the overall workspace on the other. A workspace contains scans and all the

data required to process the scan making the analysis comprehensible.

This includes:

• Text fields, which can point out structural characteristics in a scan.

• Documentation objects, which provide information about user defined points

of interest in the scans.

• The geometric objects identified in a scan.

• Reference to external coordinate systems.

• Measurement logs.

• CAD models for comparing scanned reality with the existing plans.

The workspace is saved in the file system as a file with the extension .fws (scan

files have the extension.fls). You can start SCENE by double-clicking on a

workspace file. This workspace is then loaded automatically. You can also startSCENE by double clicking on a scan file (in the FARO Laser Scan format). A

new workspace which contains only this scan is then created automatically in

SCENE. This workspace initially exists only in SCENE and not as a file in the

file system, so you have to explicitly save the workspace.

A workspace is also generated automatically if you start SCENE via the

Windows desktop or the Windows start menu. Initially, this workspace does not

contain scans or CAD models and you can now fill it by dragging & dropping the

appropriate files, or via the Import command, which is in the menu bar underFile.

Tranferring and Importing FARO Laser ScannerLS and Photon ScansIf you are scanning with remote mode with SCENE connected to a FARO Photon

or FARO LS scanner, the scans are transferred to your computer during the scan

process and will be saved to the folder that is specified in the scanning options(see scanner manual for more information). In this mode, SCENE will

automatically create a workspace and assign the recorded scans to this

workspace.


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If you are scanning in local storage mode, the scans will be stored to the internal

hard disk of the scanner. To transfer those scans to your computer, connect to the

scanner, make sure that scanner and computer are in the same network (see

scanner manual for more details) and enter two backslashes followed by the

scanner's IP address into the Windows Explorer's address bar (e.g.

\\192.186.2.122). You should then have access to the scans folder on the

scanner's hard disk. Transfer the scans to your computer by drag and drop and

then import the scans to a workspace by dragging & dropping the appropriate

files to SCENE, or via the Import command, which can be found in the menu bar

under File.

Tranferring and Importing FARO Laser ScannerFocus3D Scans

Contrary to FARO Photon or FARO LS Laser Scanners, the FARO Focus3D laser

scanner stores its scans on a removable SD card. To transfer those scans, start

SCENE first, then insert the Focus3D SD card into your computer. This SD card

will automatically be recognized by SCENE and you will be asked whether to

import the scans or not. Clicking yes will start the import process of the scans.SCENE will create a project folder within your regular import folder that is

specified under Tools - Options - Directories - Import Folder and transfers the

scans to it. Additionally, SCENE will generate a new workspace and

automatically import the scans to this workspace. If a project struture had been

defined before the scans were captured (see chapter 19.4 in this manual or the

Focus3D manual for more information), SCENE will create scan folders within

the workspace that represent the project's structure and allocate the scans to the

corresponding scan folders.

When the FARO Focus3D scanner saves its scans to the removable SD card, it

initially generates several files for one scan and puts them all into one folder.

This folder is named according to the specified scan name. During the transfer

process SCENE combines all the files of this folder to one .fls scan file.

If you want to import FARO Focus3D scans manually, drag and drop the

appropriate folder from the SD card to SCENE or use the Import command,

which can be found in the menu bar under File. In this case, open the folder of the

appropriate scan, in this folder select the scan's identification file. Thisidentification file bears the name of the scan and has the extension .fls. Please

note: this file may not be confused with the .fls scan file that is created by

SCENE during the import process as described above.


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Workspace StructureAll objects in the workspace are arranged in a hierarchy so they are easier to find.

This is similar to the file system, where the files are placed in folders, which canalso be nested hierarchically. There are also folders in SCENE. There are folders

for containing scans (Scan Folder) and folders for general use that can contain all

other objects (Folder). A scan is also essentially a folder which, apart from scan

points, can also contain additional information (however, no further scans).

In the structure view you can see the hierarchy of the objects.

On the top level of the workspace hierarchy, you can find the following folders:

Measurements - contains the measurement logs.

Models - contains CAD models.

