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Introduction
Optoelectronics has its etymological roots grounded in physics and encompasses the study, design and manufacture of electronic devices for emitting, modulating, transmitting and sensing light (Sergiyenko and Rodriguez-Quiñonez, 2016). Optoelectronic devices gather and display information at high speed but can also store and process information (Marzuki, 2016). Beneficial characteristics of these devices include their: small and portable size (Faro, 2004), highly sophisticated functionality (Marzuki, 2016), solid-state robustness (Lindner, 2016), and low-power consumption during operation (Faro, 2004). Such attributes have engendered the proliferation of optoelectronic devices throughout society, business and commerce (Bernardini and Rushmeier, 2002). Amongst the hierarchy of optoelectronic technologies available, optical laser scanners are frequently used for the rapid automation of millimetre precision measurement and reconstruction of tangible objects via processed optical signals from reflected light (Thiel and Wehr, 2004). Laser scanning applications are myriad throughout a disparate range of industries, including: aerospace for structural health monitoring (Derriso et al., 2016); law enforcement for virtual crime scene reconstruction (Buck et al., 2013); agriculture for crop growth monitoring (Cointault et al., 2016); archaeology for re-constructing archaeological artefacts (Galeazzi et al., 2016); and manufacturing industries for quality assurance purposes (Godin et al., 1994; Mello and Stemmer, 2016). Given this strong demand, the laser scanning industry’s value is forecast to exceed USD5.90 billion by 2022 (Markets, 2016).
The architecture, engineering, construction and owner-operated (AECO) sector encompasses the whole life cycle of buildings and infrastructure within the built environment. Within this sector 3D laser distance and ranging (LiDAR) devices rapidly construct point cloud data sets that precisely measure large volumes of physical objects, transcribed into a digital built environment (Chen et al., 2015). Laser scan devices are now integral within numerous built environment applications including: construction progress tracking (El-Omari and Moselhi, 2008), quality control assessment (Wang et al., 2016), site activity monitoring (Zhang et al., 2016), safety assessment (Shapira et al., 2014), and resource and material tracking (Szweda, 2006). Laser scanning also represents an ideal technological solution for automating as-built Building Information Modelling (BIM) validation (and model updates) for contractors and facility managers (Hoffmeister, 2016). However, whilst demand has grown, laser scan technology is not universally adopted in contemporary AECO practice because of issues pertaining to: high equipment...