Category Archives: Energy/Utilities

The Early Days of 3D Scanning, Part 6

1998: Launching 3D Laser Scanning into the Market I had the good fortune to be deeply involved with a pioneering vendor of 3D laser scanners and point cloud software. As I consider where that technology is today – a multi-billion dollar per year industry, the valuable benefits it has delivered to so many organizations and...

The Early Days of 3D Scanning, Part 5

Joining the 3D Laser Scanning Pioneering Start-up, Cyra Technologies Thus far in my “insider story” series (June, July, August, September), I have described how, while working for Trimble in 1996, I first became aware of the technology and Cyra Technologies, a pioneering start-up developing it. After a jaw-dropping demo, I dove into evaluating the technology and Cyra for a...

Christoph Hinte

Doers: Christoph Hinte

Christoph Hinte on 25 years at Intergeo Christoph Hinte is the organizer of INTERGEO, the world’s biggest annual geospatial trade fair and conference. As CEO of HINTE Expo & Conference, he has been involved in the development and strategy of INTERGEO events since in 1995. Hinte tells xyHt why this year’s event, October 13 to...

AutoCAD representation of equipment and structure created from scans. Scans were modeled in Cyra’s point cloud software and the model was exported to AutoCAD.

The Early Days of 3D Scanning, Part 4: Chevron, Cyra and Trimble

Thus far in my “insider story” (June, July, August 2020), I’ve described how, while working for Trimble in 1996, I first became aware of the technology, which was then still in development. After a jaw-dropping demo, I dove deep into evaluating the technology and its pioneering start-up company, Cyra Technologies, for a possible partnership with...

Processed time slice with Condor, 34 inches below ground surface. Underground utilities present at that depth show up as linear features in the data.

A New Dawn for 3D Ground Penetrating Radar Arrays

I was first immersed in ground penetrating radar (GPR) as a PhD student at Lulea University in northern Sweden in the mid-1990s, and I immediately fell in love with the technology. I love the ability it gives me to see hidden things so quickly and elegantly. I also love the notion that the equipment is...

Chevron beta tested Cyrax on an oil & gas field in Kazakhstan. These images show the 3D laser scanner’s camera image of the vessels and the resulting point cloud scan.

The Early Days of 3D Scanning, Part 3: Cyra Unleashed

In Part 1, I described how in 1996, while working for Trimble, I first became aware of 3D laser scanning. It was being developed by Cyra Technologies Inc., a small start-up that had approached Trimble seeking a potential partnership. The jaw-dropping technology demo hooked my interest. In Part 2, I described my role in evaluating...