References - contains survey data and any self made reference points.

Documentation - contains the documentation objects.

Scans - contains scans.

You can rearrange the objects within the hierarchy. To do this, select an object

and using drag & drop, move it to the folder in which you require it to be located.

You can do this in the structure view and in the planar view. If you use the left

mouse button, the properties of the object will not change. Especially the local

coordinates will not change. But because of the hierarchy of coordinates it may

have changed its global coordinates (see chapter 20 for a detailed description ofcoordinates). If you use the right mouse button, you'll get an additional context

menu with which you can decide what should happen with the object.

Here you can not only choose between copy and move, but also select that theobject should keep its global position.

Apart from this hierarchy, the objects are also assigned to layers. Layers are used

to group objects independently of their hierarchy and to control the visibility of

these object groups. For example, in your CAD model, you can place the interior

Figure 3-1 Structure view

Figure 3-2 Drag & Drop with right mouse button


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walls of a building on a separate layer. If you then make this layer invisible, you

very easily obtain an impression of the available floor space in the building. The

visibility settings are explained in Visibility Settings. For more information, see

“Visibility Settings” on page 15.

You can give most objects their own names, which may only contain letters,

numbers, the point '.' and the underscore '_'. Scans cannot be renamed. The

References folder should not be renamed because it is used for registering the

scans.

Working with Scans

A scan can contain several million scan points and with full resolution has acorrespondingly high memory requirement. Apart from the scan points, a scan

contains further data such as the status when recording the scan as well as the

exact position and orientation. All this data is combined in the scan file but it is

handled separately in SCENE. It is therefore possible to access additional scan

data without the scan points having to be loaded in the memory.

If you want to display or process the scan points of a scan, you have to save them

in the memory. In a somewhat abbreviated manner, we call this "loading a scan",

although what we are actually referring to is loading the scan points of a scan.

A scan is always either loaded or not loaded; it is never partially loaded. For this

reason, you should avoid loading a lot of large scans simultaneously because the

memory requirement would be enormous. If you want to process scans in full

resolution, you should select precisely the scan points required from the scans

and load only these. If the scan points of a scan are no longer required, you

should remove them from the memory. If full resolution is not required, you can

also load the scans in reduced resolution. You can find the necessary settings for

this under TOOLS < OPTIONS < SCAN DATA. For more information, see

“Options…” on page 164.

Depending on the memory of your computer, you might not be able to load large

scans completely. In this case you have to load these scans with reduced size.

Therefore we recommend reducing the scanning area to the area of interest

before recording a scan in full resolution.

Loading ScansIn the structure view, the scans in the workspace are listed under a scans folder. A

scan is identified by the cloud symbol . Modified unsaved scans are marked

with a star in the cloud symbol . If a scan is loaded in full resolution it is


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marked with a symbol, if it is loaded in reduced resolution it is marked

with .

A scan is loaded automatically if you want to view it in a detailed planar view,

quick view or in 3D. However. You can also load a scan explicitly. To do this,

open the context menu of the scan and select Loaded. In the context menu you

will also see a small check mark if the scan is loaded.

Upon loading a scan for the first time, you will have the choice to apply a set of

default filters to the scan. For more information, see “Options…” on page 164.

Displaying a ScanThere are five types of view to select from when displaying a scan:

Quick View - The standard scan view. For this, the scan does not have to be

loaded. The quick view is available within a few seconds; in the meanwhile the

scan data will be loaded in the background. You can manipulate the scan points

as soon as background loading is finished. Until then you are only able to view

and navigate. Start quick view by double clicking on the scan in the structure

view or via the command VIEW < QUICK VIEW in the context menu of the

scan. If a quick view is active, the scan selected in the structure view isautomatically displayed.

Planar View - The scan must be loaded; this will happen automatically if

required. Start the planar view with the command VIEW < PLANAR VIEW in

the context menu of the scan

3D View - Best suited for combined viewing of scans and objects. If the scan is

not loaded, only its objects are displayed. Start the 3D view via the command

VIEW < 3D VIEW in the context menu of the scan. The command VIEW < 3DCLEAR VIEW will open the 3D view in clear view mode. For more information,

see “3D View” on page 190.

