Registration open for 2010 Leica Geosystems HDS Worldwide User Conference

(Heerbrugg/ Switzerland, 3 August 2010) – Leica Geosystems announces the formal opening of registration for the 8th  annual HDS Worldwide User Conference, Oct. 25-27, in San Ramon, California. The international conference will feature presentations by more than 30 leading users of its High-Definition Surveying™ (HDS™) 3D laser scanners and software and by key Leica Geosystems staff.

Registration is open for the main conference of presentations and exhibits, plus all nine (9) training workshops. Workshop space is limited. Many workshops have sold out in the past, so prospective attendees are encouraged to register early for these popular workshops.

Although primarily intended for HDS users, the conference is also open to those looking for HDS service providers and to prospective users who want to conduct additional homework on how others are using these tools, such as the popular, new Leica ScanStation C10 scanner. Many members of the trade press are also planning to attend the conference. In total, more than 300 attendees from over 20 countries are expected for the 2010 conference.

New Forensic Track
Based on the very rapid adoption of laser scanning for capturing forensic scenes, the conference will feature for the first time a special Forensics Track and a special, all-day Forensics workshop on shooting trajectory reconstruction. This workshop will be taught by Mike Haag of the Albuquerque Police Department, an international leader in trajectory reconstruction analysis, in cooperation with the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department.

Additional detailed information is available at:
http://hds.leica-geosystems.com/en/Events_6441.htm?id=6896

Leica Geosystems – when it has to be right
With close to 200 years of pioneering solutions to measure the world, Leica Geosystems products and services are trusted by professionals worldwide to help them capture, analyze, and present spatial information. Leica Geosystems is best known for its broad array of products that capture accurately, model quickly, analyze easily, and visualize and present spatial information.

Those who use Leica Geosystems products every day trust them for their dependability, the value they deliver, and the superior customer support. Based in Heerbrugg, Switzerland, Leica Geosystems is a global company with tens of thousands of customers supported by more than 2,400 employees in 22 countries and hundreds of partners located in more than 120 countries around the world. Leica Geosystems is part of the Hexagon Group, Sweden.

For further information please contact:

Leica Geosystems
Geoff Jacobs
Phone: +1 925 790 2317 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +1 925 790 2317      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Fax: +1 925 790 2309
geoffrey.jacobs@lgshds.com
www.leica-geosystems.com/hds

Faster, More Compelling Models, Renderings, and Animations of Point Clouds

(Heerbrugg/ Switzerland, 23 June 2010)- Leica Geosystems announces Leica CloudWorx-VR for 3ds Max, 3ds Max design, and Maya. These plug-ins provide a convenient way for professionals to efficiently create more photorealistic and compelling models, renderings, and animations based on rich, High-Definition Survey™ data of sites & structures as collected by 3D laser scanners.

Easier, More Efficient Processing of Point Clouds for Multi-media Applications
The use of visually rich, High-Definition Survey data for multi-media applications such as marketing proposals, client education, and project communications has been steadily growing. However, traditional methods of processing as-built and topographic point cloud data and merging it with models and photography for multi-media applications have been time consuming. In addition, the quality of deliverables has been constrained by limitations in stand-alone point cloud software otherwise used for this. Now, Leica CloudWorx-VR-plus Autodesk 3ds Max or Maya overcome these limitations, making it easy to create even more compelling multi-media deliverables based on laser scan data.

Leica CloudWorx-VR offers 3ds Max and Maya users the same, familiar user interface they already know from using these multi-media tools. CloudWorx-VR lets users apply 3ds Max and Maya tools directly to large point cloud data sets. Users can efficiently load a dense, colored point cloud as a 3D background, merge point cloud data with other model elements, cast shadows on the cloud, and even process point clouds into smooth surface models – all within the 3ds Max or Maya interface. CloudWorx-VR supports data from Leica HDS and 3rd party laser scanners, enabling any laser scanner user to more easily expand service offerings to include exciting multi-media deliverables based on point clouds.

Global Access plus Local Support from Leica Geosystems
Users can purchase Leica CloudWorx-VR and receive local support directly from Leica Geosystems, the world leader in laser scanning hardware and software, and authorized representatives. The powerful, new plug-in was developed by Alice Labs (Netherlands), a start-up company comprised of experienced Leica HDS users plus talented academic staff. Alice Labs and Leica Geosystems have signed an exclusive agreement for Leica Geosystems to sell and support the plug-in product as Leica CloudWorx-VR, the newest member of the Leica CloudWorx family of convenient point cloud plug-in software.

What they’re saying
Dr.-Ing. Christian Hesse of Dr. Hesse und Partner Ingenieure, Germany reports, “We were impressed by point cloud animations of an historic ship that we saw at the 2009 Leica Geosystems HDS Worldwide User Conference in San Ramon, CA, and discussed the point cloud plug-in for 3ds approach with the presenter. We’ve since changed over from another vendor’s software to deploy this technology and we have been very pleased to quickly expand our business into this exciting area with excellent results. Our customer’s response was outstanding.” An example of this work done by Dr. Hesse und Partner Ingenieure is on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ4_biRWHvM
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Pricing & Availability
Leica CloudWorx-VR is immediately available. Ordering information is available from authorized Leica Geosystems representatives.
Leica Geosystems – when it has to be right
With close to 200 years of pioneering solutions to measure the world, Leica Geosystems products and services are trusted by professionals worldwide to help them capture, analyze, and present spatial information. Leica Geosystems is best known for its broad array of products that capture accurately, model quickly, analyze easily, and visualize and present spatial information.

Those who use Leica Geosystems products every day trust them for their dependability, the value they deliver, and the superior customer support. Based in Heerbrugg, Switzerland, Leica Geosystems is a global company with tens of thousands of customers supported by more than 2,400 employees in 22 countries and hundreds of partners located in more than 120 countries around the world. Leica Geosystems is part of the Hexagon Group, Sweden.