Page 20 - Energize April 2021
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NEWS


        Handheld scanner enhances digital engineering skills



               any of South Africa’s assets   packages to provide context for the design teams, reducing reliance on repeated site visits by
               have outdated or missing      bringing the outside world into the office space.
       Mrecords. Whether privately-            However, while Zutari’s mature 3D laser-scanning offering has proven invaluable in
        owned or part of State infrastructure,   mapping indoor spaces to sub-millimetre tolerances, giving its designers and professional
        missing records are unfortunately a   partners confidence that the designs are relevant to the actual physical spaces on-site, there
        common problem. Without accessible   have been notable gaps.
        data, professional teams are hamstrung   These include spaces where layouts are needed quickly, or complex layouts where the
        at the outset of projects, having to make   interaction between adjacent and interconnected spaces has to be understood in a timeframe
        assumptions on the layout, composition   too brief to undertake conventional 3D scanning.
        and condition of facilities.           Another issue is speeding up the process of familiarising designers with a remote site,
           Surveying buildings is a time-    in addition to rapidly capturing the maximum quantity of data, both geometrically and
        consuming activity, often not budgeted for   visually, in an integrated manner so that it can be accessed effectively by engineering
        in the early stages of a project’s start-up.   design applications.
        All too often the professional teams rely on   “We tested a variety of these scanners, and were most impressed by the functionality of the
        educated guesswork and one or two site   SLAM system to enable rapid collection of data, which we used to extract floorplans, volumetric
        visits with photographs to formulate their   spaces and locate plant and equipment in buildings, all as part of our hands-on testing of the
        initial project proposals.           available options,” explains Matchett.
           “When we execute engineering        The main requirements were to be able to spend the shortest time on-site to capture a
        projects, we rely on comprehensive   comprehensive overview, to enable anyone else to visit the site virtually within a day or two.
        base data. Projects that involve existing   The system also had to provide a robust processing interface to combine multiple scans of large
        structures and facilities require accurate   facilities. After extensive testing, the Leica BLK2GO scanner was acquired.
        records of existing conditions. Without   The Leica BLK2GO’s so-called ‘GrandSLAM’ technology combines LiDAR SLAM, Visual SLAM
        proper data, our designs cannot be   and an IMU to deliver best-in-class handheld mobile mapping performance for large indoor,
        founded on fact,” stresses Zutari Digital   outdoor, underground, complex and multi-level spaces. The scanner identifies different surfaces
        Practice Lead Richard Matchett.      and unique geometry in LiDAR data, which it analyses to calculate a 3D position.
           Zutari has met the challenge        Three panoramic cameras identify similarities between consecutive images to calculate
        head-on by investing significant time   the scanner’s movement through 3D space. While walking with the scanner, the IMU (Inertial
        and resources to investigate various   Measurement Unit) senses the movement to calculate the change of position in 3D space.
        technological approaches to capture    “We believe that it is the right tool for the job. This is testimony not only to our confidence
        the reality at its sites in digitised form,   in the use of this technology, but to our dedication to harnessing innovation to augment our
        using virtual environments to assess and   engineering skills in the digital world,” concludes Matchett.
        understand those spaces in a scientific,
        integrated manner.                   Contact Rashree Maharaj, Zutari, Tel 012 427-2000, Rashree.Maharaj@zutari.com
           This has resulted in its recent
        acquisition of the Leica BLK2GO
        handheld imaging laser scanner,
        believed to be one of only two available
        in South Africa at present. The scanner is
        an example of an innovative technology
        known as Simultaneous Localisation and
        Mapping (SLAM).
           SLAM is based on an algorithm
        that combines laser technology with
        photogrammetry and data from
        movement sensors. The handheld laser
        device contains the scanner, cameras and
        movement sensors in a single package.
        When the scanner is carried through
        an environment, it records 450 000
        measurements per second in all directions
        to incrementally accumulate a 3D picture.
           In contrast, Zutari has been using
        drones for over two years to capture site
        conditions, adds Reality Capture Leader
        Louis De Klerk (Jnr). The point clouds and
        ortho-imagery derived in this manner
        are used in its design and spatial analysis



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