Yes – we have used it without problem at minus 10C, however if prolonged use in very cold places is anticiapted then a factory upgrade can be made.

There are many packages out there for working with and processing laser scan point clouds. Topcon ScanMaster is provided free with the GLS. If you are an establised Leica Cloudworx / Cyclone user then it is possible to export .PTX / .PTS format files to import. We recommend the following excellent value packages and are a reseller for them also: The updated ScanMaster 2 software can carry out many complex processing tasks including automated edge extraction, volume calculations (incl. cut/fill volume), ground extraction. See the specific Software page on this site for full details.

ScanMaster will run on pretty much any moden laptop. The important item is having a discrete video card. The software will work with integrated cards, but generally you will not get full resolution. The best results we have found to date are with NVIDIA cards. It may also be worth considering that a lower specification PC may be used for acquiring scans if you have a favorite piece of hardware to use in the field, and another more powerful machine for using the point cloud processing facilities of Scanmaster.

It will run on a Netbook, however we feel that once you have used onboard control, you will realise the benefit of lightweight, fast field operations. The GLS-1500 can be supplied with a rugged Windows touchscreen tablet running ScanMaster Field enabling realtime viewing of your scan data.

Since reflectivity of targets can dictate the maximum range achievable with a scan as well as the quality of the data, it is important to have an understanding of this. There are a number of factors that affect laser scan “intensity”: 1. How much light was sent out? 2. Range to the target 3. Attenuation of beam by atmosphere 4. Reflectance of target (at the appropriate wavelength) 5. Incident angle of light on the target surface 6. Size of receiver aperture 7. Efficiency of receiver optics at focusing the return light onto receiver sensor 8. Specularity of the target surface Items 1, 6, and 7 are the easiest – they are internal to the instrument. Item 2 should be known after the range calculation is complete. But items 3, 4, 5, and 8 are dependent on conditions remote from the instrument. Taken from http://lidarnews.com/intensity

5000m at 90% reflectivity and 150m at 18% reflectivity (*see faq on reflectance intensity)

The new technology not only uses “time of flight” measurement but also combines the innovative phase-based analysis technology, which results in unparalleled stable and precision accuracy measurement. The technological innovation also allows measurement over a wide area (up to 150 meters) by varying the focus of the transmitted laser beam. In other words Digital Signal Processing, and combining Pulse and Phase data is used to improve the range timing information. It’s a bit like Ambiguity resolution for RTK GPS. Pulse information gives us good range information, phase comparison of the carrier enables us to get even better range information and so increased precision and consequently less noise.

Some manufacturers have impressive speeds of many thousands of points per second. It is important to remember that scan speed is NOT proportional to scan time due to the fact that there are limits to how fast the servos and mirror mechanism can move. Scan speed refers to the number of pulsed light beams per second and is always faster in the vertical scan than the horizontal scan (due to the limitation of horizontal servo speed). Thus true acquisition speed is a function of the geometry of the subject being scanned; tall thin targets (e.g. towers) will be faster to survey than short wide (e.g. low walls) targets. The overall scan time of the GLS-1500 is very competitive due to the considerable ease of setup and operation i.e. 15-20 scanner setups could be easily achieved in one day. Note that scanning with pulsed time-of-flight scanners is completely different to phase scanners (such as the Leica HDS / Faro instruments). If medium to long range applications are your objective then please speak to us about the benefits of our scanning system.

Topcon has developed our own data format to create small file sizes for example: Points: 10,000,000 pts-> 200MB Images: 40 shots -> 10MB Total: 210MB The GLS-1000 / 1500 has been tested with 20 manufacturers’ cards and can work with up to 8GB capacity.

The integrated digital camera is coaxially aligned with the laser aperture and records images from the scanning location. The camera lens uses the laser mirror for coexistent image and beam accuracy. It is also possible to take high resolution photographs with a digital camera and map the colours from this onto the point cloud using Imagemaster Photo. Each image tile in a panorama is 1200 pixels wide, making the effective number of megapixels very large indeed. The onboard camera also provides a live video feed making targeting of the scanner via wifi laptop control very easy.

The GLS-1000/1500 is the only scanner available in its class that uses an eye-safe Class 1 laser. The invisible beam makes it completely acceptable to work in areas where there could be a risk to the public such as shopping centres, busy urban areas, academic institutions etc.

4-5 hours of scanning is possible using the 4 internal batteries. It is possible to hot swap 2 by 2 in order to continue work without interruption. The batteries are the same as those found in many Topcon survey instruments. There is also an external 12v power supply option.

The Topcon scanner is one of the most portable instruments on the market. At only 24x24x57mm and weighing 17.6kg, the internal (hot swappable) batteries and onboard software control mean that this is all you need to get scanning. A rugged backpack is available as an optional extra, or included free as part of the current special package) making trekking to remote survey locations very simple indeed – see our video section for a preview.

The quickest method is to use the scanner like a total station: us the scanner to backsight onto a single target with known coordinates, and registration takes a matter of seconds in ScanMaster. Other methods include scanning 3 common targets visible in all scan positions, or creating tie points on common features in the point cloud. The method of scanning three targets (adhesive or magnetic squares) is a very accurate way for monitoring applications or if the scanner is off-level and tilted. ScanMaster 2 now carries out automated tie point recognition and registration based on point geometry. Scanmaster now features automatic registration based on tie point / georeference geometry.

360 degrees horizontally and 70 degrees vertically. The ability to scan directly overhead, on the occasions when this may be needed, can be achieved with an optional tilt mount or tripod floor spider. In most work environments the upper window of a scanner with vertical point scanning does not get used. The GLS can scan 7m above and below the horizontal straight ahead position for targets 10m away. For targets 100m away the vertical scan range is ±70m. The scanner will cope with 10′ of tilt, however when inclined to scan overhead the tilt sensors need to be turned off. Data can be registered with other scans to geo-reference points using target or automated tie-point registration.

A ranging accuracy of 4mm is maintained throughout the 1-150 metre range. The maximum range of the instrument is 330m and the angular accuracy is 6 seconds vertical and horizontal (6” is equivalent to +/- 0.3mm at 10m or +/- 3mm at 100m). Point size at 100m is 1mm. Target detection accuracy is 3″ at 50m which is ideal for easy traversing around a site. Note that whilst the quoted ranging accuracy is 4mm, greater accuracies can be achieved via the modelling tools in ScanMaster 2. For example, fitting a plane to points that lie on a flat surface will yield a mathematical best fit in the order of ±2mm. Using plane intersections or edge detection on pointclouds can give extremely accurate CAD entities for final deliverables.

The GLS-1500 has all the innovative features of the GLS-1000 including onboard control, easy traversing, Precise Scan Technology etc, however the scan speed has been uprated to 30,000 points per second. Note that it is possible for all our existing GLS-1000 owners can upgrade their instrument to the new scan rate making Topcon scanners the only manufacturer to be future proof. We can also offer rates on part exchanging used laser scanners. The GLS-1500 now comes as standard with a maximum range of 500m (at 90% reflectivity) We believe that the Topcon scanner leads the way in its class for medium range terrestrial scanning in terms of data quality over extended distance, ease of use, survey grade precision – all leading to reduced post-survey processing overheads.