Point cloud to mesh software will be used to ‘drive forward’ Autodesk’s future scan-to-BIM workflow
Autodesk has purchased certain PointFuse IP and commercially available offerings and plans to integrate the UK firm’s reality modelling technology into the Autodesk portfolio. Details of the deal were not disclosed.
PointFuse technology will be integrated within the Autodesk portfolio, where it will be used to ‘drive forward a future scan-to-BIM workflow’.
PointFuse software, as a standalone application, will cease to exist on May 1, 2025.
As it stands, the PointFuse software converts point cloud data (typically from LiDAR scanners and photogrammetry) into intelligent mesh models, with selectable surfaces, and RGB and intensity textures, classified for BIM.
These intelligent mesh models consist of polylines and polygons as well as surfaces (both plane and irregular surface meshes).
According to the developers, they have a far smaller memory footprint than the original point data, so need less computing power to visualize and manipulate.
Furthermore, they contain richer geometrical properties than point clouds, which means users can select and classify objects such as pipes and walls, in accordance with IFC or custom categories.
