Photogrammetry for As-Builts: Using Ground Level Imagery to Save Time and Money During Schematic Design Process

2PHOTOGRAMMETRY FOR AS-BUILTS: USING GROUND LEVEL IMAGERY TO SAVE TIME AND MONEY DURING SCHEMATIC DESIGN PROCESS

By Alicia Schiff, Account Executive, Growth HOVER

Imagine never having to gather measurements for an initial exterior as-built model again. No pulling tape, no hand measuring, and certainly no getting up on a roof to estimate pitches for early measurements of a building. No more going from the project site back to the office to draw the structure from scratch or return trips to the site to verify forgotten details or measurements in messy handwriting. The initial assessment of a structure can be done many ways, but however you choose to do it, schematic diagrams and sketching are essential to quickly convey spatial ideas to the client. Today, creating as-built models in the schematic design phase of a project is highly manual and time consuming, but it doesn’t have to be.

THE PHOTOGRAMMETRY SOLUTION

With HOVER, a photogrammetry app you can use on any Apple or Android smartphone, the future is here and hand measuring can be a thing of the past. HOVER transforms smartphone photos of any home into an accurate, interactive 3D model with measurements so architects and designers can save time sketching existing structures and spend more time doing what you do best—designing. The technology expedites the concept and schematic design phases by creating as-built models with as little as eight smartphone photos in about two hours. The measurements are accurate within plus or minus five percent aggregate for the entire structure and an excellent place to start your work. HOVER uses ground level imagery to produce accurate measurements and 3D models of structures so you don’t have to. Once the model is generated by the software it can be exported into 3D files including DWG, DXF, and SKP files which can be taken into modeling software to work from or can be used as reference items. Measurements from the software can also be used by contractors when it comes to production and construction. Reports include detailed information on roofing, siding, openings including windows and doors, soffit, gutters, and more. These are especially useful for takeoffs and include waste factors and breakdowns of measurements by material types.

Within the HOVER platform you can also model different products on the home, including products from most major manufacturers and a wide range of colors that are available from their product lines should it be helpful to show options to clients with minimal effort and cost.

CAPTURE PROCESS

Capturing a structure is simple. The app prompts you for a project title and an address, then you begin the workflow of capturing photos or you can send an invitation to a client for them to do the capture. There is also an option to capture the property without ordering the model and measurements for times when you may not know if you’ll want to order, but want to save a return trip, perhaps when you don’t yet have a retainer or if you’ve got additional or surrounding structures that may or may not become relevant to a project. Once you begin capturing photos the app prompts you to add photos of each face and each corner of the building with a small amount of clearance around all edges. There are eight standard photos, but as many are needed can be added. There is also active guidance which helps users to know how they’re doing and that the entire structure was captured in each photo or if you might need to add more.

WHAT TYPE OF STRUCTURES CAN BE CAPTURED?

From residential homes to commercial buildings, HOVER can model quite a lot. With the photos from various angles the program can work around trees and obstructions surprisingly well. Multifamily properties can be captured by simply adding additional photos if they don’t fit all in one photo. Similarly commercial properties can be captured as long as you can get the ground to roofline all in one photo. Some interesting properties that have been modeled include Chichen Itza, Monticello, and Cinderella’s Castle at Disney World.

HOVER HISTORY

In 2011, A.J. Altman and Ross Hangebrauck founded HOVER. They originally created the product to reduce risk for military personnel in harm’s way. After working with the Department of Defense they saw the opportunity to disrupt an unchanged home improvement industry. HOVER partnered with some of the best in the business and quickly found a product-market fit within home improvement. Today, HOVER has raised $147M to help people improve their homes with the world’s best 3D property data. Every day, the team invents new ways to structure the data about the physical world and build incredible homeowner and pro experiences that bring significant value today and lay the foundation for the future of spatial data. l

Alicia leads HOVER’s Architecture expansion efforts. She is responsible for gathering market feedback, working cross functionally with the product team to create solutions for the space, and iterating on packaging solutions so HOVER can be a better resource for their Architect clients. She previously worked with small to medium size contractors at HOVER and has a background in communication and program development.