Explaining the Difference Between Greyscale & Color Laser Scanning

The default mode for construction-grade 3D laser scanning is greyscale. This refers to the coloring of the point cloud inside of Revit and TruView/JetStream. When the scanner captures the data, it assigns a greyscale value from 0-100 based on the reflectivity of the object and the angle of incidence.

The 3D laser scanner does not need the spaces to be lit in order to capture this information – it can work in pitch dark.

The 3D laser scanner also has built-in digital cameras that can capture the color of the space as well as its details. The scanner performs a second rotation after the initial scanning is completed and takes 100's of small pictures that it then stitches together to form a full, color, stereoscopic picture at the point of the scan. The software then colorizes the 3D points based on this stereoscopic image so the end result is a full color 3D point cloud.

Those stereoscopic pictures can also be turned on and off within the TruView/JetStream viewer for better visualization. The 3D laser scanner needs the spaces to be well lit in order to capture these pictures.

Color scanning takes three times as long as typical greyscale scanning and also increases the file size of the TruView/JetStream data dramatically. There is typically an increase in fee for this service. Please reach out to your sales representative to inquire about color scanning for your project.

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