Bentley Systems Takes over Acute3D
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Bentley Systems Takes over Acute3D

Bentley Systems has taken over France-based Acute3D, the provider of Smart3DCapture software for reality modelling. Through reality modelling, observations of existing conditions are processed into representations for contextual alignment within design modelling and construction modelling environments. Rapid technology advancements in scanning and photography – and especially the burgeoning application of UAVs for these purposes – are making the capture of such observations broadly and continuously affordable in sustaining infrastructure.

Acute3D software automates the generation of high-resolution, fully-3D representations from digital photographs taken with any camera, whether highly specialised or embedded in a smartphone. Scalable from site to city, and with precision limited only by the quantity and quality of photography, Acute3D technology can assure that existing conditions are contemporaneously considered throughout the architecture, engineering, construction, and operations of any infrastructure asset. Now that photo sequences from UAVs are likely to become the most feasible source for surveying, construction monitoring, and inspection workflows, Acute3D’s industrial-level accuracy and unlimited scalability are making it a preferred technology for UAV manufacturers and professionals around the world.

Breakthroughs

Bentley Systems Founder and CTO Keith Bentley said the world-class Acute3D developers have already achieved two breakthroughs, which remove the barriers to the adoption of reality modelling. First, Acute3D has made it possible for anyone to sufficiently capture existing conditions with just a camera. Of equal importance is the value of the Acute3D result. Rather than a voluminous cloud of discrete points, Acute3D produces a 3D ‘reality mesh’ – intrinsically in the same geometric idiom as engineering models, readily aligning the real-world context, he continued.

Just as Acute3D’s innovations have now brought reality modelling within reach of every infrastructure professional, Bentley and their new colleagues are excited to be working together to incorporate Acute3D functionality throughout their platform and application portfolio, enhancing information mobility throughout infrastructure asset lifecycle, Keith Bentley stated.

Applications

Acute3D was co-founded in 2011 by Dr. Jean-Philippe Pons and Dr. Renaud Keriven, who have attracted and led an accomplished team of researchers and developers, headquartered in Sophia Antipolis (the French “Silicon Valley”). Since its founding, Acute3D has attracted a rapidly expanding user base that includes Nokia, PASCO, and Saint-Gobain, and OEM licensees that include Airbus Group and Autodesk. In China, Internet giant Tencent is working with Acute3D to do large-scale 3D city modelling for several mega-cities, from both aerial and street view photography.

Other applications of Acute3D have included existing conditions capture for construction sites, manufacturing facilities, mining operations, pipelines, and oil and gas exploration.

Reality Modelling

Dr. Jean-Philippe Pons said when Renaud and he founded Acute3D, their vision was to make widely available, at industrial precision, what is now described as reality modelling. With the team, both founders are very pleased to be joining Bentley to extend their reach. Together, they have already shared and embarked upon many new initiatives to incorporate reality modelling within design and construction modelling.  

For additional information about Bentley Systems’ Acute3D software for reality modelling, visit www.bentley.com/Acute3D.

In the May 2014 issue, GIM International published a Company's View article on Acute3D.

To learn more about Smart3DCapture, see here.

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