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A digital comparison of the real world opens up a multitude of possibilities in many areas. Industry 4.0 is the starting point for this added-value-generating synchronisation of the real and digital world. 

Digital twin for newcomers: Your company has no experience with the concept of digital twins, but wants to take a first step in this direction. We always recommend a first pilot project, with a manageable, previously defined area. In this way, we work out questions such as "what is the benefit of the digital twin in our company, who uses it (internally or externally) and what problems does it solve immediately?" or "what basic principles already exist in the company and what of these are used by your employees or customers? This is followed by the elaboration and selection of a use case, of which a technical evaluation and economic consideration is made. 

Sounds exciting? Write to us: office@looom.at

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) could provide new impulses in the global economy to the tune of 1.6 trillion euros by 2030. This is the conclusion of the Seeing is Believing report conducted by PwC, which assesses the economic impact of the two technologies.

VR and AR have great potential due to their existing and emerging applications: new client experiences can be created, product developments accelerated and workplace safety increased. In addition, both technologies will ensure more efficient processes, improve training and offer more opportunities for collaboration and cooperation - in future, all industries will benefit from VR and AR, but especially the healthcare and retail sectors.

LOOOM has been realizing projects on VR with its customer for more than 7 years. Today an internal film was shot for another project. In particular it is about the visualization of a construction project and later on, the training of a new system. 

One of our most challenging mapping projects for fast, effective stocktaking. 25.000 m2, 5 floors and without electricity - a small insight of our created

Have a look

Without much effort, changes can be made to the entry mask, the control panels or a CI adaptation. 
Here is a simple example of our project with NGR, where icon and menu design were adapted. An own download menu on top. 

Read more about this project

Taken with our mobile laser scanner we created the digital image of this beautiful church in Vienna, Austria in a very short time. 

A big thank you to our partner Nubigon, for creating this fascinating point cloud! 

As we think, worth a flight! ;-) 

Digital twin, virtual building, BIM... nobody needs it! Many large companies are not yet focusing on this topic. Rarely do they find their way to the agenda and when they do, there is often a lack of budget for such projects. A virtual image of your company building is often still considered a toy.

The importance of virtual security is increasing

In the last few days, we have been getting more and more positive feedback from our customers, who are currently deriving great added value from their digital twin. Dimensions, agreements on work processes, training of machines, explanations for suppliers or communication between locations - everything is possible. The global challenge of travel restrictions, bans on access to buildings and curfews for employees is causing huge concern.

But these technologies do not only bring their advantages in exceptional situations. People's lifestyles are changing, and so are their attitudes towards the world of work. The trend towards the home office has been developing for some time and will continue to do so in the coming years. Business trips and presentation appointments will be partly replaced by teleconferencing systems, and even international companies with worldwide locations are considering new ways of communication between companies.

Digital twin as a tool

LOOOM offers complete solutions and creates a workflow that stimulates the whole company. The basis for this is always on-site digitalisation. No problem, let's cover 5, 10, 15 thousand square meters per day. Within a few days, the company premises are accessible via internet link. The data is hosted on home servers or, if desired, at the customer's site. Then the individualization process begins. With a wide range of services, such as the integration of IoT data, integration into CAFM systems, customizing the user interface and topics such as indoor navigation, virtual reality or hologram training or factory planning, we tailor the right suit for every company.

Do not wait for the next crisis, but take the step towards the future today! #letsdigitize

LOOOM - the DIgitalization factory

Hourly statements about ordinances, regulations or suspensions do not exactly ensure more peace and quiet in the domestic companies. A declaration of a state of emergency would order the majority of all Austrians to leave their own four walls only in exceptional cases. 

Home office, but how? 

It becomes problematic when all employees are sitting at home but need important information on site. Perfect planning and coordination are needed to keep the business running, but to leave the house as little as possible. 
LOOOM wants to support this with the help of our Indoor Viewer! By means of a digital image of the actual state, the production, the warehouse or other buildings can be accessed together online. This ensures a transparent coordination and helps to place and prepare work orders in a targeted manner.

In addition, measurements can be taken, information can be stored and changes can be shared via e-mail. In this way, the resumption of everyday operations can also be optimally prepared. 

Especially in times like these, when no two days are the same, we score with speed and flexibility. We simply need access to the building, then an employee digitises 10,000-15,000 m2 per day and within a few days your company is accessible online for all employees, suppliers and customers! 

LOOOM is ready for action!

