The VS150 is a ruggedised field instrument designed to produce fast, efficient 3D laser scans of underground voids where access is limited, dangerous or prohibited, whilst enhancing the safety of mine operators. The Void Scanner is designed to operate in demanding environments and may be used to measure voids, stopes and rock faces in unsafe, or difficult to access areas. MDL Australia’s Business Manager, Julia Reynolds, says: “an improved drive system and faster scan speeds significantly reduce survey times, saves costs, and improves safety for the operators.  “Real-time acquisition software allows operators to measure, visualise, and compare 360° field of view scans of stopes or voids in less than 7 minutes from start to finish,” The Void Scanner Mk3 is used worldwide for applications such as:

• Stope surveys

• Void analysis surveys

• Disused mine investigation

• Underground rock face mapping

The instrument may be deployed conventionally using survey tripods or by remote control when deployed on rods, booms, masts, lifts and cranes or user-customised deployment devices. The small, lightweight size of the VS150 allows the user flexibility in the nature of the deployment and means that volumes and dimensions which have previously been guessed or estimated can be accurately quantified.

The VS150’s laser employs the ‘time of flight’ measurement technique to measure ranges to rock faces and other objects without the need to place reflectors on the target. This allows measurements to be taken from a safe distance. Two hundred such measurements are made every second up to a range of 150m or 300 m range option and to an accuracy of 5cm. The system is also supplied with the WIFI capability.

Data from the internal pitch and roll sensors are collected in addition to the scan data. This means that all points collected can be accurately geo-referenced and multiple scans can be stitched together. The output data can then be plotted against design drawings or as-built data to help build up an invaluable picture of the project site.

The VS150 is controlled remotely from a PC or handheld device running MDL’s ‘VoidScan’ software which plots the data on-screen in real-time. VoidScan allows the finished scan to be analysed, edited, transformed, combined with other datasets and exported to third party software

The void scanner MK3 will be launched at the Australian Mine Surveyors Conference in August.