Asian Surveying & Mapping
Breaking News
China Launches Earth Observation Satellite Gaofen-13 02 for Remote Sensing
China on Friday sent a new Earth observation satellite...
ISRO to conduct young scientist programme in Bengaluru
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is organising a...
Egypt launches second remote-sensing satellite from China
The Egyptian Space Agency’s CEO, Sherif Sedky, announced the...
Israeli-developed DRONE DOME to secure Dubai from aerial attacks
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. is supplying the system...
China launches 2nd Horus remote-sensing satellite for Egypt (video)
China has launched a second remote-sensing satellite for Egypt,...
China obstructs new subsea cable to Taiwan
Southeast Asia-Japan Cable 2 connecting Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong,...
Scientific collaboration between China and US key to tackling climate change, experts say
Efforts to combat climate change bore the brunt of...
ISRO Receives India-US Jointly Built NISAR Earth Observation Satellite, Begins Preparations For Launch
US space agency NASA has handed over NISAR earth...
ISRO conducts parachute deployment tests on rail tracks for Gaganyaan Mission
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has conducted Rail Track...
OceanX helps Riyadh boost best up-and-comers in GEOINT
The Saudi Space Commission has given OceanX the difficult...

May 16th, 2007
Virtually Offshore

Whatever the reason, records kept during the initial construction phase are usually outdated. Refits planned using this data can lead to alterations while the rework is underway, causing delays and increased costs.

Laser scanners are the answer. A typical scanner, such as the Laser Scanner LS from Faro Technologies, is small enough to be flown out to an offshore oil rig by helicopter. At a capture rate of 120,000 points per second, it produces a 360¡ horizontal and 320¡ vertical of 27 million points after only seven minutes.

This cloud of data points generates a virtual 3D photograph in black and white, or in colour. Many scans can be registered together to give a representation of the entire facility, which can be walked through virtually.

Faro’s LS emits an infrared beam into the centre of a rotating mirror. The mirror deflects the laser around the environment being scanned. The laser scanner captures the reflected beam and measures the ‘phase shift’ of the infrared light. The difference in the laser phases allows the on board PC to calculate the distance of the laser from the object. When combined with two encoder readings measuring horizontal and vertical rotation, the x, y, and z co-ordinates of the reflection can be measured.

The addition of recently improved ‘colour option’ software enables scans to be coloured with almost zero parallax error, adding another dimension to the realism of the images. It is particularly useful where pipe colours indicate what they contain.

Once captured, the laser scan is shown on a PDA or laptop inside Faro Scene software, showing all the captured information. Settings for the scan resolution and speed can be altered, and with the click of one button the scanner can proceed with the next scan.

The software creates order and intelligence in the data, and gives planners, engineers and surveyors easier access to the required information.

Headlines