Maptek release I-Site Studio version 3.5

Latest laser scan modelling software release coincides with launch of new geotechnical tools

MAPTEK have released version 3.5 of their laser scan modelling software I-Site Studio to coincide with the launch of a dedicated geotechnical module. While basic I-Site Studio 3.5, users can query dip and strike, the new module has more extensive tools for users to easily monitor changes in surfaces such as walls, batters and faces.

Stereonet plots allow users to plot slope and slope direction (dip and strike) on to a two-dimensional graph, helping to identify discontinuity sets and analyse the stability of rock slopes. Contours can be added for pinpointing data of interest. Rose diagrams reveal the frequency of data versus the direction of the data for identifying directional trends. Colouring surfaces by the dip or strike values of the individual facets helps to highlight discontinuities and planar areas, making it easy to see fractures.

Overlapping surfaces that have been scanned at different times can be compared to reveal extent and rate of movement, for example to identify a slow-moving failure in an open-pit mine. Surfaces can be coloured based on changes from a previous surface and data can be exported to measure distances from previous and base surface measurements.

I-Site Studio 3.5 also includes general enhancements in performance and usability. Filtering can now be done based on point selection, rather than the entire scan dataset. When used in conjunction with new freehand or polygonal lasso selection tools, it reduces the time required to remove stray points caused by dust or other transient objects.

In addition, many of I-Site Studio’s existing tools have been tweaked with even more options for quickly comparing as-builts against design models, to highlight variations or non-conformance.

Moreover, the ability to quickly create a three-dimensional PDF means that rotatable models can be shared with people who do not have specialized viewing software. I-Site Studio 3.5 users can also export to a Universal 3D file, meaning that the valuable information can be shared with decision-makers at all levels immediately.