British engineering company, Renishaw, has presented a new mobile 3D mapping product, a laser scanner ‘Merlin’.
According to Reinshaw, Merlin has been engineered specifically for use in the challenging marine environment and to help cut the cost of vessel-based laser scanning.
Using time-of-flight laser technology, Merlin measures and records time-tagged geo-referenced data points above the waterline. This time-tagged information can now be synchronised with the vessel’s bathymetric data captured below the waterline, which means that a detailed 3D map of the full marine environment can be captured simultaneously.
Renishaw said it has worked closely with the hydrographic software companies to develop Merlin’s new dedicated Renishaw SLM driver, which is fully operational with several industry-standard software packages.
“We’re excited to be able to present the hydrographic surveying community with the first laser scanner dedicated to cost-effective marine surveying,” says Karl Bradshaw , Business Manager for Renishaw’s mapping product range. “Merlin is not only versatile, it is also extremely robust – designed and manufactured to Renishaw’s exacting standards. This unique laser scanning system provides survey companies and their end clients with a value-added solution to plan and undertake safer, faster and more comprehensiveprojects and we look forward to working closely with them.”
Renishaw’s Merlin marine lidar system will launch at the Hydro 2015 conference and exhibition in Cape Town this month.