This column was previously published (in Dutch) by BIMregister in June 2022. BIMregister connects organizations and professionals who work with BIM in their own network.
In previous blogs we talked about digital surveying with marXact, a member of the BIM register. This included the relationship between the Building Information Model and their digital receiver, but also the control you maintain by generating centimetre accurate data yourself. This time we will go more in-depth into API connections and how using your already known software helps when working with BIM.
Integrating with an API
Did you already know that you can easily connect your UNI-GR1 digital receiver with software that you have been working with for a long time? You use the API for this, which stands for ‘Application Programming Interface’. We will not make it too technical, but in reality, it means that such an API transfers your measured data from our software to yours. Complete, centimetre accurate, and in real time.
Benefits of the API
If you have integrated the centimete accurate position of the UNI-GR1 into your own systems, you have full control over everything you want to do with the UNI-GR1 position. Spoiler alert: that’s pretty much unlimited!
When you have control, you can
- Survey the exact location immediately into your own database by laying a fibre optic cable – even while the ground is still open;
- Monitor a number of objects in the cloud for a longer period of time automatically, even a notification can be sent when a predetermined number has been reached;
- Track the precise location of your equipment throughout the day. Maps are automatically displayed here, this allows you to see where your equipment is or has been;
- Make sure that you or your team the exact location of a malfunction, the location of your UNI-GR1 will be shown on the map of the control software;
- Have every colleague from any department take measurements. A minimum knowledge of surveying and staking out is required to be able to get started yourself;
- Determine, evaluate, and adjust workflows and work processes. Again, with a minimum of training or explanation, after all, it is software that you already work with!
Existing connections
Whatever you want to achieve and which system you want to connect to, ‘the market’ must make it possible for you. That is the approach that marXact has. They develop their own open-source software that you can link with other programs at no extra cost. For them, it’s about creating your optimal user experience. A selection of the links that marXact has already established:
- DiaFlow, which BAM Infra and Energie uses
- Geolinq, BAM Infra and Telecom and Wayss & Freytag benefit from this
- Geostruct, the software Allinq uses every day
- GoInfraMaps, used by Siers Groep and Verkley
- MyCumulus, which contributes to the optimal work experience of Heijmans
- NieuwlandGeo, with which AVG accurately indicates found explosives
Action with the API
No link is too crazy, just like that no optimal experience is – or should be. It’s time to act. You, your organization, the market. Start by estimating the value of your current software, because to what extent does it meet your actual needs? Then request the API from marXact to establish the link. Let’s start surveying!
Would you like to take a look at the documentation already? Just go to; https://marxact.com/uni-cloud/