A Case Study in School Mapping with Lafayette Parish and Fenstermaker
When it comes to emergency response at local schools, public safety professionals need more than paper floor plans and dated schematics. They need real-time, searchable digital maps that provide clear, actionable views of schools, hospitals, and municipal buildings, both indoors and out. The TrueView GO handheld LiDAR scanner by GeoCue is proving to be a game-changer in this space.
A recent deployment in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, shows how the TrueView GO, paired with LP360 Land software, is helping emergency responders act faster and smarter, giving them critical visibility in the moments that matter most.
The Challenge: Replace Outdated Floor Plans with Digital Reality
For decades, school safety plans relied on static documents, floor plans tucked away in binders, known only to staff or local SROs. But when emergencies strike, those documents are no match for the coordination required between mutual aid agencies, many of whom have never stepped foot inside the building.
That vulnerability sparked action in Lafayette Parish, where officials partnered with Fenstermaker, a respected geospatial and engineering firm, to digitally map every public school campus, down to the door, and integrate those maps directly into the CAD systems of Lafayette 911. The goal: ensure that first responders, from any agency, could be routed not just to a building, but to a specific room, corridor, or entrance, with confidence.
The Solution: TrueView GO and LP360 Land
At the heart of the project was the TrueView GO, GeoCue’s compact handheld scanner powered by SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) and GNSS RTK/PPK fusion. It delivered precise, colorized 3D data in environments where GPS alone can’t operate, like stairwells, hallways, classrooms, and basements.
Why TrueView GO?
According to Coy LeBlanc, the project’s technical lead at Fenstermaker:
“We tested alternatives. When Mark Forsyth from NEI brought the TrueView GO by, it was super easy to use, so efficient. At that point we were like, yeah. No question. This is what we’re going to use.”
That ease of use made the difference. After just a half-day of training, the Fenstermaker team was scanning schools the very next day, completing three to four campuses per day, often in a matter of hours.
Field Execution: Fast, Scalable, and Repeatable
Operating during summer break to minimize disruption, crews swept through over 40 campuses in under 6 weeks. The process was fast but methodical:
- Exterior and interior reference targets were set to strengthen georeferencing
- Each classroom’s door ID was documented to standardize routing
- 3D scans were processed in LP360 Land for QA/QC and cleaned output
- Final deliverables were 2D indoor maps optimized for CAD integration and emergency dispatch workflows
The combination of SLAM-powered scanning and automated processing gave Fenstermaker the tools they needed to move at the speed of summer while delivering results that could save minutes, and lives, during an incident.
From Point Clouds to Operational Maps
While the RGB point cloud produced by TrueView GO was visually stunning, the final product needed to be more than a digital trophy. Fenstermaker built a pipeline to convert that 3D data into operational 2D indoor maps, with clean geometry, room IDs, corridor boundaries, door locations, and entrance names, standardized for multi-agency response and CAD compatibility.
These maps are now live in patrol cars, fire engines, and ambulances across Lafayette Parish, and they’re already helping responders navigate directly to the problem, instead of staging at the main entrance and guessing their way through a maze.
From Schools to Hospitals and Government Buildings
The success of the Lafayette project didn’t stop at schools. Other agencies are taking note, and for good reason. The same technology that enabled rapid mapping of public schools is now being evaluated for:
- Hospitals and medical campuses
- Courthouses and municipal buildings
- Jails and correctional facilities
- Libraries, event centers, and public transit hubs
Wherever GNSS fails and indoor complexity reigns, the TrueView GO excels. With real-time scanning, minimal training, and accurate results, it gives fire, police, EMS, and facility managers a fast and reliable tool to digitize their environments.
Key Differentiators That Set TrueView GO Apart
1. SLAM + GNSS RTK/PPK Fusion
Ensures precision in indoor and GNSS-denied areas—perfect for hospitals, schools, and urban buildings.
2. Colorized, Real-Time Point Clouds
View your scan as you walk using a dedicated tablet. Quickly verify coverage and identify gaps on the fly.
3. Triple-Camera Imaging
Three integrated 5MP cameras provide rich, RGB-colored point clouds—essential for QA, drafting, and visual confirmation.
4. Loop-Free Path Planning
No need to retrace your steps or walk in circles. Efficient scanning powered by onboard GNSS eliminates redundant data capture.
5. Lightweight, All-in-One Design
No cables, no external batteries, and no external computers. One device, fully integrated, built for mobility and ease-of-use.
LP360 Land: Powerful Processing
Every TrueView GO system comes with LP360 Land, a robust software suite built to handle SLAM-based handheld LiDAR processing with ease. Key features include:
- Synchronized 2D, 3D, Profile, Street View Navigation, and Immersive views
- Denoising, colorization, and classification
- Automated QA/QC and error detection
- Direct export to CAD, GIS, Revit, and more
- Data fusion with mobile, aerial, and terrestrial sensors
- Cloud-enabled workflows for collaboration
LP360 isn’t just an add-on. It’s a core differentiator that empowers public safety teams to go from scan to actionable map faster than ever before.
TrueView GO: Purpose-Built for Public Safety
From legislative mandates to local initiatives, the demand for indoor reality capture in public safety is only growing. GeoCue’s TrueView GO offers a scalable, affordable, and easy-to-deploy solution that turns complex buildings into navigable digital twins, enabling faster emergency response, multi-agency coordination, and lifesaving clarity when every second counts.
Schools. Hospitals. Courthouses. Public Safety Centers.
Wherever accuracy meets urgency, TrueView GO is the right tool at the right time.