New image capture and management technology arms the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry with the ability to efficiently create and share immersive views of work sites.
“Ricoh360 Projects optimizes construction workflow for workers both onsite and remote,” says Ricoh USA Inc. Director of New Business Development Yasuo Nishiyama. “[Our] Theta camera makes it easy to acquire 360° immersive images and the cloud-based Ricoh360 reality capture and communication platform make it easy to upload, share, organize and collaborate.”
The new solution provides a means of creating, annotating and sharing views via a mobile app. From the planning phase through maintenance management, construction companies and designers in the AEC field can effortlessly share 360° capture locations on-site across multiple projects accessible from anywhere. The digitized sites better document progress with immersive views from mobile and web browsers without the need for specialized software.
Project managers, foreman, safety managers, designers and owner representatives can quickly view what is happening from anywhere at any time, share ideas from experts worldwide, and accelerate project workflow by optimizing activities, avoiding costly mistakes and reducing rework. Through the rapid embrace of new technologies, contractors are seeing the immediate savings they can gain by collaborating with team leaders to plan, coordinate, control and monitor their projects.
“With the AEC industry becoming increasingly competitive, unlocking efficiencies through a secure cloud platform that allows for immersive 360° images of physical spaces to be embedded automatically into a drawing by location and time makes documentation and navigation effortless,” adds Matt Boggs, project superintendent of Houston-based Warwick Construction. “Capturing the entire space helps build trust and credibility in an industry where reputation means everything.”
A single 360° image can replace up to 10 regular photos, capturing the walls, ceiling and floor of a room with one single press of a button. Hence, the team can secure all images needed for optimal site surveys, planning activities and spot inspections to complete the project efficiently and avoid reshoots.
Smart Ricoh360 Projects features enable users to add notes to the 360° image. Whether capturing images daily, weekly or monthly, the TimeLine function equips them to organize all progress in chronological order or compare before and after views side-by-side of the same jobsite during the development phase.
Basic subscriptions allow users to capture and host up to 250 images. The only gear needed is the Ricoh360 Projects app—available for iOS—and a Theta camera. A Teams feature allows administrators to assign members and provide secured access for collaboration on target projects. — Ricoh Data Service Business, Campbell, Calif., www.ricoh360.com