Responding to customer input and wish-lists, Leica Geosystems HDS launched the time-of-flight Leica ScanStation C10, which integrates more than 60% of customer requests. The system includes a scanner, tilt sensor, battery, controller, data storage, internal auto-adjusting video camera and built-in laser plummet, as well as a new Smart X-Mirror that lets users conduct full-dome and 360º scans in minutes using a spinning mirror (a reported one minute for a 1250 x 1250 full dome room and 12 minutes for a 5000 x 5000 room). Specs include a full 360º x 270º field of view with a pointing accuracy of as little as 1 mm, a range of 300 m @ 90% reflectivity and scan speed of 50,000 points per second (10 times faster than the ScanStation 2). Leica says the Smart X-Mirror also automatically aligns the internal camera image for fast, accurate texture mapping of point clouds. The C10 comes with two onboard batteries that last 3 1/2 to 4 hours apiece and a promise from the company that the unit won’t draw on the batteries as much as the SS2. Cyclone 7 supports the ScanStation C10 and includes a new traverse editor allowing users to scan in no predefined order, edit any missing data and execute the closure. Other highlights include a 5 mexapixel dual video/still camera, 80Gb hard drive, Ethernet and USB connector options, an interface like the Leica TPS total station and the ability to handle GPS units and prisms.
Leica is promoting the time-of-flight scanner to be capable for any application. In a POB magazine-hosted Web seminar yesterday, Product Marketing Manager, Scanning, Michael Harvey, stressed that now is the time for surveyors to expand their portfolio into markets only lightly tapped or those untouched–building and heritage, construction, forensics, to name a few. He added that economic reports show that credit conditions are easing and raw materials and commodities are stabilizing, so now is the time to prepare for more shovel-ready jobs. Harvey continued by saying that the ScanStation C10 is the tool to do more in less time and emphasized that the unit can be a benefit in proposal planning: Users can take a scan and use a snapshot in their proposals, plot setups, and estimate field time and coverage precisely.
In comparison to the ScanStation 2 (which is still available), Leica claims the C10 will save users on shipping costs. While much scanning work is local, Leica finds that many of its customers ship their scanners regularly. The C10 unit is 13 kg compared to the SS2 at 19 kg and the HDS6100 at 14 kg. The full weight of the C10 with carrying case is 62 pounds compared to the SS2’s 83 pounds. Leica also claims that the C10 offers a 23% greater profit over the SS2 when comparing a typical scan project with estimates of research, calculations, and field, office and review time.
