Resources
Practical guides on point clouds, photogrammetry, drone survey delivery, and spatial file formats — written by people who have actually been down a mine with a scanner.
Comparing the best platforms for delivering survey data to clients in 2026. Swyvl, SurveyTransfer, Pointscene, DroneDeploy, Propeller, and generic file sharing tools.
3D Gaussian Splatting produces photorealistic 3D scenes from drone or camera footage. Here's how it works, how it compares to photogrammetry, and what it means for survey delivery.
Most drone operators email Dropbox links. Here's what professional survey data delivery actually looks like — and how to upgrade your workflow without building infrastructure from scratch.
LAS files require specialist software that most clients don't have. Here are your options for sharing point clouds with clients — from Dropbox workarounds to proper browser-based delivery.
A complete walkthrough of converting drone imagery to 3D Tiles using RealityCapture — from flight planning through to a shareable browser-based point cloud.
AI models can reason over documents and code. The next frontier is physical-world data — but only if that data is structured, organised, and queryable. Here's what spatial AI infrastructure looks like.
May 12, 2026Building inspectors and property developers rely on documented site history. Here's how time-indexed site records are replacing photo dumps and inspection PDF emails.
May 12, 2026Environmental monitoring depends on repeat visits and time-series comparison. Here's how spatial data from environmental surveys gets stored, organised, and compared over time.
May 12, 2026Heritage agencies managing portfolios of listed buildings need more than a shared drive. Here's how to build a permanent, time-stamped digital record for every property — accessible to conservation teams and shareable with the public.
May 12, 2026SharePoint stores documents well. But when your BIM team is sharing IFC files and your surveyors are sending 2 GB LAS files, generic document management falls short. Here's what's replacing it.
May 12, 2026File storage keeps files. A site record builds a permanent, time-indexed history of a physical location — queryable by your team and, increasingly, by AI. Here's the difference and why it matters.
May 12, 2026Every callout adds to a site's history. Here's how field service teams and tradespeople are building searchable, time-stamped site records — so the next person dispatched already knows what's there.
May 5, 2026Infrastructure inspection generates LiDAR scans, drone footage, point clouds, and reports that need to be stored, shared, and accessible for years. Here's what a proper documentation system looks like.
May 5, 2026Most cloud storage wasn't built for spatial data. Here's what to look for in a secure spatial data platform — regional residency, audit trails, format support, and site-based organisation.
May 5, 2026Underground mines, open-cut pits, and processing plants generate enormous volumes of spatial data. Here's how mining operations are moving from scattered Dropbox folders to organised, queryable site records.
May 5, 2026A practical comparison of the best point cloud sharing platforms in 2026: Swyvl, Pointscene, SurveyTransfer, ATIS.cloud, Cesium Ion, Sketchfab, and more.
April 12, 2026Comparing Dropbox, WeTransfer, and Swyvl for sharing survey deliverables. File transfer solves half the problem — your client still can't open a LAS file.
April 12, 2026DTM, DSM, and DEM are three types of elevation model used in surveying. Here's what each one represents, how they're created, and when to use them.
April 12, 2026Construction teams receive survey data via Dropbox and SharePoint but can't open LAS or GeoTIFF files. Here's why generic tools fail and what spatial delivery looks like.
April 12, 2026Surveyors capture incredible spatial data but deliver it like it's 2010. Here's the complete guide to professional file delivery for land surveyors and drone operators.
April 12, 2026LiDAR files regularly exceed 5 GB. Here's how to compress, organise, and deliver large LAS files to clients with browser-based viewing and tracking.
April 12, 2026FARO and Leica terrestrial scanners produce massive E57 and LAS files your clients can't open. Here's the pipeline from scan to browser-viewable delivery.
April 12, 2026LAS, LAZ, and E57 are the three main point cloud formats. Here's how they compare on file size, compatibility, and when to use each for client delivery.
April 12, 2026LiDAR and photogrammetry both create 3D spatial data, but they work differently. Here's a detailed comparison to help you choose the right technology.
