Same-day 3D floor plans with Leica BLK2GO Essentials

Same-day 3D floor plans with Leica BLK2GO Essentials 

Leica BLK2GO Essentials offers a cost-effective, all-in-one package for AEC professionals looking to make the transition from 2D to 3D. 

By Gian-Philipp Patri, Product Manager for Leica BLK2GO & Markus Mathias, Product Manager for PinPoint Software 

For years, capturing a building or room’s dimensions meant relying on pens, paper, and measurement tapes. 

Then, about a decade ago, modern reality capture technology started to offer a viable alternative. Innovations in SLAM technology (simultaneous localisation and mapping) meant that you could simply walk around a room or building with a handheld 3D laser scanner and capture the dimensions as you go. 

Yet even today, for many small architectural firms, renovation construction professionals, or facilities managers who haven’t used a laser scanner before, adapting to a new workflow can present a steep learning curve. 

We’ve aimed to remove these barriers with the new Leica BLK2GO Essentials package. It bundles the BLK2GO mobile laser scanner and PinPoint software solutions together into a single, cost-effective package, enabling you to walk a site and generate a complete and accurate floor plan on the exact same day. 

Key Benefits of BLK2GO Essentials 

The new BLK2GO Essentials package combines the Leica BLK2GO mobile laser scanner with the intuitive PinPoint software. 

This end-to-end solution allows you to rapidly generate accurate floor plans and 3D models of complex environments, including multi-story or occupied buildings. By simplifying the data capture and processing into a cohesive workflow, BLK2GO Essentials reduces operational complexity and shortens the time from scan to deliverable.

Same-day deliverables 

You can quickly and precisely scan a three-story house with the BLK2GO and import the data to PinPoint in roughly 30 minutes. 

Intuitive clean-up functions within the software help to refine the model and remove any unwanted structures (for example, elements of a neighbour’s house that might have accidentally been scanned when lasers have travelled through windows).  

BLK2GO scan data can then be easily imported to PinPoint via USB-C or WiFi. 

Modelling in PinPoint is just as rapid, since it automatically captures objects using intelligent 3D snapping. Once you’ve added the labels to the model, you then have a full floor plan, taking into account slanted surfaces, living spaces, and ground area. 

Easiest way to capture dynamic environments 

Residential spaces are dynamic and busy environments. The BLK2GO is the ideal scanner for these small- to medium-sized mapping projects. Thanks to its handheld design and simple, one-button control, creating a 3D model is as simple as walking around the building. Complex features, like spiral staircases, are just as easy. 

Any unexpected interruptions, like someone walking through the room or a bus driving by, you don't have to restart the scan. You can simply use the trajectory split feature to split the scanning path and continue exactly from where you stopped.

Simple software with everything in one place

3D laser scanners often require separate software for registration, modelling, and post-processing. These layers of complexity can make adapting to 3D workflows more off-putting and overwhelming. 

The BLK2GO Essentials package solves this by integrating with PinPoint, our “everything in one” software solution. It’s designed for ease of use, allowing you to capture data, register, and create your final deliverables all within a single platform. 

Rather than forcing you to manually trace point clouds, PinPoint simply snaps to geometry like planes, lines, corners, and complex elements. For instance, you can drag and drop an entire window surface, and the software automatically generates the borders and planes needed to represent it. This works for doors and staircases too, dramatically speeding up the modelling process. 

PinPoint also now supports importing external spherical panoramas from cameras like the Insta360. This enables you to combine the highly accurate 3D geometry of the BLK2GO with 360-degree HDR images, which is perfect for creating aesthetic 3D models or virtual tours for your clients. 

For all levels of proficiency 

BLK2GO Essentials delivers an efficient end-to-end workflow for generating accurate 3D floor plans and models, enabling same-day documentation of complex interior environments.

It has a very low barrier to entry and can seamlessly integrate into your next project, whether you are scanning an apartment building for space planning, documenting layouts for maintenance, or verifying as-built conditions before starting renovation. 

“When we tested the BLK2GO, it only took about 10 minutes for us to get up and running and for the entire team to be trained on using the instrument,” said Andrea Mongelli, President of Natisoft. (You can read more BLK2GO user stories here.) 

PinPoint can be learnt and integrated just as quickly – especially with our PinPoint quickstart guide. 

Faster and more intuitive 

BLK2GO Essentials provides a direct path to offering services that weren’t previously practical, such as verified floor plans and 3D models delivered the same day as the site visit. 

We continue to develop the automated workflows and AI-assisted tools in PinPoint, to make creating deliverables even faster and more intuitive. 

If you are interested in the BLK2GO Essentials package, contact your regional sales representative.