Although underwater applications were the primary goal in the development of the ULS-100 and ULS-500 laser scanners, they are equally capable of high definition imagery and measurement with in-air scenarios. Operating the Laser Scanners in Air It is important to note that the scanners do not require any additional parts or modification to the hardware to switch between water and air scanning environments. The only difference is a calibration file the scanning software accesses prior to data collection. One calibration file is provided standard with the purchase or rental of the ULS-100 or ULS-500 and the pair of calibration files can be provided upon request. Applications in Air and Water The bennifit to haveing a single system capable of both in-air and in-water comes down to cost and convenience. Purchaing a single system is less expensive than purchasing a pair of systems and when operating in environments where both in-water and in-air scanning is needed deployment of the laser scanner is far simpler. The ruggedness of the 2G Robotics systems makes them ideal for a wide range of industrial applications when the scanners are to be mounted on robotic vehicles both above and below the water. Additionally, the cost to deploy ...
2G Robotics will be returning to New Orleans this year for the 20th anniversary of Underwater Intervention. The show will be running from the 24th to the 26th of January this year. Underwater Intervention has grown steadily over the past twenty years showcasing world leaders in Remotely Operated Vehicles, Commercial Diving Contractors, Manned Submersibles, and all other aspects of the Underwater Operations Industry. 2G Robotics will be present alongside Roper Resources and the display will include live in-water demonstrations of the ULS-100 and the Scanner and Scanviewer software package. 2G Robotics will also be making a technical presentation to discuss a recent breakthrough solution for creating 3D reconstructions from any archival underwater video. For additional information on Underwater Intervention visit :http://www.underwaterintervention.com/index.htm
Offshore structures are an integral part of the oil and gas industry. Although their construction styles vary greatly; these structures are protected with the utmost level of maintenance to guarantee the livelihood of the employees, the structure, and the environment they are placed within. Some of these platforms are held up by well-engineered jackets constructed of concrete and steel. Due to the hazardous environment these structures can be found in; regular inspections are carried out by the offshore industry to guarantee a high standard of safety to protect against disaster of any kind, minor or major. Subsea Jacket Certification Underwater inspection of these jackets includes the thorough examination of all areas where small or large flaws could occur. Subsea jacket inspection is an ongoing concern for the industry and regular recertification is required for their continued use. High detail visuals are required on key areas such as weld areas and other joint areas found all over the structures. These inspections are often carried out over longer periods during the recertification process. While the importance of such inspections is widely accepted, it is sometimes difficult to discern what the best methods for inspection are, but high detail and reliable information is a ...
The 2G Robotics Underwater Laser Scanner has been used in a variety of markets. Below is a summary of several of the applications where the laser scanner was used effectively for underwater inspection. Offshore Oil and Gas Construction Underwater Laser Scanner Deployed in Antarctica Underwater Pipeline Inspection Underwater Tunnel Inspection
This articles is an excerpt of this paper: Impact Of Water Clarity When Scanning With The ULS-100 click here to view a video presentation of this paper. Turbidity (Silt) Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness of water: water with a high silt content (low visibility) has high turbidity. However, describing the behaviour of light as it passes through water is not easily described by a single turbidity value. As light is transmitted through the water it is scattered and absorbed by the particles. Both scattering and absorption reduce the total laser intensity reaching the target surface, and scattering has the added problem of creating false returns at locations other than the target surface itself. Scattering occurs by the light reflecting in all directions off of the particles in the water. The size of the floating particles has an impact on the scattering characteristics of the light. With many smaller particles in the water the light will scatter relatively uniformly and the scatter pattern will be consistent over time. Fewer but larger particles will scatter light in a more variable manner. Ultimately, the light transmission characteristics of an environment cannot only be characterized by the turbidity value of the water as ...
When performing internal pipe inspections and internal tunnel inspections, measuring ovality and small defects such as cracks, pitting, and spalling can be accomplished with the ULS-100. The ULS-100 digitally captures clouds of 3D points which can be surfaced to represent the object being scanned. This is achieved by capturing a series of adjacent data points, building a complete digital 3D model. This case study demonstrates the performance of the ULS-100 for high precision measurements in a section of tunnel. A tunnel section was created using a rolled piece of sheet metal with a variety of known targets to scan. Tunnel Ovality Measuring the ovality of a pipe or tunnel and understanding how this measurement changes over time is an important component in determining the structural integrity of the asset. Using the ULS-100 the tunnel profile can be measured accurately. Since the ULS-100 captures a complete swath of points at a given location the position and orientation of the scanner head relative to the tunnel itself is irrelevant, ensuring that the an accurate measurement is taken every time. This is in comparison to many existing solutions for tunnel profiling where measurements are captured on a single plane. ...
In underwater inspection, there is a need for sensors that can determine the structure of an asset. Usually represented as a 3D digital point cloud, these measurements are used for engineering calculations, maintenance planning, and ROV localization. The most prevalent technology in this field is sonar, and high frequency multi-beam sonar systems are capable of capturing complete 3D digital point-cloud representations of underwater environments. There are however physical limitations to the resolution capability of these technologies for understanding small yet important features of structures such as cracks and erosion in concrete structures or welds and dents in metallic marine infrastructure. Underwater laser scanners are not affected by the same physical principles as sonar and have the ability to capture details of underwater assets that were previously unobtainable. Underwater laser scanners provide several clear advantages over sonar systems at relatively short ranges. The measurement resolution is multiple orders of magnitude higher, enabling very dense point clouds and laser ...
Jason Gillham of 2G Robotics participated in the Underwater Measurements session of the 2011 SPAR International Conference. His presentation focused on using combining Underwater Laser Scanner data with 3D Underwater Sonar data to obtain a complete understanding of an asset. A recorded video version of his presentation can be viewed below.
2G Robotics is attending Ocean Business 2011 in Southampton UK and sharing booth space with Atlantas Marine. Come and visit us at Booth "S7". We will have a continuous live demonstrations of the ULS-100 Underwater Laser Scanner in our demonstration tank. This is a great opportunity for us to meet if we have not already.
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