CRE pros can drop the tape measures as computer vision and analytics technology are ready to take over—at a price and with some limitations, of course.
Engineers and scientists have for years been working on how computers can directly see with cameras. There's been growing use in commercial real estate. For example, using combinations of satellite and manned aircraft imagery, it's possible to see whether a roof is damaged, worn, or potentially at some other risk like an overhanging tree.
But images and video can do much more when introduced, with the right software, into the interior of spaces. Through complex mathematical algorithms and the ready availability of computing power, it's possible to process video and still images into calculable data that can provide information, from floor plans to estimates of materials needed to duplicate damaged interiors.
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For example, CubiCasa focuses specifically on creating 2D floor plans. Scan a space using the company's smartphone app, upload the results, and receive a floor plan, with or without dimensional annotations, with a variety of options, including multi-level, within a business day.
There are multiple companies that offer more expansive capabilities. Planitar's iGuide system, which requires a special camera, scans a room to create a floor plan but also can provide measurements between two points in 3D space as well as photos and an interesting feature where a digital floor plan shows the locations in the space where the camera operated. If a user clicks on one of them, the result is a 360-degree image capture with the ability to pan up and down to see floor and overhead.
RoomScan Pro from Locometric has what seems to be a more complicated capture process, but it can swap between 2D and 3D models. There's also a Bluetooth laser measurement for additional accuracy.
Hosta.ai goes beyond a floor plan to analyze spaces from photos and then generate measurements, create elevations, and itemize needed materials for insurance, mortgage lending, and home improvement. One use case would be in remodeling a kitchen. By taking images and uploading them into the system, a developer might more quickly and easily understand the number of cabinets, their size, and requirements for materials like tile and countertops.
Just wait until someone thinks to combine infrared imagery with room planning and analysis to let developers see potential problems within a room, even if hidden by walls, floors, and ceilings.
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