Innovation ends the game of ‘Frogger’ at site assessments

This episode examines an innovative and integrated application of reality capture technologies that has been developed by IMEG to improve exterior lighting and security site assessments. Explaining the components, applications, and benefits of the ALL (Accurately Locating Light) Meter are guests Eric Vallejo, Director of Reality Capture and Geospatial Solutions, Ryan Searles, Security Consulting Group Leader, and Shanna Olson, Architectural Lighting Team Leader. The ALL Meter combines an illuminance meter, 3D camera, GIS, and drone photography to gather more accurate and robust data in a vastly more efficient and safer manner compared to conventional site assessments. “The traditional methodology for lighting assessments is to go out on site, obviously after dark, and about every five feet or so get down on the ground with a light meter,” says Olson. “You're also looking at other things, making observations, and taking photos as it gets later and later into the evening. At a particularly large job site recently it ended up becoming a little bit like Frogger in that we were repeatedly bending down, getting up, and moving around as cars and semi-trucks drove past us.” In addition to allowing the gatherer to remain standing, stay out of harm’s way, and quickly collect more and better data to inform the design phase, the night drone photography enables stakeholders to visualize areas of poor visibility, lack of uniformity in lighting, and gaps in security. “You can see immediately where something's dark or well illuminated,” says Olson. “Owners can see and feel how it is to be in that space at night.”