New, bleeding edge technology can often sound more like hype than actual tangible benefits when first uttered. Turn on any business cable channel these days, and you’ll likely hear something about how quantum computers or artificial general intelligence are just around the corner and will revolutionize humanity. Yet, when you look down at your laptop, you realize quantum is probably going to take a bit longer than the eager startups and VC fund managers are promising.
But true progress takes time. And eventually, the new technology that was promised does arrive.
Mobile digital scanning has followed a similar trajectory. Early on to get traction, each and every platform was touted as the future of surveying and it would change workflows immediately. But those early mobile surveying systems had inaccuracy and compatibility issues that limited their full potential, just like any new breakthrough technology.
And like all good science, the utility arrives through constant iteration.
Today, mobile scanning has matured, and a growing shift is quietly taking place on job sites worldwide. Engineers and surveyors are switching from their reliance on traditional stationary surveying tools to handheld LiDAR-based SLAM scanners.
Traditional methods of collecting above surface 3D data traditionally involve the use of terrestrial laser scanners (TLS) or INS-based LiDAR mappers. TLS devices are dependable and have been around for decades, however, they come with quite a few efficiency challenges. They are time consuming and resource-intensive, it is often tricky to achieve full coverage and/or point cloud density in shadowed areas for complete 3D models, and the required in-office processing creates disjointed workflows between survey teams onsite and in-office. INS-based LiDAR mappers allow mapping in motion, however struggle to generate a low noise map and cannot operate in GPS-denied or communications-degraded areas such as under bridges.
Today, there is another option: SLAM-based mobile LiDAR mapping.
Nexys Pro mounted to Seafloor Hydrone for a bridge inspection scan
Using SLAM-based workflows, data is collected continuously in motion at walking/driving pace, eliminating the need to set up individual stations, minimizing any shadows, and saving boat-loads of time in both the field and in the office with post processing. Now a data collection that would take a TLS device around 16 hours can be achieved in 20 minutes (10 minute scan, 10 minutes for post-processing) with a mobile LiDAR-based SLAM platform.
This opens a whole new world of efficiency and cost savings for capturing spatial data in virtually any scenario.
During a single twelve minute data collection exercise where Nexys captured above surface data while the USV performed a hydrographic survey, the team was able to capture shadowless data at 10x the speed of other solutions. Because the Nexys is fully modular, it can be mounted on a boat, and also handheld or vehicle mounted to ensure shadowless coverage in any environment.
Point cloud visualization of bridge, captured by Nexys Pro
Automatic georeferencing of Nexys Pro data and matching GNSS coordinates captured directly in the field via the Trimble DA2 enable low friction data stitching and full compatibility with downstream software, delivering an efficient surveying workflow with seamless data interoperability from capture to completion.
Nexys Pro data overlaid on a GNSS map, lining up perfectly in a real-world coordinate frame
Giving survey teams access to SLAM mobile mappers and autonomous data capture expands the scanning toolkit, allowing teams to take advantage of less weight, fewer systems, and faster capture. In addition, in-field data processing allows them to assess their data collection before leaving the site, helping to avoid costly rework.