WebShare - will open SCENE WebShare. WebShare is a browser based

panoramic view of your scan projects. For more details refer to chapter 13.

Figure 3-3 Structure view of a workspace


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Na viga t ing Within the View

In the views, you take a position as an observer in the room and look in a certain

direction to observe the scanned area with a freely selectable scale. Depending onthe type of view, your selection of position may be limited; in the quick view and

the planar view, you can only assume the position of the scanner, i.e. you cannot

move freely in the room as an observer. This is only possible in the 3D view. Line

of sight and scale are freely adjustable in all types of view. For more information,

see “3D View” on page 93.

When you open the view of a scan, at first you are in the position of the scanner

when it recorded the scan. You will see the scan points of the scanned area all

around you. To change the scale, use the scroll wheel of your mouse. If you turnthe wheel towards you, you increase the scale; the displayed area becomes

smaller. This is similar to using a telephoto lens on a camera. If you turn the

wheel away from you, you decrease the scale. The displayed area becomes larger,

similar to using a wide-angle lens.

Change the line of sight by pressing the left mouse button and moving the mouse.

In the toolbar you can select from two different ways of putting this mouse

movement into action:

Observer-based navigation - When navigating, it seems as though you are

moving. For example, by turning the mouse to the right, you seem to turn to the

right and objects from the right margin move into the center of the image.

Object-based navigation - When navigating, it seems as though the

objects move while you stand still. For example, by turning the mouse to the

right, your entire surroundings seem to turn right and objects from the center of

the image move to the right margin.

If there are several interesting areas in a scan which you would like to view again

alternately, you could open several views of the same scan and then set the line of

sight and scale to the interesting areas. However, you can also work with one

single view, set the line of sight and scale to an interesting area and then save this

setting. Use the button on the toolbar to save the view orientation. If you

have saved several view orientations, you can switch between these orientations

by selecting the required orientation from the list of orientations available. You

can see the list by pressing the button in the toolbar. You can also switch

from one orientation to the next by using the function key F2. By using shift +

F2, you switch back to the preceding orientation.


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If you have set the visibility of the scan positions accordingly, you can use the

displayed scan positions to quickly switch from the current position to the

position of a neighboring scan. For this, double click on the scan position. For

more information, see “Visibility Settings” on page 15.

Visib ility Se tting s

The views can also show objects other than the scan points, such as:

• The positions of the other scans in the workspace.

• The simple objects assigned to a scan that were created by a fit, for example

spheres, and 3D points.

• CAD models.

Not all views can display all these objects. For more information, see “Quick

View” on page 27 , “Planar View” on page 29, and “Color” on page 85 for more

detailed description of views.

You can decide whether or not to display the objects using the visibility settings,

which are arranged in three levels:

1. The visibility of the layer to which the object is assigned.

2. The visibility according to the prominence of the object.

3. The distance of the object from the observer.

An object is only visible if the visibility on the first two levels is set accordingly

and it is located in the set range.

Press the button to get the dialog box for the visibility settings. For more

information, see “3D View” on page 190.

The visibility settings are maintained separately for each view. It is therefore

possible that an object is visible in one view and not in another. When you open a

new view, this view initially takes over the default values of the visibility

settings. You can also change these default values. In the context menu of the

Workspace, select Planar View Visibility Settings for the default visibility

settings of the planar view, or 3D Visibility Settings for the default visibility

settings of the quick view and the 3D view.

Loc a t ing Ob jec ts in the View s

Objects can be visible in both the structure view and scan views. To find objects

in the scan views, use the command Locate in the context menu of the objects. If,

for example, you have an object in the structure view in front of you and now


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want to see its embedding within the scan points in another view, first activate

this other view and then call the command Locate in the structure view in the

context menu of the object. The field of view and scale of the other views are

then set so that you can view the object required.

In the same way, you can also select an object in a different view than the

structure view and call the command Locate in the context menu of the object.

The field of view and scale are then reset in this view and the object is also

selected in the structure view.

