​I keep a keen eye on the current scanner offerings since we’re scanning ~400 cars/year for the Lightpoint exemplar database and aiming to use the best available tool. Our last big comparison included the Leica RTC360, the FARO S350, and the Trimble X7. However, FARO launched a new offering since that shootout and I finally got my hands on one.

Initial testing of the FARO Focus Premium series

I’m lucky to have FARO Account Manager Chris Taylor just down the street and he was kind enough to let us borrow a FARO P350 last week. Speed is a big issue for us, so we opted to equip the P350 with the Ricoh 360 camera. It’s a $1,000 add-on that’s fully supported by FARO and reduces scanning time (more accurately, colorization time) dramatically. See the setup in the photo below.

 
 

I was a little hesitant about sticking a camera on the scanner at first, but it’s solidly mounted to the machine. Unfortunately, you do have to perform a calibration scan (~3 minutes) before using the camera unless you keep it permanently mounted, which would require creating your own custom case at this point. Hopefully FARO eventually offers a case to solve that issue.

We’re in the process of writing a detailed comparison between the P350 and Leica’s RTC360, but I can report the P350/Ricoh setup yields speedy scan times. For example, the duration of a colorized HDR scan at 1/4 resolution - 3X quality is reported as 2:48 and stopwatched at 2:57. If resolution is reduced to 1/5, the duration drops to 2:05. These times are on par with the RTC360's high and medium resolution scans, respectively. Now to see how the data measures up!

Happy New Year, everyone!

Lou Peck
​Lightpoint | Axiom​

P.S. To the Pointer Pat O'Neill has a complete set of iWitness photogrammetry targets he's willing to give away (magnetic, ground, and pole-mounted). If you're interested, please email Pat here.