A whole country is already completely sealed off. 16 million people are currently quarantined. More and more airlines are cancelling their flights to Italy. Many countries are banning flights to and from Italy. This is a nightmare for international companies. In Austria, too, the measures are becoming increasingly concrete. Since yesterday, almost all universities and technical colleges across the country have closed. Personal social contacts are to be avoided, according to a request by the Federal Government. 

LOOOM offers solutions

Many companies are already working on letting their staff work from home. Home office is therefore the topic of the hour. Not easy to implement in many industries. Especially if you depend on being able to see things on site, for example in production plants. Especially for international companies with several locations, a digital image of their sites would help immensely! Even worse is the trade fair event. For many companies, their exhibition stand is essential for their annual turnover!

That's why we at LOOOM have prepared ourselves well and want to help companies to maintain communication and workflow with our Indoor Viewer. 
Our advantages are clear: 

-10.000 -15.000 m2 of floor space per day. 
- Virtual building online within a few days. More than just a few 360° pictures. We generate a 720° panoramic image every 20cm, so you can move around as if you were on site!
- Worldwide access with multiple users and different rights system
- Live editing of the environment with info points, carry out centimetre-accurate measurements in the viewer
- No software necessary, everything web-based
- Simple condition, required training otherwise via stream possible
- IoT data integration possible

This enables companies to prepare themselves when the companies have to close or when trade fairs are cancelled.

So let's digitize! 

Introduction for all newcomers:

VR stands for Virtual Reality. VR immerses users in a fully digital environment through a headset or surrounding display. This environment can be computer-generated or filmed in 360-degree video.

AR stands for Augmented Reality. AR presents digital information, objects, or media in the real world through a mobile device or headset. These elements can appear as a flat graphical overlay or can behave as a seemingly real ‘3D’ object.

MR stands for Mixed Reality. MR makes it possible for physical and digital objects to co-exist and interact in real time.

These technologies are seen as one of the building blocks of the so-called "Essential Eight" technologies, which also include robotics, artificial intelligence or Internet of Things. These technologies are pioneers in shaping the way we work!

XR

Since all three technologies are closely related, there is now the collective term XR.
We at LOOOM have been dealing with these technologies for over a decade and offer customer-oriented solutions!

In order to work on XR technologies, you need data above all! Data that we draw from the digital twin. The digital twin acts as an interface which is supplied with data in order to be able to tap into multiple applications later on!

We at LOOOM strive to offer a complete package around the digital twin! So that everything comes from one source!

For questions and requests please contact us at any time under office@looom.at!

In the digitalisation factory LOOOM you can find your way to the coffee machine even on working days with a hangover - and that already from the parking lot!

With our Indoor Navigation App we now bring the way finding into the interior of your building. For all Google Maps pampered users, we naturally rely on familiar design and menu navigation ;-). 
White-labelled, the app can easily be personalized for your company and is available for download as usual in the App Store under your name. 
You can test the whole thing at any time in our office and soon also in your premises. 
There is only one thing left to say: YesWeScan! 

After the gifts were unpacked on 24.12, our yws scanner was unpacked again on 26.12 - to realize the last indoor digitization project in 2019. The task was clear. A complete site of our customer including innovation and production halls, 3-storey office space and outdoor space had to be digitized in 2 days. As production takes place almost all year round, the period was chosen during the quieter Christmas days. Two times 14 hours scanning let our yws scanner warm up noticeably. Scanned were 27,000 m2 and 6,000 360° panoramic images were taken. Neat! Afterwards the devices were allowed to cool down for a few days until the next project was started on January 2nd...

The enthusiasm of the test flight probably continued - and made sure that this week everything was put on one card. There was quite a bit of pressure on the shoulders of our first drone flight project under the motto "YesWeFly". After all, the successful completion of the flight was decisive for the following steps in a tight construction site plan. 
In order to take the tension out early - despite some unexpected circumstances and moments of shock - the schedule could be kept. A lot of flexibility and patience on the part of our partner made sure of this, without the project would not have been completed! 
The results were excellent, just like the test flight! The use of the drone not only provided an extreme saving of time and costs, but also did not require any dangerous actions by employees who had to climb into the tanks in the past. 

We are looking forward to the future, with further YesWeFly projects to improve conventional working methods with new, innovative technologies! 

Stay tuned!

