The use of wire mesh or safety netting can often limit the ability to capture detailed measurements of a rock surface resulting in poor or inaccurate information regarding the movement of the slope. SiteMonitor4D from 3D Laser Mapping “uses unique market-leading technology to combat this problem.”

When steeply sloping rock faces break into fragments and release rock debris, close fitting wire mesh and netting is often anchored to the slope face. Vegetation can take root and cause an obstruction to systems trying to measure movement on the slope face itself. SiteMonitor4D can work around these obstructions by using a unique function to record multiple targets for each measurement.

This precise and high-accuracy laser ranging is based upon echo digitisation and online waveform processing. This technology, alongside the small footprint of LiDAR, enables measurements of the wire mesh (first target) and the slope (last target) to be returned. SiteMonitor4D software automatically filters these measurements so that only data from the slope face is analysed.

Unstable rock faces can be monitored extensively, without the need to compromise existing safety measures achieved through applying wire mesh or netting. “SiteMonitor4D can resolve rock fall accumulation and debris movement behind the mesh which can often indicate slope instabilities, even on slopes with over 60% of their surface covered in mesh” commented Dr Sarah Owen, LiDAR Systems Engineer at 3D Laser Mapping.

Monitoring through wire mesh doesn’t have to be a nearly impossible, time-consuming task – a SiteMonitor4D system from 3D Laser Mapping can be used for automatic, accurate slope monitoring with ranges up to 4km away from the slope face.