Unloading Scans

If the scan points of a scan are no longer required for what you are currentlyworking on, you should remove them from the memory. To do this, open the

context menu of the scan and select Scan Loaded. The check marks by the entry

and by the cloud symbol will disappear. All planar views of the scan are closed

and the scan points of the scan are removed from the 3D views. Quick views are

not affected.

Please note that closing a view of the scan does not remove it from the memory!

Single Scan Points

If you open the planar view of a scan, you can view the data of single scan points.

To do this, move the mouse pointer over the planar view. In the status bar, you

will find the following details for the scan point that is currently under the mouse

pointer:

• Row, Column - The row and column within the planar view.

• Polar Coordinates - Horizontal angle from 0° to 360°, the vertical angle from

+90° to -90°, and distance from the scanner. Polar coordinates have their originin the scanner position.

• Cartesian Coordinates - Coordinates along the three axes x, y, an z. Cartesian

coordinates take into account the placement of the scanner within the

coordinate system.

Figure 3-4 Scan point data in the status ba


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• Reflection or Color Value - For a scan point with color, the red, green, and

blue values are displayed. Otherwise the reflection value is displayed. Dark

scan points have a small reflection value, bright scan points a high one. The

reflection value of scanners from different manufacturers is not necessarily

comparable. There are for example scanners with a brightness range from 0 to

255, and there are scanners with a range from 0 to 2047.

File StructureThe workspace is saved in the file system as a file with the extension .fws. In the

folder where the workspace file is saved, SCENE maintains another folder called

Scans. This folder contains all the scan files that are part of the workspace. Aworkspace can, of course, contain scans from different manufacturers; however,

they are uniformly filed in the much-compressed FARO Laser Scan format, to

use the capacity of the data medium efficiently.

The hierarchical structure of the scan within the workspace is not, however,

mirrored in the file system. There, all scan files are located in the Scans folder

without any hierarchy.

The separation between the workspace and the scans was introduced because,

despite their compressed format, the scans take up a great deal of space on the

data medium. It is therefore possible to create several workspaces that contain the

Figure 3-5 Workspace in the file system

Figure 3-6 Scans in the file system


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same scans without the space requirement on the data medium increasing too

greatly. You can use this, for example, if you have made changes in the

workspace. You can save the different versions as separate files without

duplicating all scan files.

Since the assignment between a scan in the workspace and the scan files that go

with it is done by name, it is possible that a scan file can turn up in several

workspaces; therefore, you cannot rename scans!

If you save a workspace with the command FILE < SAVE AS, you have the

following options:

1 The workspace is saved under a new name in the same folder of the file

system as before. The new workspace then uses the same scan files as the oldworkspace.

2 The workspace is saved in a different folder of the file system than before.

Then SCENE also copies all the scans in the workspace to the new location,

which can take a very long time! If there are already scan files with the same

name in the new location, you will be asked whether you want to write over

the existing scan files.

In the folder with the workspace and the scans, there may be another folder called

Thumbnails. This folder contains images of the scans and is used by the web-

based project portal FARO Works. This is not required for SCENE.


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19Chapter 4: Project Selector

Chapter 4: Project Selector

SCENE comes with an easy-to-use visual tool for managing and accessing scan projects: The Project Selector.

An internal database is maintained by SCENE to provide a quick and convenient

access to all your scan projects and project workspaces. The Project Selector

shares look-and-feel and a lot of its features with SCENE WebShare. For more

information, see “WebShare” on page 97.

Working with the Project SelectorThe Project Selector is a very convenient way to access all of your scan projects.

Starting SCENE will bring up the Project Selector window, presenting to you all

the scan projects known to SCENE at that time.

Default Project Location

On the first start of SCENE the Project Selector will ask you to set up a default

project location. If you already have existing scan projects in a dedicated spot on

your hard disk drive, you would typically pick this directory as your default

project location. You can add more default project locations later under Tools -

Options - Directories - Project Locations.

