Rapid Site Surveys Using SLAM Technology

Access All Areas: Geomatics Systems for the Future

The difficulties of undertaking geospatial surveys, particularly in unstable buildings or underground environments, are well documented. However, the pressure to collect accurate, real-time data within strict timelines has certainly intensified in recent years. With increasingly tight deadlines coupled with strict budgets, conducting surveys of hard-to-access sites can be a real challenge for engineering and construction firms. This article explains how new innovations in building information modelling (BIM) are providing an answer with the aid of simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM) technology. As engineering and construction firms grapple with issues such as skills shortages, robust safety regulations and fierce competition for contracts,... (read more)

2018-10-24 04:26:50

NavVis Launches New Solution for SLAM Precision

NavVis, a global leader in mobile indoor mapping, visualisation and navigation, has announced new mapping software that significantly improves the accuracy of simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM) technology in indoor environments, such as long corridors. The software update will be available for users of the NavVis M3 Trolley and will significantly improve the accuracy of the resulting maps and point clouds. NavVis’ mobile mapping system, the M3 Trolley, builds upon SLAM to increase speed and efficiency when scanning buildings. SLAM is a technique originally developed by the robotics industry that is now increasingly being used in surveying and autonomous driving... (read more)

2018-02-08 10:25:26

SLAM-based Portable Indoor Mapping System

At Intergeo, SBG Systems has joined VIAmetris in announcing the MID, a SLAM-based portable indoor mapping system. For this innovation, VIAmetris has chosen SBG Systems’ brand new miniature AHRS, the Ellipse-A. With this system, just walking is enough to map the interior of a complete building. MID integrates 2D Lidar, a camera, an AHRS and a tablet PC that shows the map being drawn while the user walks through the building. As the user walks, the 2D Lidar scans the room in a horizontal plane by measuring 43,000 points per second in a 270° field of view. The SLAM technology... (read more)

2014-10-02 11:49:03

NavVis Deploys SLAM to Automatically Remove Point Cloud Artifacts

NavVis, the Germany-based global provider of indoor spatial intelligence solutions for enterprises, has released new software for the NavVis M6 indoor mobile mapping system (IMMS) that automatically detects and removes dynamic objects and object fringe points from point clouds during the post-processing of scan data. Fringe points and dynamic objects are two common types of point cloud artifacts that affect all 3D laser scanning devices. Fringe points arise when a laser beam hits the edge of an object as well as its background. This scattered beam ultimately appears as a so-called fringe around the edge of the object in the... (read more)

2019-02-14 10:28:24

World War Two Tunnels Surveyed with SLAM Technology

Many historical projects have great significance for a location’s cultural heritage, and indeed its people. For the team at Historic England, this is the fundamental concept of their work in order to conserve pieces of the country’s history. That much was evident with the latest project, the Ramsgate Tunnels, a 5km network of underground passageways which were paramount to the safety of local people in Ramsgate, Kent, England. Once used as an underground narrow gauge railway, built to connect the town and docks to help improve trade links to Europe, the railway soon became a target for enemy bombing. It... (read more)

2019-11-05 09:56:48

Increasing the Accuracy of Mobile Mapping Positioning Using SLAM

Mobile mapping systems usually rely on GNSS observations to maintain high positioning accuracy. Meanwhile, it is often necessary to use these systems to map areas where GNSS observations are not available, such as in tunnels, forests or urban areas with high buildings. Thus there is considerable interest in finding alternative sources of positioning data. A master’s thesis on ‘Increasing the Accuracy of Positioning in Mobile Mapping Systems’ investigated how point clouds from laser scanning can be used to support positioning using simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM) technology. SLAM is the computational problem of finding a robot’s position in an unknown... (read more)

2018-08-08 09:54:43

New GeoSLAM Solution Simplifies Stockpile Volume Analysis

3D mapping and monitoring specialist GeoSLAM has announced a new and innovative product to enable mine operators to quickly and easily build high-density 3D volumetric models within minutes. GeoSLAM Volumes is an end-to-end way to calculate stockpile mass, instantly turning stockpile point cloud data into actionable 3D information for quick decision-making. This is achieved using the company’s handheld Zeb Horizon SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) scanner, which can be utilized on foot or with a UAV. Using lightweight scanners, the solution can capture and calculate complex data, such as the weight and bulk of stockpiles, up to ten times faster... (read more)

2019-12-17 10:30:10

Verity-GeoSLAM Partnership Advances Real-time Construction Quality Management

The partnership between Verity construction verification software from ClearEdge3D and GeoSLAM’s ‘go-anywhere’ 3D mobile mapping technology promises to help architecture, engineering and construction professionals significantly advance their ability to verify as-built field data with design models. The next generation of construction quality assurance/control methodology and technology is integrating simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM) with building information modelling (BIM). GeoSLAM and ClearEdge3D have announced an upcoming beta program that allows as-built construction data measured using GeoSLAM’s hand-held, lightweight mobile laser scanners to be compared against design/fabrication models using ClearEdge3D’s Verity software to quickly and easily identify installation status and out-of-tolerance or... (read more)

2017-09-27 05:25:56

GeoSLAM Showcases 3D Mobile Mapping Technology

GeoSLAM is returning to the GEO Business geospatial conference at the Business Design Centre in London this year after doubling its distribution network in 12 months. The company, specialised in ‘go-anywhere’ 3D mobile mapping technology, is demonstrating its new real-time upgrade option for its market-leading ZEB-REVO handheld mobile mapping system. Visitors to the exhibition can see the upgrade in action for the first time. The revised datalogger, which is compatible with all existing standard REVOs, is able to undertake SLAM registration in real time. The results can be displayed as they are captured, as the datalogger features integrated Wi-Fi, and... (read more)

2017-05-19 12:39:25

GeoSLAM Launches New Innovation for Rapid Urban Mapping

Recently, GeoSLAM announced its latest innovation for rapid urban mapping – the ZEB Discovery. Officially unveiled at Intergeo 2019 in Stuttgart, the ZEB Discovery signifies a new era in data capture and integration of a point cloud with high-resolution imagery. The mapping solution is capable of rapidly capturing intricate data with the use of the company's industry-leading simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) technology and NCTech’s iSTAR Pulsar panoramic camera for ultra-high-definition image capture. The end-to-end solution automatically synchronizes the point cloud with imagery for a unique walk-through of the area of data captured. Combining the two data sources into one... (read more)

2019-10-01 11:33:14