Reality Cloud Studio keeps the customers in mind in every step that it takes. Currently, if a customer runs into any issues or has any questions, they can come directly to the subject matter experts (SMEs).
Reality Cloud Studio is powered by HxDR (Hexagon Digital Reality). The cloud software that provides customers with the ability to capture any destination in the outside world and collect it into a digital space.
Reality Cloud Studio is a very focused product, meant to provide services to those who need a platform to upload, download and oversee data. Reality Cloud Studio is more of a rare find in the Cloud space as it functions as e-commerce rather than a sales cycle. The company expressed that while they do have a sales team that is out there talking about its software, many people don’t want to have to deal with a representative to give the program a try.
This is why the software is so easily accessible to customers. Anyone can sign up and pay for a month of usage for a low price point, making it ideal for users who want to test the software or don’t have a constant need for it. The simplicity of getting set up with the Cloud is what makes this product a great option for many.
User Friendly Construction Software
The Reality Cloud Studio is very user-friendly with tips and suggested video demonstrations popping up when the user is trying out new things on the software. When it comes to a training type of program, customers are provided with in-software direction.
“When they hover over a feature, a little video pops up in the interface and says, ‘Here's how you use this’ and it actually literally shows them the steps and very quick and concise. That is our first level. So far, the feedback has been extremely positive that that is pretty much all they need,” said Rick Johnston, technical product SME at Leica Geosystems.
The company is currently working on an initial onboarding guide to make the process of using the software even easier. Other than the easy learning curve, Reality Cloud Studio makes its software easy for anyone in a company to upload and manage the data. This means that it doesn’t have to be the person who originally captured the data uploading it.
Johnston said, “If you're not the one who captured the data then you're trying to register it together, because [if you’re not the one who captured it] then what you're doing is trying to figure out how these puzzle pieces fit together. Well, our algorithms do that automatically, so a lot of heavy lifting. We have people that simply use [our software] just to eliminate that step.”
Uploading to the Construction Platform
Reality Cloud Studio is capable of running and uploading data from any capture device. “We are agnostic, we have a direct integration from our devices and our mobile apps that can control the devices during data capture, to push directly to reality cloud studio, but it is absolutely not required.” Even though the software can manage data and has tested the devices from all capture devices, it seems that the most optimal option is to use one of the company’s very own scanners.
Leica Scan Products
Reality Cloud Studio’s parent company offers a variety of scanning products of its own. A few of these products include:
- Leica BLK2GO
- Leica RTC360
- Leica ScanStation P50
Johnston said, “We guarantee [fidelity] in our LGs format, that it's going to come all the way full circle. It's always going to be from the device to the cloud, you're going to have more of a direct access because then it's processing the raw data from the scanner.”
Johnston explained that there are no extra steps involved that could lead to the user losing parts of their model. The upload process is straightforward and easy to do. The only problem can be that the software works best with data uploads from Leica’s own scanners. If data is uploaded in E57 format, the fidelity may take a hit. Reality Cloud Studio is able to extract more data when the uploaded information is in B2G format.
“If [E57 upload is] not done correctly, even from our own software, you can lose the panos and those are the 360s - the spherical images,” Johnston continued. Apart from not using the ideal formatting, there are ways that the data uploaded could be ruined or lost. In file decimation, the contents may become squished down to nearly half the depth it was originally captured in.
“If you don't do exports right and that's not just with our software, if you don't go into certain settings before you push that export button, the result of that E57 could be decimated,” said Johnston. This sort of error could happen to anyone and it could potentially ruin the entire project. Proceeding with caution and attention to detail is the best way to preserve the quality of important data. But, to ensure a lossless data transfer, it is recommended that users use one of the company’s very own scanner products.
What Construction Contractors Can Gain
With this type of software, there is a wide variety of career types that can benefit from it. Johnston mentioned that the software has a lot of surveyors and archeologists capturing historical preservation. There are also scan to BIM companies. Some users are even first responders using it for training scenarios. But, Reality Cloud Studio has a few features that would be of particular interest to construction contractors.
“Currently, this is the biggest one, [it’s] that we allow for different types of measurements. Straight line distances, planar, face area, those types of things that are actually being used to try to extract out the real world. Usually related to a BIM model, but there are other practices that are going on for workflows, we have the ability to what we call geotag.”
Geotagging is essentially placing notes or comments are certain areas of the project. This can be particularly useful for contractors making revisions or deciding on the details of a project. It can also be used to explain the details of a feature. Being able to measure content and add notes to the data are nice benefits for contractors looking to make their projects digital.
Security and Cost
The Reality Cloud Studio construction software has a great security system that helps protect user projects from being hacked or stolen. “It is very, very secure data. If you do not have access, you will not get to it. Even if you intercepted an email, you're not going to get anything with that link,” said Johnston. The company claims that all uploads are securely stored in the cloud-based drive.
Along with good security data, the company offers a low price point for its first tier that can be used to simply test for a month and see if the software is a good fit. While most cloud software is an enterprise software and is sold at a price based on a multitude of things having to do with features the user wants or the size of the company, Reality Cloud Studio does not base its pricing on what the user needs and instead off of the amount of time a user needs it for. The pricing starts with a month time frame which is sort of like a trial period, but it can also serve as a useful every once in a while solution.
The main plans that the company offers include:
- Essential: This is a $20 monthly subscription with 20 GB of storage
- Advanced: This is a $139 monthly subscription with 100 GB of storage
- Professional: This is a $430 monthly subscription with 500 GB of storage
Each of these monthly plans allows for unlimited projects.
Uniquely, this system was rolled out through digital download and e-commerce. As the software has progressed and more people are using it, the company is in the process of moving towards an annual subscription. This kind of subscription is ideal for customers who want the software for continuous use and may want the product for multiple projects. As the platform ages, the company is evolving to meet customer needs.
More expansions are available and better pricing plans are being offered to customers such as year-long subscriptions versus the monthly subscriptions that the company originally offered.
Overall, Reality Cloud Studio is offering quality software that is, in many cases, affordable and easy to use. There are tips and tricks to get the best results out of the platform and these are pretty simple to find and learn about.