Figure 4-1 The Project Selector window


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SCENE will scan the directory and subdirectories for existing scan projects and

immediately show up the results in the Project Selector window. Projects are

identified by their 'ScanProject.dat' file which is created when a workspace is

saved. It is not recommended to manually change or delete these files except

when deleting the whole project.

SCENE will verify all known projects at startup and show only existing projects

in the Project Selector view.

Opening ProjectsTo open a project, you can either double-click on the project's preview image

(this will open the last opened workspace for this project) or simply click on the preview image to bring up a selection of available workspaces.

If SCENE WebShare data is available for the selected project, an option for

SCENE WebShare is added to the available workspaces. Select this option to

open a SCENE WebShare view for this project to learn more about SCENE

WebShare please refer to chapter 14).

Filtering, Sorting, SearchingThe Project Selector allows you to apply several filters and sorting mechanisms.

Projects can be filtered to show projects with SCENE WebShare data only,

projects without SCENE WebShare data only, your favorite projects or ignored

Figure 4-2 Available Workspaces / WebShare Data


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projects. Both methods can be combined to reduce or increase the number of

projects shown by the project selector.

The search field can be used to search for specific scan projects or key words and

will refine the search results on-the-fly while you type.

Managing Your ProjectsThe features of the Project Selector provide powerful tools for quick and easy

project administration.

Adding Existing Projects

You can add existing projects to the Project Selector by clicking the Add Existing

Project button in the top left corner of the Project Selector view.

Add Existing Project - This will bring up a directory selection dialog, asking

for the project location. Pick the desired directory and confirm your selection.

The project Selector will update itself and show up the new project immediately,

if valid project data was obtained from the given directory.

Figure 4-3 Sorting and Filtering Projects

Figure 4-4 Adding an Existing Project


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Creating New Projects

New projects can be created by clicking the Create New Project button.

Create New Project - You will be asked for a unique project name and the

resulting project will be created in your default project location.

Project PreviewsEach project preview offers several buttons in the top right corner. Figure 4-6

illustrates the functionality of these buttons.

Open Google Earth View

Make Favorite

Edit Project Information

Ignore (hide) Project

Favorites

Favorites are your most popular projects. You can add a project to your favorites

by clicking the Make Favorite button. You can remove a project from the favorite

Figure 4-5 Creating a New Project

Figure 4-6 Project Management Options


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list any time later. To show only favorites, simply select the Favorites option in

the Filter drop-down menu.

Ignore Projects

Ignored projects are hidden from the Project Selector. They will never show up

except you select the Ignore List option from the Filter drop-down menu. You

can remove projects from the ignore list any time and they will show up in the

Project Selector view again.

Edit Project Information

Clicking the Project Information Button will bring up the screen shown in

Figure 4-7.


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Project information such as project name and project description can be

monitored and changed here. Information like the project's location on your hard

disk drive or the project's ID cannot be changed.

Key Word s

Key words can be defined for every project. These key words are utilized by the

search for quick access to all your data.

Figure 4-7 Project Details View


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Position

Add a position to your project to make the Google Earth View feature available.

The coordinates have to be entered in decimal notation. Here are some examplecoordinates:

Google Earth View

If positional information is provided for a project, the Google Earth View Button becomes available in the project's preview. Clicking this button will open a

Google Earth view of the project's location in your default web browser.

Scanner AdministrationYou can open a Scanner Administration view from within the Project Selector by

clicking the Scanner Administration button in the top left corner.

Scanner Administration button - Opens a Scanner Administration view. For

more information on the Scanner Administration View, see “FARO Focus 3D

Scanner Administration” on page 149.

Remote Server ConnectionConnections to remote SCENE WebShare servers can be made by entering the

server address into the Server URL text filed on the right hand side of the Project

Moscow: Latitude: 55.758032 Longitude: 37.617188Sydney: Latitude: -33.870416 Longitude: 151.204834Rio de Janeiro: Latitude: -22.902743 Longitude: -43.214722Seattle: Latitude: 47.606163 Longitude: -122.332764

Figure 4-8 Open Scanner Administration View


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Selector view. By pressing the Connect button, SCENE attempts to connect to the

remote server and stores the server's address in the history list for quick access.

