Line of Sight (LoS) and Overlapping Data explained

This article explains how and why considering the line of sight between scan points whilst surveying a property is advantageous,

Advantages of LoS

Data overlap: allows the system to automatically snap & align your data.

Improved viewer experience: taking extra panos allows more “hotspots” for your clients to click on throughout the tour, providing a more fluid navigation experience.

Below we have created a video to assist with visualising and explaining Line of sight, and Overlapping Data

Data Overlap

The main advantage of having an unobstructed line of sight from scan to scan is so that the system (PLANIX only) can auto-snap your data. Note: The auto-snap feature is limited to using the previous 30 scans within a limited range of distance.

If we take the example below, on the left-hand image, we can see very little laser data overlap, meaning that both, the iGUIDE camera system and Stitch, are unlikely to auto-align your scan data. On the right-hand side, an additional scan was added, increasing the amount of overlapping laser data and ultimately making auto-alignment more likely to succeed. Think of it like a jigsaw puzzle, matching up the edges to the correct shape. See Figure 1.

Figure 1 - Line of sight example

Improved Viewer Experience

Commonly overlooked, is the benefit many viewers experience when considering line of sight. For example, see the floorplan below, where we compare an iGUIDE with little thought to the line of sight and viewer experience to an example where line of sight and viewer experience has been considered. The number of panos has only increased by one, yet the placement has made all the difference. See Figure 2.

Figure 2 - Scan placement examples