Digital twins
The value is not the picture. The value is that in month four, when someone asks how many windows are on the north elevation and what size they are, you answer from the data instead of sending a person back out with a ladder.
A measurable copy of the building, on your server.
A digital twin here means a classified, colorized, correctly scaled record of the structure and its site, delivered in a format your team can open and measure in. Not a rendering. Not a marketing flythrough. A dataset with real geometry in it.
This is the capability we are most excited about, because the newer aircraft and sensor combination finally resolves the detail that makes it useful on restoration work. Handrail measurement, window sizes and counts, slab edge profiles and balcony dimensions all come out of the same collection.
What comes out of a twin
- Window and opening schedules with dimensions
- Balcony and slab edge dimensions
- Railing heights and post spacing
- Facade areas by elevation
- Roof planes, slopes and areas
- Feature lines exported to CAD
- Registered aerial and terrestrial data in one model
- Dated baseline for future comparison
How a twin gets built
Aerial pass for the envelope
LiDAR and photogrammetry from the air for roof, elevations, site and anything above reach. Occupied buildings never need a lift, a swing stage or a road closure for this part.
Terrestrial pass for what the aircraft cannot see
Ground based scanning under balconies, in garages, along undersides and inside spaces that matter to the scope.
Registration to one control frame
Both datasets tied to the same observed control so they line up as one model instead of two that roughly agree.
Extraction to the answers you need
We pull the schedules, dimensions and feature lines your scope calls for, and you keep the full cloud so the next question does not need another mobilization.
Formats we deliver in
| Use | What we hand over |
|---|---|
| Take off and quantities | Measurable point cloud, RCP or E57 |
| Design base | CAD linework, DWG or DGN |
| Coordination | Textured mesh, OBJ |
| Board and owner review | Web viewable model, PDF exhibits |
| Record | Archived LAS with capture date and control report |
Typical applications
- Milestone inspection support
- Restoration scoping and bidding
- Window and door replacement
- Railing and balcony compliance work
- Facade repair take off
- Insurance and reserve documentation
- Owner turnover records
- Pre construction existing conditions
Data from delivered work.
Every image below came off a real collection. Nothing here is a stock render or a vendor sample.
Where this work goes.
Common questions.
What software do we need to use the twin?
Can several estimators work from one capture?
How detailed does it get?
Does the twin update itself?
Often collected on the same trip.
Aerial LiDAR mapping
Classified point cloud, bare earth under canopy, contours and Civil 3D surfaces from a single flight.
Read more →Photogrammetry and orthomosaics
Orthorectified imagery and colorized 3D mesh, tied to the same control as the LiDAR.
Read more →Thermal and IR imaging
Radiometric thermal for roofs, envelopes, arrays and electrical, flown on the same mobilization.
Read more →Start with one site.
Send the boundary and the deliverable you need. We scope it, fly it, and return the data in your format, typically in under seven days.