System and method for detecting deviations in building structures using reconstructed 3d models

A method of detecting deviations in a building structure over time, comprising:

• capturing a first set of range images of the building structure using a range imaging camera, each range image in the first set of range images captured from a different viewing angle and comprising range information for that image;
• using range information from the first set of range images to determine a first entire building structure range information;
• using the first set of range images and the first entire building structure range information to create a first 3D model of the building structure;
• storing the 3D model;
• capturing a photographic image of the building structure, wherein the photographic image of the building structure is taken at a later time than the first set of range images;
• and
• superimposing a portion of the 3D model over the photographic image of the building structure.

A method of detecting deviations in a building structure over time, comprising:

• using a smartphone to capture a first set of range images of the building structure with a range imaging camera incorporated into the smartphone, each range image in the first set of range images captured from a different viewing angle and comprising range information for that image;
• using range information from the first set of range images to determine a first entire building structure range information;
• sending the first set of range images and the first entire building structure range information to a computing system, wherein the computing system runs a 3D modeling application;
• using the 3D modeling application on the computing system to construct a first 3D model of the building structure from the first set of range images and the first entire building structure range information;
• using the smartphone to capture a second set of range images of the building structure with the range imaging camera incorporated into the smartphone, each range image in the second set of range images captures from a different viewing angle and comprising range information for that image;
• using range information from the second set of range images to determine a second entire building structure range information;
• sending the second set of range images and the second entire building structure range information to the computing system;
• using the 3D modeling application on the computing system to construct a second 3D model of the building structure from the second set of range images and the second entire building structure range information;
• and
• using a model comparison application to automatically detect at least one deviation between the first 3D model and the second 3D model.