Surveying and spatial technology experts Leica Geosystems have again received international attention for their BLK360 laser scanner, taking out the 2017 PRISM Award for Photonics Innovation. The BLK360 fits in the palm of your hand and is capable of acquiring near-survey quality point cloud data at a fraction of the cost of other systems.

Last week at the 2017 PRISM Awards, Leica Geosystems took out the category of Metrology. In January, the BLK360 also won a 2017 Geospatial World Innovation Award  in recognition for innovation and excellence among geospatial technology developers, professionals, end users and policy makers.

From left to right: Leica Geosystems’ Kevin Rinaldi-Young, content product specialist; Hugh Baertlein,VP of eBusiness; Burkhard Boeckem, CTO; Lukas Heinzle, product engineer; and Ken Mooyman, NAFTA president, celebrate the BLK360’s win at the PRISM Awards.

“It’s an honour to be recognised by the industry and our peers for the BLK360 in advance of its official availability to the market,” said Burkhard Boeckem, CTO, Leica Geosystems. “A successful project such as this comes to fruition only through the hard work, passion and commitment to precision displayed by the team. The BLK360 engineers truly pushed beyond what was previously thought possible to realize this achievement.”

The Leica BLK360 is the world’s smallest imaging laser scanner designed primarily for engineers, architects, construction managers and surveyors involved in computer-aided design (CAD) and building information modelling (BIM).

Weighing only 1 kg, the BLK360 captures panoramic interiors at a rate of 360,000 laser scan points per second, all with a single push of a button. A complete and accurate full-dome laser scan is automatically registered in a point cloud in under three minutes.

The BLK360 will be released worldwide around March 2017 at an estimated price of $15,990 USD. C.R. Kenendy are accepting pre-orders across Australia.