Creating a Visual Comparison Scene in Hexagon GeoCloud

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  1. Navigate to the Assets you wish to combine in a scene and select them by activating the check box. The assets must be in the same project.

    We recommend creating a folder for the Assets within the project to make location of the matching assets as simple as possible.

    Asset list with the model and point cloud check boxes selected

  2. Click Tools then Visual comparison scene.

    Alternatively, you may click the quick access Visual comparison button that appears at the bottom right of the screen.

    Tools menu with Visual comparison scene, and the Visual comparison quick-access button at the bottom right

  3. Ensure that the appropriate number of Assets are selected and click Next.

    At this time, only two Assets at a time can be compared.

    Banner showing two assets selected, with the Next button

  4. Name the Scene and click Create scene.

    New visual comparison scene dialog with the scene name field and the Create scene button

  5. You will be placed into a side-by-side view of the two assets.

    At the top of the screen, your progress within the workflow will be displayed.

    Below the progress bar, the instructions for the current step will be displayed.

    Side-by-side view of the point cloud and the model, with the progress steps and instructions at the top

  6. Identify distinct, matching points in both the model and the point cloud. You may pan, rotate and zoom in each asset independently to orientate to the desired points.

    A magnification window will display a close-up view of the cursor to aid in precise picking.

    Magnification window showing a close-up of the cursor position

  7. Begin by selecting a common point on each Asset. Precise point picking is important to ensure an accurate alignment.

    After a point is selected, a marker will be placed. The point on either Asset can be adjusted.

    Select Next.

    First pair of matching point markers on the point cloud and the model

  8. Identify a horizontally distant point and repeat the point selection process in each node.

    Select Next.

    Second pair of matching point markers in a horizontally distant corner, with the Next button

  9. Review the alignment by visually inspecting the two nodes at various places within the alignment. You will want to see areas of intermingled points and model.

    You may use the adjustment arrows to further refine the alignment or re-run the alignment from the beginning if you are not satisfied with the results.

    Close-up of the point cloud aligned on the model columns and beams

    Front view of the whole building with the point cloud aligned to the model

    Move tool arrows on the aligned group

    Directional movement arrows

  10. After you are done with your manual alignment steps, you can press the Auto-align button to fully align your reality capture scan with your BIM model to the highest accuracy.

    Launching Auto-Align after a manual alignment has been completed

  11. Select Confirm to complete the alignment.

    Review and confirm the alignment bar with the Confirm button

  1. Once aligned, you may also adjust the visualization of the model or point cloud to better see the alignment.

  2. We recommend switching from the standard grey model color to a more high-contrast color to inspect the alignment thoroughly.

    1. Select the Asset.

    2. Select Effects.

    3. Unselect the Inherit from parent node box.

    4. Select Color.

    5. Select the desired color.