If the connection was successfully established, a SCENE WebShare View will beopened showing the content of the remote server. Please refer to chapter 14 for

more information on SCENE WebShare.

Additional Settings and Information

Switch Off Project Selector

The Project Selector can be switched off in regular SCENE options at Tools -Options -Scan Data.

Default Project Location

The default project location may be changed in Tools - Options - Directories.

Multiple default project locations can be used. The first entry in the list will be

used for the creation of new Projects. All entries in the list will be scanned for

project data at SCENE startup.

Requirements

The Project Selector View requires Adobe Flash Player 10.x. If necessary, the

Flash Player will be installed during the SCENE installation process.

Figure 4-9 Remote Server Access

Figure 4-10 Change Default Project Location


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27Chapter 5: Quick View

Chapter 5: Quick View

With quick view, you very rapidly get an overview of the scanned area. Unlike

other views, the scan does not have to be loaded to be displayed. Therefore, the

quick view of a scan is available within a few seconds. Once the quick view has

been opened and is displayed, the scan point data will be loaded in the

background. However, until then you can view the scan and navigate but you can

not access and thus not manipulate the scan points. You will be able to access the

scan points and get all the scan point manipulation functionality as soon as the

scan data has been fully loaded. You are then able to select and delete scan points, process and analyze the scan points, execute object detections, and

execute object fits. The quick view is the standard view.

For more information on selecting and deleting scan points, see “Selecting Scan

Points” on page 31.

For more information on analyzing scan points, see “Scan Analysis” on

page 111.

For more information on processing and analyzing scan points, see “Processing

Scans” on page 39 and “Scan Analysis” on page 111.

For more information on executing object detections, see “Registering Scans” on

page 117 .

For more information on executing object fits, see“Objects” on page 57 .

Figure 5-1 Quick View


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28Chapter 5: Quick View

For more information on navigation and visibility of objects, see “Displaying a

Scan” on page 13.

The following restrictions apply in the quick view:• You always see the scanned area from the scanner position, which means you,

cannot leave this position. However, you can of course change your line of

sight and scale.

• The field of view cannot exceed 180°.


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29Chapter 6: Planar View

Chapter 6: Planar View

At first glance, the planar view may appear very strange because the scanned area

seems to be distorted. Straps and supports do not run in a straight line but are

curved. For the planar view, SCENE uses the same technique as is used for

depicting the earth's surface on a map. Also on a map, the area around the poles

appears to be magnified, and the flight route between two distant cities is not

straight but bent.

The consequence of the distortion is that it only succeeds approximately in

displaying other objects congruent with the scan points. If a scanned referencesphere already appears in the view more like an ellipsoid than a sphere, do not be

surprised that the added reference object does not cover the reference sphere

completely. For this reason no CAD models are displayed in the planar view; use

the 3D view for this instead.

The planar view is useful because of the fact that with some scanners, it is the

most natural display format of the scan points. A lot of scanners process the

horizontal and vertical angles step by step; it is therefore practical to display the

scan points in a column and row oriented manner accordingly.

The view starts at the left margin with the first column the scanner recorded. In

the local coordinate system of the scanner, this column normally has the

horizontal angle of 0°. The subsequent columns then come to the right, with an

increasing horizontal angle until 360° is reached with a circumferential scan. In

Figure 6-1 Planar View


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30Chapter 6: Planar View

the top row, the scan points with the greatest vertical angle reached are displayed,

for example, the zenith with +90°, which is directly over the scanner. From top to

bottom, the vertical angle decreases, reaching 0° at the horizontal line and then

becoming a negative value. The smallest possible vertical angle is -90°.

As in the quick view, you always view the scanned area from the scanner position

- you cannot leave this position. However, you can of course change your line of

sight and scale. For more information on navigation and visibility of objects, see

“Displaying a Scan” on page 13.

