ZEB1 Mobile Scanner Puts New Zealand Start-up on the Map

A ZEB1 mobile mapping system is proving to be an integral tool for a business start-up in New Zealand. Qntfi is a new company specialising in building replacement reports and contract scanning services. Purchased from 3D Laser Mapping, UK, the ZEB1 is already bolstering market perception of the fledgling company. The solution – a mobile handheld rapid laser mapping system – has also been successfully deployed on a number of projects achieving higher accuracies, faster rates of data capture and more practical operating procedures than traditional surveying techniques.

Managing director and founder of Qntfi, Jonathan Daley, said he would describe the company primarily as a ‘measuring’ company as opposed to a company of surveyors. The ZEB1 affords Qntfi the capacity to address much bigger projects than other tools in their arsenal. This capacity, in turn, breeds credibility. Qntfi is seen to be an early adopter of technology and the market perception of the business is significantly bolstered, Daley added.

ZEB1 is also delivering significant operational advantages across a range of projects. The system has been used on a building surveying project where limited access made it impossible, using traditional scanning techniques, to obtain relative floor heights – a simple 35 minute walkabout provided all the detail required without any of the drama, commented Daley. The ZEB1 system has also been used within marine architecture to scan both the inside and outside of boats in dry docks. This provides for more accurate marine surveys and from the data the hull of the boat can be modelled and the flow and turbulence, and hence operating conditions, efficiencies and speed, etc., calculated – all as a result of 20 minutes capture.

As a tool the ZEB1 has opened a lot of doors for use and the Qntfi team remains impressed with 3D Laser Mapping, continued Daley. He said his company has ambitious plans for its ZEB1 including assessing and mapping vineyards with seismic damage and surveying sand dunes for comparative analysis.

Developed by CSIRO and commercialised by UK-based 3D Laser Mapping, ZEB1 uses robotic technology called Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM). The ZEB1 system includes a lightweight laser scanner mounted on a simple spring mechanism, which continuously scans as the operator walks through the environment. As the scanner loosely oscillates about a spring, it produces a rotation that converts 2D laser measurements into 3D fields of view. Its ability to self-localise makes ZEB1 ideally suited for use indoors, underground and in other covered environments where traditional solutions that utilise GPS do not function well.