Grant: Technology Access Centre

“Reality capture” is used to describe the process of scanning any space or object in our built or natural environment and then converting the scanned digital data into models and visualizations that are used for design purposes across virtually every sector of the economy. From 3D scans of entire marine vessels, aircraft, and buildings to support maintenance and repair to the mapping of coastal terrains to monitor climate change mitigation, “reality capture” is an advanced digital approach to knowing our world and imaging its future. College of the North Atlantic (CNA) wishes to expand its innovation service capacity to provide precisely this digital support to its growing list of partner companies through the development of a Reality Capture and Digitization-Technology Access Centre (RDC-TAC). Reality capture is a process of scanning and capturing sites or objects in a 3D digital model, combining measurements and imagery. CNA’s Office of Applied Research and Innovation (OARI) has actively engaged its world-class terrestrial and airborne LiDAR (Laser Imaging Detection And Ranging), 3D mapping, and hyperspectral assets and teams to advance a specialization in reality capture and digitization. RDC-TAC's goal is to continue enhancing successful strategic partnerships with the mining sector and expand reality capture and digitization applications to other sectors, particularly health care, forestry, utilities, construction, hospitality and leisure, and environmental monitoring. Across all sectors, there is an urgent need to not only advance digitization and digital technology adoption but also the highly qualified personnel (HQP) who can ensure the successful integration and utilization of such technologies for business impact. Through the RCD-TAC, CNA will conduct applied R&D programs with our partners to identify optimal use cases for our advanced reality capture and digitization instruments and then conduct trials to determine where such technologies can be placed for the greatest impact, thereby de-risking technology adoption for our partners and offering training to college students, graduates and partners on the same.