Modelling the Earth

Two recent projects have shown the true capabilities of scanning in rapidly and accurately collecting the full extent of complex sites.

 

The first image shows an open cut mine (approximately 1.5km long and 1km wide) that was located utilising real time GPS and our vehicle mount. With the scanner mounted to the roof of the car we could efficiently move around the mine to various scan locations and develop a comprehensive model of the pit. With a 2km range on our scanner minimal scans were required to develop the model and the scanning was completed in just a few hours. This data could then be processed into a surface model providing a comprehensive model of the operating pit allowing for accurate volumes and planning for mine operations.

This second image is also from the mining industry but this time it's underground. The images shows part of a 200m long entry portal to the underground mine. The portal was lined with steel ribs and a rough concrete surface. A conveyor designed to be suspended from the roof was noted to be clashing with the portal in several areas requiring a model of the of the portal to be created to ensure the full extent of these clashes could be determined. Scanning was best option as the full portal could be located with the required density in only a few hours. A comprehensive surface model could then be generated and analysis of the design could be done. This analysis consisted of a cut/fill analysis of the design line against the surface model and also a basic visual analysis as can be seen in the image with the red line representing the clashing edge of the conveyor.

Both these projects were completed in a matter of hours rather than days and provided accurate models of complex surfaces that would be difficult and impractical to locate by other means.