Archibus is the world's most widely used software for the digitization of real estate and workplace management as well as the operation of buildings and technical facilities: for owners, operators, landlords and tenants - for board members, management and operational levels. 
Uniquely designed to manage the complete lifecycle of real estate and technical facilities and to meet numerous industry requirements. 

But what has been missing so far? That's right. A visual tool!
LOOOM comes into play here. With a ready plug-in for the integration of the IndoorViewer into the CAFM system, the acquisition and 3D visualization is now faster and more accurate. The relevant data is then available in an as-built state instead of in an as-planned state. This leads to decisive advantages for those responsible for building operations and, in particular, for users compared to conventional methods of recording and managing digital data. The new interface now offers a mutual exchange of information, which makes it possible to easily identify and visualize objects as well as to display and edit the status and almost any other information of technical objects directly in the IndoorViewer. The acquisition of new objects in the IndoorViewer is just as possible as the initiation of processes in the CAFM software, e.g. through the submission of a new ticket or the display of work orders for the selected object.

BIM in inventory

BIM can not only build new buildings. The model-oriented planning method also offers advantages for conversion or renovation measures. Before this, however, the inventory must be recorded in accordance with BIM.

The popular opinion on BIM in existing buildings is: "The model-oriented planning method is too complex in existing buildings. The additional time and money required for 3D surveying and BIM-compliant recording of the existing building stock is too high. But this is only half the truth: New surveying methods as well as hardware and software developments are increasingly rationalising the necessary workflows and making the use of BIM building data models also economical for planning and building in existing buildings.

BIM advantages also in existing buildings
If the inventory is recorded digitally, rationalisation advantages arise, for example through the transfer of BIM building data for tenders, cost calculations, visualisations or the preparation of offers and construction time planning. Conversion, extension or renovation projects can be optimised more easily and consistently in terms of statics, building technology, building physics or energy, because the building, room and component data, enveloping surfaces, U-values etc. contained in the BIM model can be transferred. If, after construction has been completed, the recorded inventory data is supplemented with as-built information documenting the completed structure "as actually constructed" shortly before commissioning, a valuable data basis is created for subsequent management and maintenance. Even with BIM, one is not immune to the surprises and imponderables that frequently occur in old buildings. However, automated change tracking, construction progress, collision, plausibility and quality controls and, last but not least, coordination and communication sequences specified by the BIM planning method prevent errors, make inventory planning more efficient and increase planning quality. If building owners, investors and planners want to benefit from this added value, they must also take into account the BIM-compliant recording of the building stock and the resulting additional time and expense.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

3D surveying systems are not only used to record the inventory, but increasingly also to accompany planning, for example to check the target and actual state of the planning, to check dimensions and execution qualities, to detect defects or to document the structural execution as part of "as-built documentation".
How much time and effort you have to invest in preparing the measurement data depends decisively on the question of how you want to use it. For example, point cloud data superimposed with photo information can be used in many different ways: for ground plan or section views, visualizations, virtual object inspections, measurements, collision tests or feasibility studies. For example, it is possible to test to the nearest centimeter whether an existing building services room offers sufficient capacity for additional technology, including assembly and maintenance areas.
In addition, point cloud data can be prepared in such a way that it can be used as an online communication tool for all project participants: for coordinate queries, measurements, markings, labels, corrections, etc. Stored in the CAD program as an image file, CAD drawings can also be created or CAD/BIM objects designed on the basis of the point cloud data.
However, as soon as the inventory has to be integrated into the new CAD planning and calculations, one cannot avoid generating "intelligent" CAD or BIM objects from the "stupid" point clouds, including all topology data and object attributes. This practically requires a complete CAD re-entry, which is still time-consuming, but has now become considerably more convenient due to improved point cloud data interfaces integrated into CAD or modeling programs (e.g. ReCap for AutoCAD, Revit, Plant3D etc.).

The Smart Factory is still more a vision of the future than reality. In contrast, it is already completely simulated: as a digital factory. The knowledge gained optimizes the planning and realization of future production structures. 

The corresponding VDI guideline defines the Digital Factory as a "generic term for a comprehensive network of digital models and methods, including simulation and 3D visualization. Its purpose is the holistic planning, realization, control and continuous improvement of all essential factory processes and resources in connection with the product".

With the help of a digital factory a real factory planning is prepared and supported by different methods, instruments and applications. The spectrum ranges from product development and production planning to production start-up. The goal is to virtually plan, map and simulate all areas of a factory. One of the drivers for the use of digital factories is the need to be able to act more flexibly and economically in a challenging competitive environment. The focus is primarily on production planning. In this phase the primary operating costs are defined - and in this phase they can be influenced most sustainably. 

