Experience the power of I-Site 3D laser scanners

In the 1970s, when I began surveying, I remember how unimpressed I was with the technology. When I was told there was a machine that could measure the range of a single point over 1,000 feet away, I thought nothing of it.

With chains and plumb bobs, surveyors were already able to do this task. It wasn’t until our boss leased an HP3800A Electronic Distance Meter, and we saw it in action, that we started fighting over it.

I do a lot of laser scanning demos in the field with Maptek mining clients. The mining engineers Maptek encounters are really intelligent people who are good at using available technology to solve problems.

When one of them contacted me a few weeks ago to arrange a demo of the Maptek I-Site Laser Scanner after attending a presentation about laser scanning in the mining industry at his alma mater, I asked what he would like to scan. His reply was that he wanted to scan some stockpiles.

I arrived on site for the demo, which would only take about an hour, and shot the stockpiles. Afterwards he and I went to the engineering office to process the data and as soon as he saw the scan data of the piles, he announced we were going to the mine pit.

We then spent the rest of the day in our coats and hard hats scanning the mine and showing the data to every engineer on site.

Laser scanning is a great tool but without visualizing the output, it might appear to be just more technology. Many engineers have no idea what laser scanning is capable of until seeing the data in 3D on a computer monitor.

At the end of this summer Maptek is planning to host some road tours that will take I-Site laser scanning technology to the users. Our goal is to allow potential users to experience the data in a visual sense, and show them this technology can benefit them. Register to attend Maptek I-Site Truck Tour 2012, or request more information here.