At HxGNLIve in Las Vegas Juergen Dold announced another very impressively designed device in the BLK line called the BLK3D. It is designed to be a game changer in the interior measurement space traditionally addressed by Leica’s DISTO line because of its ease of use, size and paper-eliminating functionality.

The BLK3D follows in the footsteps of the BLK360, which is a game changer in the terrestrial laser scanner space because of its ease of use (one button), size (weighs 1kg / size 165 mm tall x 100 mm diameter), its capability (full 360 scan in less than 3 mins), and range (mm accuracy at 60 m). It it is intended the democratize laser scanning to other professionals beyond surveyors.

The BLK3D is small, somewhat larger than my Samsung Note 5.  It has two photo cameras and two laser range finders. I had a chance to chat with Johannes Hotz, Business Development at Leica Geosystems who explained that it is intended to replace the laborious paper-based measuring processes used in interior spaces. Leica Geosystems worked with architects, designers and contractors who work in interior spaces, and identified paper-based processes that could be replaced by a digital process.

The two cameras on the BLK3D allows you to capture a 3D record on-site that can be taken back to the office and shared as a JPG file. The device does not require anything to be uploaded to the cloud for post processing, it does all the processing itself. Once a 3D image has been created, you can tap on the screen on two locations, and it will measure and display the distance between the two points. if has edge and corner detection so that if you tap near a corner or an edge, it will snap to the exact corner or edge to ensure you get a precise answer (mm precision at up to two or three meters.)  It replaces the process of making a measurement  with a tape measure or laser range finder, writing the measured distance down on a piece of paper and then repeating the process over and over again for every measurement you need,

The BLK3D allows contractors to easily record images of their work at the time they do it so that afterwards if there are legal issues that have a permanent record of their work including what was there before they installed a cable or pipe and what the installation looked like after they completed their work.

This device is well designed as the BLK360 is and really lowers the bar on ease of use much as the BLK360 did for laser scanning.  I have used other Leica DISTO devices which are clearly professional devices.  I actually held and used the BLK3D for a few minutes and the basic functionality does appear to be usable by anyone – take a picture and then measure a distance by tapping on two points on the screen is a no-brainer. There is more advanced functionality which I didn’t attempt to use. For example, you can create floor plans and import existing ones. You can also add measurable images. I expect that if I could sit down with the device for an hour, I would be able to use most of its capability.