Laser Measure vs Tape Measure | ARRIM ONE
Disclaimer: Scott Wilson over at arrimone.com sent me this Arrim One to check out so I did not purchase it. Also, I do not have any kind of sales relationship with Scott or Arrim. In fairness to Scott, he really believes that the Floorplan and other features of the Arrim One would be faster than my current workflow for scoping and estimating interiors. Is he right? Watch the video to find out.
According to ARRIM ONE marketing copy:
"To achieve high level of accuracy, ARRIM ONE uses a series of sophisticated technologies, including virtual 3D coordinate system, Phase-shift laser measurement, Characteristic point tracking, Augmented Reality, and our patented algorithm."
Sounds like I need to put on my Spock ears to use this gadget.
What does all that lingo mean for us, as cat adjusters? I mean, what does this little tiny thing really DO anyway?
You can measure a straight line - which is super handy for getting distance measurements in areas you can't reach.
You can grab angles, which is SUPER helpful if you want to get the pitch of a roof you can't quite access.
You can generate a floor plan - which will essentially give you measurements that you can drop into xm8 - you can also use this feature for "measuring" a roof - which I've seen somebody doing on YouTube and it doesn't look like fast at all.
You can find the diameter, circumference, and radius of a circle with just three clicks.. Pretty cool - infrequent use for us, but there'll be that random round window tucked up into a gable that you need accurate measurements of.
And the number one thing that I'm going to be using ALL the time? The 3D photo function. You can take a photo with this thing and then grab measurements from it. Why is that such a big deal? Because if you've ever done any hail claims ever, you have had a house or commercial building with a massive walkout rear elevation that's 3 stories and is covered with metal-framed windows. You can see that they're all dinged up, but even if you wanted to lean your ladder up against that wall, you probably couldn't get accurate measurements anyway. ENTER THIS THING - now I can take a snapshot of that huge elevation and then go and sit under a tree and tap out those windows to get accurate measurements.
BOOM. Mind blown.
Will this replace my tape measure for most work? Nope. I'm still faster with my old tape and can have a roof diagrammed and measured before Captain Kirk can even get his phone on, find the app, and get it up and running. It also won't replace my regular Hilti laser for regular interior work.
However, for getting hard to reach measurements like those windows, gable end measurements, and roof pitch angles? Dude, it is a gamechanger for sure. I would pay WAY more than they're asking for something like this to speed up getting those tough measurements.
