Livelink | Cyclone Field 360

What is Livelink

Livelink is a cloud-enabled collaboration workflow that connects field and office teams throughout the reality capture process. Integrated with the Leica RTC scanner series, Cyclone FIELD 360, and Hexagon GeoCloud, Livelink enables scan data to be shared between the field and the office as a project progresses.

Using a shared cloud scene, field operators can upload scan data directly from Cyclone FIELD 360 while continuing acquisition activities on site. At the same time, office-based users can access the incoming data, review project progress, and verify data completeness without waiting for the survey to be finished.

Livelink helps your team:

• Connect field and office workflows through a shared cloud workspace.

• Synchronize scan data between Cyclone FIELD 360 and Hexagon GeoCloud.

• Monitor project progress as new scans become available.

• Collaborate with multiple users on the same project.

• Check data completeness and coverage while work is still underway.

• Reduce the risk of missing data and costly return visits to the site.

By creating a continuous connection between devices, data, and users, Livelink streamlines reality capture workflows and enables faster project delivery with greater confidence in the collected data.

Before you start

Before using Livelink, ensure the following requirements are met:

Requirements

• A supported Leica RTC scanner is available and configured: Livelink is available only for RTC 300/500/700

• Cyclone FIELD 360 v. 7.2 is installed on your mobile device

• You have a valid and active Hexagon GeoCloud account

• Your account has Editor role: only Editors have permission to create and access Livelink Scenes.

  Only Company Accounts can  join the Livelink project and scenes from Field360. Invitations to External Accounts can be sent only via Hexagon GeoCloud on the desktop  

• An internet connection is available for authentication and data synchronization: the scanner is using the wifi connection with the tablet, therefore to synchronize the data while the scanner is connected, cellular data is required

Recommendations

For the best Livelink experience:

• Verify internet connectivity before arriving on site.

• Ensure all devices are running supported software versions.

• Confirm that office collaborators have access to the same Livelink Scene.

See the best practices in detail here.

Key Concepts

Workflow

Workflow Overview

This workflow describes how to:

1. Log in in to Hexagon GeoCloud.

2. Create a Livelink Scene.

3. Connect a local FIELD 360 job to the Livelink Scene.

4. Capture and synchronize scan data.

5. Visualize and check shared and scanner-resident data in the Data Browser and in the map view.

Step 1: Sign In to Hexagon GeoCloud

To use Livelink, you must first sign in to Hexagon GeoCloud. For the full procedure, see Login to Hexagon GeoCloud.

Step 2: Create a Livelink Scene

A Livelink Scene is the shared cloud workspace used for collaboration between field and office users.

1. Tap on the main project creation button in the Field360 Job Browser

1. Select Open Livelink Scene

2. Select a Project from the list where you want to store your Livelink scene

or

4. Create a new project

   4. Add a Title

   5. Add the project information such as the storage region

   6. Please ensure to invite members to the project: only if you are a member you will be able to see the livelink scene on your own Field360 and work with it and collaborate with the other members

   7. Optionally add a description.

4. Create a Livelink Scene

5. Enter a title and press Create

   This operation creates a scene in the cloud, so it might take few seconds to show in the window. After the scene is shown, select it tapping on it

6. Click Open Livelink Scene

   In this moment the scene will be synched with Field360. Wait few instants until the success screens show. Now you can close and see the Livelink scene in the browser.

The new empty Livelink Scene is created and becomes available in Cyclone FIELD 360 and Hexagon GeoCloud for scan data synchronization and collaboration.

How all the Team Members can collaborate in the same Livelink Scene?

Every Team Member with a Field360 installed can now Open the same Livelink scene.

• repeat steps 1 and 2.

• Select the project where the previously created Livelink scene has been created

• Select the scene and Open it

You will see it in your browser, ready to be use

Step 3: Merge a Local Job to a Livelink Scene

To begin scanning into a newly created livelink scene, merge a Cyclone FIELD 360 local job to an existing Livelink Scene.

