Point Taken Podcast by Trimble

Reality capture is changing fast. Alex Okscin, reality capture product manager at Trimble, joins us again to share his take on how AI is shifting the industry from manual processing to automated insights. Alex explains how machine learning helps users train custom classes to find objects within point clouds and why historical 3D data provides value even long after a building is constructed. The conversation also covers cutting-edge visualization technologies like NeRFs and Gaussian Splats. 0:00 – Intro 1:19 – Where AI lives in the ecosystem: hardware vs. software 2:13 – Intelligent feature extraction 4:15 – The challenge of global variations in object recognition 6:31 – Making reality capture data accessible to non-experts 9:08 – Lifecycle management: from construction to building operations 11:33 – Leveraging historical scan data for repeat business 13:42 – Future technologies: NeRFs and Gaussian Splats 16:32 – The role of AR, VR, and MR in visualization 18:48 – The future possibility of talking to your data

Join us as we dive into the world of reality capture with Alex Okscin, product manager at Trimble. Discover how this technology, which started with 3D laser scanning, now encompasses many sensors and workflows to bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds. Alex explains the key technologies involved, the importance of minimizing communication errors, and the practical steps in a successful scanning process. 0:00 - Intro 1:29 - Defining reality capture 2:11 - Reality capture as the new geospatial 3:38 - The goal of reality capture: faster answers through better communication 5:19 - The range of terrestrial scanning systems 6:05 - Differentiating systems by precision and application 7:40 - Understanding accuracy in the real world vs. lab specs 11:19 - Challenges and best practices for better scanning 17:12 - Scanning workflow steps 17:50 - The role of targets and control points 19:45 - Core technologies in laser scanning 20:49 - The importance of workflow over just hardware specs 25:35 - Trimble's focus: confidence and excellence for the customer

Stuart Riley, vice president of GNSS technology at Trimble, discusses the rigorous testing and engineering developments at Trimble. He provides a current state overview of the GNSS industry, covering the major global and regional systems, and introduces new developments around commercial constellations. 0:00 - Intro 1:21 - The current state of GNSS constellations 2:14 - The rise of private GNSS constellations 3:26 - Comparing different satellite orbits (MEO vs. LEO) 5:39 - Trimble's transition from GPS to GNSS 7:07 - ProPoint GNSS engine 9:10 - GNSS+ integrating other sensors like IMUs 11:36 - The history of the Sunnyvale Trimble office 12:59 - Trimble's testing labs and procedures 15:32 - Vibration testing for durability and longevity 16:44 - Real-world threats: jamming and spoofing 21:24 - Trimble's defense against jamming and spoofing  27:18 - The evolution of RTK "fixed" and precision 28:58 - Trimble's deep commitment to testing and data sets 40:59 - Career paths in GNSS engineering 43:14 - The personal satisfaction of solving technical problems

Trimble product manager Keeley Shea joins us to dive deep into the atmospheric layers and solar storms and their impact on precise positioning. We explore the 11-year solar cycle, what happens during peak activity (like solar flares and geomagnetic storms), and how these phenomena, especially ionospheric scintillation, can cause issues with GNSS performance. We also cover how Trimble technology and best practices in the field can help mitigate these effects.  0:00 - Introduction 1:32 - The five layers of Earth's atmosphere 3:00 - Troposphere and Ionosphere 5:17 - Solar flares, solar storms and geomagnetic storms 7:20 - How atmospheric layers affect GNSS signals 9:35 - Defining scintillation 15:20 - The positive side: Auroras and data collection 18:53 - Best practices and Trimble IonoGuard

Michael Dix from Trimble gives an introduction to the Point Taken Podcast and the range of guests and topics that will be featured.