As in all views, you can set the scale using the scroll wheel of your mouse. There

are also further buttons in the toolbar for the planar view which you can use to

change the scale. By clicking on the Zoom Out button you decrease the scale to

see a larger area. The Zoom In button increases the scale so you can see

more details. You can see the scale set at any time as a number in the toolbar

. 100% stands for the 1:1 correlation between a scan point and a

pixel. You can also set any scale you wish by entering a number directly in this

field. Furthermore, you can also select the required scale from a list of scales

available. For this, click on the arrow next to the field with the scale and thenclick on the scale you require.

You can adjust the line of sight either by using the scroll bars, or in navigation

mode, by holding the left mouse button down and moving the scan points in the

direction required. To switch into navigation mode, click on the button; the

mouse pointer indicates it is in navigation mode . When moving the mouse,

the pointer changes to . The mouse movement is object-based, i.e. if you

move the mouse to the right; the objects appear to move from the center of the

image to the right margin. Moreover, you can also change the line of sight using

the keyboard, with the left arrow, right arrow, up arrow and down arrow keys.

The keyboard entries are observer-based, i.e. if you press the right arrow key;

your head seems to turn to the right and the objects from the right margin move

towards the center of the image.


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31Chapter 7: Selecting Scan Points

Chapter 7: Selecting Scan Points

In the planar view and in the quick view, it is possible to select scan points andthen apply a command to this group. For example, you could apply a fit on this

group or export the group into a CAD system. Selected scan points are colored

yellow. There can only be one selection simultaneously in all views, in other

words, if you make a selection in one view, the selection disappears from the

view worked on before.

To select scan points, you have to choose an appropriate selection tool from the

toolbar:

Rectangular selection - Select a rectangular area by first defining a corner

of the rectangle by clicking the left mouse button and holding it down. Then drag

the mouse to define the opposite corner of the rectangle. You can then release the

mouse button.

Linear selection - Select an arbitrarily shaped line of scan points by first

defining the starting point of the line with the left mouse button. If you now

release the mouse button, you can move the mouse to the next point of the lineand click to fix the point. A straight connection is drawn automatically between

these two points. You can also hold the mouse button down - then all the scan

points that you move over with the mouse are selected. Lock the selection by

double-clicking with the left mouse button. The linear selection has a thickness

of one point.

Polygonal selection - Select an arbitrarily shaped area of scan points using

the same technique as for linear selection. However, when completing theselection, the line will be closed; in other words, the last fixed point is connected

to the starting point. The selection comprises all the scan points that are enclosed

within the outline.

Circular selection - Select a circular area of scan points. Start the selection

process by clicking with the left mouse button; a circle with the radius just set is

displayed. You can change the radius by turning the scroll wheel on the mouse.

Click with the left mouse button again to place the selection in the chosenlocation and to end the selection process.

Polygonal edge selection - Select an arbitrarily shaped area of scan points,

with the polygon following the visible edge in the scan points. The selection


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behaves like the polygonal selection. If you reach an edge, i.e. an area in which

there is a noticeable difference in the reflection value, the selection will

automatically follow this edge. If there is no such edge, a straight connection is

drawn. If you are not confident with the polygon, you can undo the last part of

the polygon by backtracking it in the opposite direction. You can always

backtrack to the last fixed point. With a click on the right mouse button, you

switch edge detection on or off, and you can cancel the selection.

Elliptical selection - Select an elliptical area of scan points. Start theselection process by clicking with the left mouse button on the starting point of

the desired elliptical selection. An ellipse with the starting point of the major axis

just set is displayed. You can change the length of the minor axis (i.e. the

"width") by turning the scroll wheel on the mouse. Click with the left mouse

button again to select the end point of the major axis (i.e. the "length") and to end

the selection process.

If you wish to select an area that you cannot see with the set line of sight, you can

also switch into navigation mode during the selection process. Simply press thecontrol key.

There are different types of selection combinations, which determine what effect

the next selection to be executed has on the selection that already exists. Select

the required combination type from the toolbar.

New selection - The next selection replaces the existing selection.

Add selection - Combination mode whereby the next selection is added to

the existing selection.

Subtract selection - Combination mode, whereby the next selection is

removed from the existing selection.