Link zum Artikel

"How do digital twins become an essential building block of intelligent digitization?"

By 2020, the number of Internet of Things (loT ) endpoints worldwide will rise to over 20 billion. Deloitte estimates that more than 4.5 billion of this will be in Europe and 750 million in Germany. In the future, these networked objects will supply millions of so-called "digital twins" with data. These digital copies of physical objects or processes will potentially become an essential component of intelligent digitization. They create added value that goes beyond pure networking and bring numerous cross-industry megatrends such as the Internet of Things, Industry 4.0, Connected Home and Smart City considerably forward.

Digital Twins are virtual images of physical objects or systems. The mandatory precursor of the digital twin is the Internet of Things (loT).

Digital Twins have four essential characteristics: 

1.     sensors that determine a current status

2.     connectivity, which links the object

3.     defined data structures that enable basic analytics functionalities at the lowest possible level

4.     a user interface that visualizes the relevant data 

As components from the loT world, sensors and connectivity are basic requirements for the DigitalTwins concept. Its additional digital functionalities enable the monitoring and control of the real counterparts. In addition, digital twins communicate with each other and with higher architectural levels. 

Read more: deloitte_digital twin

The drr initiative "digital reality for retail" was launched in Future City Langenfeld. The founding members are the three companies.

Together, they have set themselves the goal of strengthening local retail trade. Here, projects and concepts are made possible with which retailers can create and inspire added value for customers by means of virtual worlds. The target group are owner-managed retailers who want to face the changes of the times.

Above all the growing online trade, the structural change in the trade and the increasing urbanization will change the trade landscape lastingly. 

The entire report can be viewed at https://zukunftdeseinkaufens.de/drr/ ….

What are the advantages for companies and applicants?

The workplace can be experienced before the start of work. This gives applicants the opportunity to interact with the companies and form preferences at the very first contact.  

Before applying, candidates can look at their potential new job from a first-person perspective and thus get a feeling for whether this job appeals to them. 

-     The applicants receive a professional, quick and comprehensive overall impression of their future employer. They can move intuitively through the 360° tour themselves. Interest is aroused by the many multimedia additional information in the tour.

-     The job seeker can individually watch image films of the company, short introduction videos of the future colleagues, photo slide shows, information about the possible job as well as the exact job details.

-     The information content conveyed is extensive and is presented in an innovative, emotional and contemporary way. 

Virtual Recruiting increases the chances of attracting the best junior staff to a company. Through the interactivity of virtual reality capable 360° tours, but also through the integration of additional content, the attention of the users is increased and the length of stay increases up to 5 times!  
 
Virtual Reality in the HR-Prozess
 
Employers are already open to the possibility of using VR videos in recruiting. According to a study by JobStairs, 60 percent of HR managers in DACH Raum have already looked into the new technology and possible applications. 31 percent are already planning to use such videos in recruiting in the near future. Every second HR person thinks that VR videos can give an even more authentic insight into companies than previous media formats.

"Virtual reality applications will enrich our lives in many places in the future, and in some cases even fundamentally change them. This development will affect many business areas and all industries." - Angelika Huber-Straßer, Divisional Director Corporates at KPMG 

Point cloud flight through one of our last scans! 

Using the point cloud, as-built plans can be created quickly, accurately and according to the client's wishes in 2D or 3D. We draw the as-built plans in AutoCAD Architecture or ElteCAD 3D Architecture, as required. Based on the XYZ coordinates, templates for the as-built plan can be converted into various CAD-readable formats. Depending on the condition of the building, a complete as-built plan can be created within a few weeks from the point cloud created. The dimensional tolerance for the XYZ coordinates is plus - minus 0.5-2 cm. 

Detailinfo

For a joint project with Zühlke, who create a Hololens application from a Pointcloud, Looom has got the last Microsoft Hololens in Europe. We are looking forward to the exciting Mixed Reality Project. 

Essential part of a scan - our Indoor Mapping Specialist! It provides direction, speed and accuracy. At walking speed, he pushes the mobile laser scanner in front of him and stops every 0.2 - 1.5 meters to produce a 720° panoramic image, depending on the customer's requirements. The display transmits live information about the accuracy of the point cloud - so our Indoor Mapping Specialist can make sure that the lasers have measured every part at the right angle.