Reality capture technology has transformed large-scale tasks in many industries, like measuring and evaluating progress on construction sites, completing virtual site checks at utility plants, designing smart cities and more. As collecting vast amounts of data has become easier, more accessible and more cost-effective, engineering firms, power and processing facility operators and large reality capture service providers have expanded their use of 3D data in project deliverables.
Alongside this transformation, digital collaboration has become essential for many to continue working despite travel limitations or site access restrictions. Additionally, and beyond the conditions imposed by the global pandemic, digital collaboration enables businesses to bring their expertise and services to clients using more sustainable, efficient and productive practices.
However, given the huge amounts of reality capture data shared and managed, users need a software solution that enables collaboration and seamless workflows while preserving the highest levels of data security and project customisation.
This is where Leica Cyclone ENTERPRISE, a new, user-managed, reality capture software solution, comes into the picture as a central source of truth for enterprise-level reality capture projects requiring powerful, flexible solutions for data delivery.
This blog overviews the top three ways Cyclone ENTERPRISE enables centralised, secure reality capture collaboration and previews our upcoming series on this new, powerful software solution.
1.   Provides a central source of truth for reality capture projects
Reality capture professionals across industries can use Cyclone ENTERPRISE to manage their projects, including sharing and analysing large amounts of data – all powered by Leica JetStream technology.
Cyclone ENTERPRISE serves as one central location for reality capture data across a project’s lifecycle, including immediate syncing of all collaborative changes and markups back to the project. As a result, users always see same version of the full project, eliminating questions about data integrity that can plague projects when outdated or redundant files are circulated instead of one definitive version.
Leica Geosystems’ digital reality viewer, Leica TruView and Leica TruView LIVE, further simplifies and enhances workflow management by enabling users to view projects anywhere. TruView, a desktop-based viewer, and TruView LIVE, which operates in a web browser on any device, both provide rich and rapid data viewing whether users are in the office or the field.
These features enable reality capture professionals to share projects with large amounts of point cloud data and offer a variety of customised deliverables.
For example, reality capture service providers increasingly generate their point clouds using data from laser scans, UAV photogrammetry, 360-degree photography and mobile mapping in differing combinations. While the added comprehensiveness of the data creates clear benefits for customers and a competitive edge for providers, this hybrid approach also results in more data to manage, especially for large captures.
With Cyclone ENTERPRISE and the power of JetStream technology, hybrid-generated point clouds are easily stored and shared with clients, who can then quickly view even the largest project dataset from anywhere.
2.   Ensures high-level security and offers project access controls
With a wide range of user, data and project management tools built into Cyclone ENTERPRISE, users have high levels of flexibility and control.
Designed to meet the data security needs of enterprise-level customers, Cyclone ENTERPRISE fits within users’ existing storage infrastructure. You can store projects on your local server, across multiple storage drives within a larger network or in a secure cloud-based hosting platform.
Additionally, granular controls allow you to assign user roles with accompanying permission levels within projects and groups. Users with supervisor or administrator roles can monitor and end active user sessions, and password protection blocks all unverified attempts to access project data.
With these features, Cyclone ENTERPRISE facilitates access to projects and data while maintaining diligent security practices. For example, 3D facility models help owner-operators ensure a safe, operational working environment and enable predictive maintenance that minimises costs and facility downtimes. At the same time, maintaining the security of this information is crucial.
Cyclone ENTERPRISE connects managers to the overview of a facility, allows control to assign roles, and monitor user access. Managers can narrow-in on specific information to direct and guide maintenance teams without granting any further access to facility data than is required to complete the job, with the possibility to instantly revoke access if necessary.
For more information on these features and additional recommendations and best practices to enhance your security policies, read our Cyclone ENTERPRISE Security White Paper.
3.   Enables flexible collaboration
Cyclone ENTERPRISE also enables flexible collaboration across Leica Geosystems reality capture software products, including TruView, CloudWorx, Cyclone 3DR and Map360, as well as seamless integration with other leading CAD products.
Supervisors can create communities of users that are authorised to work with the data, and these users can be anywhere, enabling successful remote collaborations. With a user-friendly interface, collaborators can view all the necessary data and assets to get work done, including GeoTags, Snapshots, Markups, measurements, data clips, and attached Assets (such as images and report PDFs).
Reality capture professionals, like engineering consultants, that depend on collaboration for their workflows can benefit from Cyclone ENTERPRISE as a single reality capture hub to facilitate communication, virtual site visits and creation of 2D and 3D deliverables.
This blog introduced you to the essentials, but we’ve got more in-depth guides for you on the way in our upcoming four-part series on Cyclone ENTERPRISE.
Over the series, you will learn about using Cyclone ENTERPRISE to streamline workflows and enhance security within collaborations. We’ll also show you how our customers are taking their productivity and business gains to new levels by incorporating Cyclone ENTERPRISE as their central source of truth.
Justin Barton
Senior Product Manager
Terrestrial Laser Scanning
To start learning more now, watch our on-demand webinar, Smarter Data Management with Leica Cyclone ENTERPRISE and read the expert insight from our Product Manager.