Intersect selection - Combination mode whereby the difference of the two

selections is retained.You can also store selections temporarily in region objects and reactivate them

when required. You can then use a saved selection, such as a selection just made

with the mouse; in other words, you can add to the existing selection, remove it


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or cut it. To create a region, simply select Create Objects - Region from the

context menu of the selection.


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35Chapter 8: Coloring the Range

Chapter 8: Coloring the Range

The scan points in the planar and quick view are normally displayed so that thereflection value of a scan point determines the brightness of the pixel. You can

also display the scan points so that the pixel assumes a different color depending

on the distance of the scan point from the scanner. You can also then choose to

either have all scan points in a range assume the same color or have the color

reflect the actual distance.

This type of visualization is appropriate, for example, when analyzing a scan, if it

must not fall below a certain level of precision. Generally, the quality of a

scanner's distance measurement is not constant across the entire range butdecreases as the distance increases. You can then highlight in color the range in

which the distance measurement is no longer satisfactory.

Figure 8-1 Far away scan points colored


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You can also do it the other way around, i.e. color the usable scan points.

Another practical use of this function is with scanners that only have a very small

ambiguity interval. With some scanners, the distance measurement is limited to a

certain range, depending on the specifications of the model. If an object is

measured and its true distance lies outside the range, the measured value is

depicted incorrectly, i.e. too close. In such a case, it is useful to color the

boundaries of the range so that the observer can identify them immediately.

Figure 8-2 Close scan points colored

Figure 8-3 Ambiguity interval boundary


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You can find the necessary settings for coloring under TOOLS < OPTIONS <

VIEW. You can switch the highlighting on or off using the Color range button

in the toolbar. For more information, see “Options…” on page 164.


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39Chapter 9: Processing Scans

Chapter 9: Processing Scans

Scans are the result of millions of measurements that have been taken and, justlike any other measurement; various grades of precision are achieved. No

physical measurement can really be taken exactly; it is therefore important to

know with what accuracy a measurement was taken and how you can then

achieve the required accuracy.

Depending on the scanner's measurement method, there are various causes that

influence the measurement and which can only sometimes be identified by the

scanner:

• Analog values can never be determined accurately on any number of points;from a certain number of points on, the measurement result will always deviate

from the true value. This deviation is normally noise.

• The laser spot of the scanner is not infinitely thin but has a certain diameter.

The laser spot can therefore land partly on a support and partly on the wall

situated behind it. The scanner then also receives the reflected laser light from

two different points that are wide apart.

• With some scanners the measurement results can only be within the ambiguityinterval. However, if the true distance of an object is greater than this

ambiguity interval, a too small value is displayed as the measurement result.

Depending on the cause, you can sometimes achieve more precise measurement

results by applying suitable corrective measures but unfortunately, there are

times when you cannot correct the affected scan point and you should remove it

from the scan.

FilterWith a filter, selected scan points are corrected or removed from the scans. This

is determined by the selection criteria. The filters differ according to which

method they identify an inaccurate scan point and which counter measure is then

taken. A filter examines each scan point and establishes a quality value in

accordance with its particular method. If this quality value is outside the

threshold you have set, the scan point is either corrected or removed.

Available filters are:

• Stray - to remove scan points resulting from hitting two objects with the laser

spot or by hitting no object at all, for example the sky. For more information,

see “Stray” on page 41.


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40Chapter 9: Processing Scans

• Distance Based - to remove scan points in a certain distance range from the

scanner. For more information, see “Distance Based” on page 42.

• Dark Scan Points - to remove scan points with too much noise. For moreinformation, see “Dark Scan Points” on page 42.

• Smooth - to minimize noise on surfaces. For more information, see “Smooth”

on page 42.

Filters can be applied either to the entire scan or to a selected section. To apply

the filter to the entire scan, open the context menu of the scan (in either the

structure view, the planar or the quick view). Then under Filter, select the filter

you require. Use the same procedure to apply the filter to a selection: open the

context menu of the selection by clicking in the selected area with the rightmouse button.

Once the filter has run, the number of scan points that were corrected or removed

is shown in the st