SS United States Reality Capture - Focus on Innovation (Part 1)

SS United States History

The SS United States, launched in 1952 and was designed by naval architect William Francis Gibbs as a joint project of the United States Navy and United States Lines. The record-breaking American ocean liner still holds the Blue Ribbon for the fastest transatlantic crossing. Built at Newport News Shipbuilding, the 990 foot vessel served until 1969 before decades of neglect, multiple ownership changes, and the loss of its original interiors. After nearly 30 years moored in Philadelphia under the care of the SS United States Conservancy, a 2025 rent dispute forced its relocation to Mobile, Alabama, where it was purchased by Okaloosa County, Florida, for transformation into the world’s largest artificial reef. The project is overseen by Alex Fogg, Okaloosa County’s Natural Resources Chief, a leading marine conservation specialist known for managing major artificial reef deployments, combating invasive lionfish through the Emerald Coast Open, and advancing coastal resource initiatives. Under Fogg’s leadership, the SS United States is undergoing remediation in Mobile before its planned sinking off Destin–Fort Walton Beach, where it will be honored both as a monumental artificial reef and through a dedicated land-based museum celebrating its historic legacy.

Our Mission on the Ship 

Beast Code conducted a proof-of-concept Reality Capture evolution on the SS United States to advance and validate emerging and existing capture technologies on a complex, real-world platform like those used by our customers. This effort aimed to strengthen our technical capabilities while fostering a collaborative relationship with the SS United States Conservancy as it establishes a presence in Fort Walton Beach, home to Beast Code headquarters.

Our work focused on two primary objectives: generating high-quality elements and imagery to support the SS United States capture, and collecting updated, multimodal reality capture datasets to inform ongoing integration efforts across BloomCE, REscan, Dot3D, and 3D Gaussian Splatting workflows. Through controlled survey operations, drone flights, mobile device scanning, experimental radiance field techniques, and comprehensive documentation, we sought to evaluate innovative tools and processes that enhance accuracy, speed, and interoperability in digital twin development.

By providing all captured data in a clear, usable format, we aimed to support both the Conservancy’s museum and living reef initiatives while laying the foundation for a long-term partnership that benefits the ship’s preservation and the local Fort Walton Beach community.

The Team

To execute this proof-of-concept Reality Capture evolution on the SS United States, Beast Code assembled a multidisciplinary team of engineers, technologists, and digital capture specialists dedicated to advancing the next generation of real-world spatial data acquisition. The team combined internal expertise from Beast Code with the advanced hardware capabilities provided by Anatum Geomobile Solutions creating a unified group capable of rapidly evaluating, integrating, and experimenting with emerging Reality Capture technologies.

This integrated team was formed to operate as a flexible, research focused unit. One capable of leveraging drone platforms, radiance field capture, mobile scanning, survey control, and multisensory workflows to determine the most effective and scalable approaches for future digital twin development. By synchronizing field operations, technical experimentation, documentation, and data processing, the team ensured that all findings directly supported the mission goals: generating proposal ready materials for the SS United States effort, enriching ongoing toolchain integrations, and strengthening collaboration with the SS United States Conservancy as it establishes its new home in Fort Walton Beach.

Together, Beast Code and Anatum brought complementary strengths that enabled the successful execution of this evolution and laid the groundwork for sustained partnership, continued experimentation, and real-world digital innovation.

Exercise New Technology in a Shipboard Environment 

The team exercised a comprehensive suite of emerging reality capture technologies in an operational shipboard environment. We processed data from PortalCAM, XGRIDS L2 Pro, XGRIDS K1, Dot3D, drone photogrammetry, and Varjo Teleport to generate RGB point clouds, radiance field (3D Gaussian) datasets, and high-resolution spatial imagery across key compartments of the vessel. Using this diverse sensor portfolio, the team captured representative spaces including the engine room, line handling rooms, pilothouse, promenade deck, and selected topside areas. The process produced fully navigable 3D datasets viewable through XGRIDS, Dot3D, Teleport online viewers, as well as Beast Codes own lightweight 3D visualization suite of tools Beast Core.

These datasets were then applied to early 3D-model development workflows supported by historical ship drawings and reference materials, forming the foundation for metadata creation, hotspot linking within the Reality Capture Plugin (RCP), and future action menu integrations. The effort also included real time spatial streaming demonstrations, such as live LiDAR measurement via an iPad Pro and mobile device scanning to evaluate rapid capture workflows. With postprocessing supported by Anatum Geomobile’s extensive XGRIDS and drone datasets and supplemented by onboard mobile capture, the team validated how multi sensor, multiformat reality capture technologies can be deployed, integrated, and evaluated efficiently within the constraints of a complex shipboard setting.

What we Learned on the Ship  - The Power of Rapid Reality Capture and Mobile 3D Scanning

Through this evolution aboard the SS United States:

• We validated rapid, mobile walkabout 3D scanning has matured to the point where large, complex shipboard environments can be captured with unprecedented speed, flexibility, and fidelity. Midrange SLAM based systems such as the XGRIDS suite consistently delivered centimeter level accuracy, while radiance field and mobile device capture demonstrated how lightweight tools can supplement or, in some cases, replace traditional point cloud workflows.  
• We confirmed diverse datasets, from drones, SLAM devices, mobile sensors, and Gaussian based captures can be integrated effectively to build rich, navigable models of representative ship spaces, especially when supported by robust GPUs and streamlined postprocessing pipelines.  
• This evolution also taught us how different sensors perform under real shipboard constraints such as tight compartments, reflective materials, and variable lighting, and how these limitations can be mitigated through multi-sensor fusion.
• The hands-on field operations reinforced the importance of structured survey control, clear data management practices, and repeatable workflows for turning raw captures into usable engineering products, metadata, and hotspots for the Reality Capture Plugin.  

Ultimately, we demonstrated that modern rapid capture technologies not only reduce the time required to collect and process spatial data but also meaningfully expand what is possible in shipboard digital twin generation, all while strengthening partnerships and operational readiness for future integrations.

Stay tuned for Part Two: The Foundations of Reality Capture: Accuracy and Use Case  where we turn our focus to the foundations of reality capture, Accuracy and Use Case, because defining these two elements at the outset directly shapes every hardware and software decision that follows.

Want to integrate today and see how our solutions can support you and your team? Contact us today.