Imaging Laser Scanning With Push-Button Operation, Mobile App

Words: Dan Kamys

Leica Geosystems has created the smallest and easiest to use imaging laser scanner in the world: the BLK360. At the same time, Autodesk has created the ReCap Pro mobile app.

Leica BLK360

The Leica BLK360 captures the world around you with full-color panoramic images overlaid on a high-accuracy point cloud. Simple to use with just the single push of a button, the BLK360 is the smallest and lightest of its kind. Anyone who can operate an iPad can now capture the world around them with high-resolution 3D panoramic images.

Using the ReCap Pro mobile app, the BLK360 streams image and point cloud data to the iPad. The app filters and registers scan data in real time. After capture, ReCap Pro enables point cloud data transfer to a number of CAD, BIM, VR and AR applications. The integration of BLK360 and Autodesk software dramatically streamlines the reality capture process, thereby opening this technology to non-surveying individuals.

The BLK360 imaging laser scanner:

  • Allows you to scan in high, standard and fast resolutions.
  • Weighs 1 kg, and measures 165 mm tall x 100 mm diameter.
  • Takes less than 3 minutes for full-dome scan (in standard resolution) and 150-MP spherical image generation.
  • Produces 360,000 laser scan points/second.

ReCap Pro Software allows you to:

  • Gain complete access to ReCap Pro for desktop, web and mobile.
  • Control all aspects of the reality capture process remotely on ReCap for iPad.
  • Automatically register and visualize scan data in the field.
  • Mark up, tag and collaborate on scans while on the jobsite.
  • Reduce rework requests and share reality data remotely.
  • Seamlessly transfer data into Autodesk design software.

With the combination of the BLK360 and Autodesk ReCap Pro, benefit from:

  • Speed: On-the-fly image and point cloud processing in the field.
  • Portability: Flexibility to scan wherever, whenever with the small, lightweight scanner that fits into a messenger bag.
  • Ease of use: Push-button scanning that automatically stitches and registers in the mobile version of ReCap Pro.
  • Cloud connectivity: Better collaboration and virtualization with cloud sync.
  • Simplified data collection: Two-in-one 360-degree image documentation and laser scan data.
  • Interoperability: Reality-capture data connectivity with Autodesk’s design solutions.

Learn more at https://lasers.leica-geosystems.com/blk360.

Managing the Mysterious Job Site Slowdown
August 2026

Every contractor knows the feeling. A job looks good on paper. The schedule makes sense. The crews are lined up. The material is supposed to be there. Then, for no obvious reason, the whole job starts crawling. That is what makes it so frustrating. Nobod

Sainte-Cécile Cathedral
August 2026

Imagine being handed a set of plans calling for the largest brick cathedral in the world. Now imagine building it without modern cranes, engineered scaffolding, forklifts, power tools, or structural analysis software. That was the challenge facing medie

Why SkillsUSA is the Keystone to MCAA’s Outreach
August 2026

When I stepped into the role of the MCAA’s first Director of Youth Outreach and Education, I knew we had a massive job ahead of us. I am a fourth-generation brick mason, and I have spent over two decades teaching the trade, from working with apprentices a

The First Paycheck
August 2026

Several years ago, Huntley Brothers hired a young apprentice. It was his first real job, and he had never had a paycheck before. Friday rolled around, and he got paid just like everyone else. Later that day, one of the guys told me something I have never