April 12, 2026How to send multi-GB point clouds, drone video, 3D models, and CAD files to construction clients. Comparing email, WeTransfer, Dropbox, FTP, and purpose-built platforms.
April 12, 2026Drone surveys produce LAS point clouds, GeoTIFF orthomosaics, OBJ/GLB 3D models, DEMs, videos, and more. Here's every format explained with sizes and viewers.
April 12, 2026DXF (Drawing Exchange Format) is an open CAD file format created by Autodesk. Here's what's inside a DXF, how it's used in surveying, and how to view it.
April 12, 2026A GeoTIFF is a TIFF image with embedded geospatial metadata. Here's how georeferencing works, what COGs are, and how to view and share GeoTIFFs online.
April 12, 2026A point cloud is a collection of millions of 3D coordinate points representing a physical space. Here's what they are, how they're captured, and how to view them.
April 12, 2026IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) is the open standard for BIM data exchange. Here's what surveyors need to know about IFC files and how to deliver them.
April 12, 2026An orthomosaic is a geometrically corrected aerial image mosaic used in surveying, construction, and agriculture. Here's how they work and how to share them.
April 12, 2026Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF (COG) is a GeoTIFF with internal tiling and overviews that enables progressive loading via HTTP range requests. Learn how to create and use COGs.
April 12, 2026LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) uses laser pulses to measure distances and create 3D point clouds. Here's how it works, the types, and what it's used for.
April 12, 2026Dropbox is great for general files but fails for spatial data delivery. Here are the five pain points pushing surveyors to purpose-built alternatives.
April 12, 2026Sharing 3D models with clients who don't have modeling software is a common challenge. Here are the best browser-based options for GLB, OBJ, and FBX delivery in 2025.
March 15, 2025WeTransfer is convenient for one-off file transfers. But for survey deliverables — where data quality, permanence, and professional presentation matter — it falls short in every important way.
March 5, 2025E57 is the ASTM standard format for terrestrial LiDAR point clouds and 360° scanner images. Here's what it contains, how to open it, and how to deliver E57 data to clients.
February 25, 2025LAZ is the compressed version of LAS — the standard format for LiDAR and photogrammetry point clouds. Here's what it contains, how to open it, and how to share it with clients.
February 20, 2025Potree is the open-source WebGL viewer that powers browser-based point cloud visualization. Here's how it works, what it can display, and how to use it for client delivery.
February 10, 2025GeoTIFF files contain geospatial raster data but most clients can't open them. Here's how to share orthomosaics, DTMs, and raster layers with clients who don't have GIS software.
January 28, 2025You can view LAS and LAZ point clouds directly in a browser using Potree or 3D Tiles streaming. Here's how — and how to share point clouds with clients the same way.
January 20, 2025CesiumJS is the open-source WebGL engine behind browser-based 3D Tiles viewing. Here's how it works, who uses it, and how to get your survey data into it without building from scratch.
October 10, 2024Step-by-step guide to exporting 3D Tiles from the three major photogrammetry platforms — so your drone surveys can be viewed in any browser without specialist software.
September 5, 2024What are 3D Tiles, why do they matter for surveyors, and how does the OGC standard enable massive point clouds and models to stream in any browser? A complete explainer.
July 22, 2024GIS stands for Geographic Information System — but what does that actually mean for someone capturing LiDAR scans or drone imagery? Here's a grounded explanation.
June 10, 2024Comparing the best panorama stitching software in 2024 — from free tools like Hugin to professional-grade solutions. Which one is right for your workflow?
May 20, 2024Step-by-step guide to stitching 360° panoramas from single-lens cameras — covering overlap requirements, camera settings, and the full processing workflow.
April 18, 20243D mapping turns the physical world into digital datasets. Here's how the main capture technologies work, what they produce, and how the data gets used.
March 12, 2024From ancient rock art to Victorian-era buildings, 3D scanning technology is creating permanent digital records of cultural heritage sites that face erosion, vandalism, or demolition.
February 28, 2024