1. Connect the scanner to Cyclone FIELD 360

2. Create a local job

3. Select Merge with LiveLink Scene in the 3 dots menu

4. Choose the target Livelink Scene.

5. Review the job and scene information.

6. Confirm the merge operation.

Result

The local job will not be visible anymore in the Job browser, since it is now part of a Livelink scene.

Important!

The local Job still exists on the scanner. Deleting the Livelink scene will restore it in the Job Browser

What if I deleted the Livelink Scene from Cyclone FIELD360?

Deleting a Livelink scene in Field360 will not delete any data from the cloud.

Every scan data that has been synchronized with Hexagon GeoCloud using Livelink is stored in the cloud and can always be re-synched to Field 360 by re- opening the Livelink scene.

Can I merge a local Job that stores already scan data?

Yes. The local Job Merge option can be also used to import already existing scan data into a Livelink scene to become part of a collaborative project.

Step 4: Capture and Synchronize Data

Now the Livelink scene is ready to be used to capture and share your data.

The capture procedure does not change with respect to the traditional approach: use the scan button to open the miniplayer, adjust the scan settings, and start scanning.

The linking and alignment steps are also not changing: you can use Quick Link to quick regiser the scans based on the VIS position or start a manual alignment to better check the overlaps. You can run Optimization to refine the registration and finally visualize the links in the map.

Thanks to Livelink, as scans are added to the scene, they become available to every team member. This means that, if two (or more) team members are working simultaneously into the same livelink scene, each of them will be able to visualize each other data and edit them (Rename, Delete, Move, Link)

Livelink synchronizes preview data

The data that Livelink synchronizes to the Livelink Scene is preview data, not the full raw data stored on the scanner. The full raw data remains on the scanner.

Step 5: Visualize and Check Your Data

When a job is connected to a Livelink Scene, the Data Browser provides separate views for cloud-shared data and scanner-resident data.

Shared Scans Tab

The Shared Scans tab displays data that belongs to the Livelink Scene.

Use this tab to:

• Review synchronized scans.

• Verify which scans have been shared with collaborators.

• Monitor project progress.

Scanner Tab

The Scanner tab displays data currently stored on the connected scanner.

Use this tab to:

• View scan setups available on the scanner.

• Review and manage newly acquired data.

Map View

In the map view, setup positions are displayed in red. How a position is displayed tells you which scanner produced the setup:

• Solid red: setups scanned with the scanner that is currently connected.

• Transparent red: setups scanned by a different scanner, which is not the one connected at the moment.

In this way, you can see at a glance which setups come from the connected scanner and which were scanned by another scanner.

What’s possible in Livelink?

• Scanning

• Linking and registering

• Georeferencing (all the surveying workflow for RTC series included)

• Creating GeoTags

• Using Tools (Measurements and Limit Boxes)

• FF/FL

Warning!

• In Cyclone FIELD 360 v. 7.2 GeoTags, Measurements and Limit Boxes are not synchronized with the cloud

• Synchronization status and performances may depend on network availability and project size.

Best practices for a flawless Livelink scanning campaign

For an optimal experience, we suggest following these simple rules:

• Check connectivity. Check 4G or 5G network availability before starting, as Livelink performance depends on the network. Losing connectivity does not stop your work in the field: you can keep scanning into a Livelink scene while offline, and data synchronization with Hexagon GeoCloud resumes automatically as soon as the connection is restored.

• Prepare the scene. In Cyclone FIELD 360, create a Hexagon GeoCloud project and add your team members. Then create a scene: all team members can contribute to it from both Cyclone FIELD 360 and Hexagon GeoCloud.

• Limit conflicting edits. Coordinate edits with your team to minimize concurrent operations on the same Setup, as these can cause conflicts and unexpected results.

• Coordinate the registration. If two (or more) team members are scanning simultaneously in a scene, we recommend that each of them creates an independent Bundle of Setups. At the end of the scanning campaign, one team member links all the previously created Bundles and optimizes the field registration.

• Identify who scanned what. To distinguish more easily which team member each setup comes from, we recommend using the setup name template.