Trimble and Neptec Technologies have announced that Trimble will distribute Neptec’s obscurant-penetrating laser scanners (OPAL) and 3D real-time intelligence (3DRi) software. In addition, Trimble plans to integrate data from Neptec’s scanners and software with Trimble’s geospatial and enterprise-level mine information solutions for the mining industry. Neptec’s OPAL and 3DRi technologies can be used for real-time sensing, high-resolution data capture, and recognition of features and assets. OPAL scanners provide sensing technologies for an accurate view of surroundings and 3DRi software provides intelligence to interpret that input and dynamically track the situation.
Adding the OPAL laser scanner to Trimble’s mining solutions expands Trimble’s 3D laser scanning capability to offer improved data capture and penetration through dust, snow, rain and fog and to operate in high air particulate conditions common in mines.
“With operating margins continuously being squeezed, our mining customers are increasingly looking for new technology solutions to measure and optimise the performance of their operations in real time,” said Nathan Pugh, Business Area Director of Trimble’s Mining Division. “The unique ability of Neptec’s OPAL 3D LiDAR to capture a real-time 3D view of a harsh and dynamic mine environment, and then extract actionable information without the need for extensive manual post-processing of the data, enables many new geospatial data-driven applications in functional areas such as drill and blast, haulage and materials processing for mining.”
“OPAL and 3DRi are a first step in our broader strategy to adapt over 20 years of technology innovation for clients such as NASA and the Canadian Space Agency for commercial use on Earth,” said Mike Sekerka, CEO of Neptec Technologies. “Interest in our technology and products by industry leaders like Trimble is a tremendous validation of our commercialization strategy.”
Neptec Technologies develops innovative 3D sensor-driven solutions for automation and robotics applications in harsh environments. The company was founded in 2011 to commercialise space-technologies developed by Neptec Design Group, an award-winning space flight technology company and NASA prime contractor. Its first products are a family of obscurant-penetrating laser scanners (OPAL) and a software development tool kit (3DRi) with advanced features such as automatic change detection and object recognition and tracking.
The picture shows OPAL scan of haul trucks spotting in an open-pit mine (2 seconds).