Using a 2D Profilometer to Determine Volume and Thickness of Stockpiles and Ground Layers of Roads

Niskanen, Ilpo; Immonen, Matti; Hallman, Lauri; Mikkonen, Martti; Hokkanen, Visa; Hashimoto, Takeshi; Kostamovaara, J.; Heikkilä, Rauno

doi:10.1061/jpeodx.pveng-1149

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…However, the main limitation of the walking approach with a LiDAR scanner is that, if a stockpile is stacked beyond the field of view of the laser beams, the surveyor will need to climb the stockpile to scan the surface and eliminate/minimize occlusions. Note that, in this context, another approach to measuring stockpile volume is to use a 2D profilometer attached to an excavator, as conducted by Niskanen et al [82]. They conducted a test to measure the volume of a conical soil pile with the reference volume being obtained by two methods: the number of buckets used (which led to a volume of 9.25 m 3 ), and the measurement of the pile's height and radius (which resulted in a volume of 9.54 m 3 ).…”

Section: Lidar Surveyingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stockpile Volume Estimation in Open and Confined Environments: A Review

Alsayed,

Nabawy

2023

Drones

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This paper offers a comprehensive review of traditional and advanced stockpile volume-estimation techniques employed within both outdoor and indoor confined spaces, whether that be a terrestrial- or an aerial-based technique. Traditional methods, such as manual measurement and satellite imagery, exhibit limitations in handling irregular or constantly changing stockpiles. On the other hand, more advanced techniques, such as global navigation satellite system (GNSS), terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), drone photogrammetry, and airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR), have emerged to address these challenges, providing enhanced accuracy and efficiency. Terrestrial techniques relying on GNSS, TLS, and LiDAR offer accurate solutions; however, to minimize or eliminate occlusions, surveyors must access geometrically constrained places, representing a serious safety hazard. With the speedy rise of drone technologies, it was not unexpected that they found their way to the stockpile volume-estimation application, offering advantages such as ease of use, speed, safety, occlusion elimination, and acceptable accuracy compared to current standard methods, such as TLS and GNSS. For outdoor drone missions, image-based approaches, like drone photogrammetry, surpass airborne LiDAR in cost-effectiveness, ease of deployment, and color information, whereas airborne LiDAR becomes advantageous when mapping complex terrain with vegetation cover, mapping during low-light or dusty conditions, and/or detecting small or narrow objects. Indoor missions, on the other hand, face challenges such as low lighting, obstacles, dust, and limited space. For such applications, most studies applied LiDAR sensors mounted on tripods or integrated on rail platforms, whereas very few utilized drone solutions. In fact, the choice of the most suitable technique/approach depends on factors such as site complexity, required accuracy, project cost, and safety considerations. However, this review puts more focus on the potential of drones for stockpile volume estimation in confined spaces, and explores emerging technologies, such as solid-state LiDAR and indoor localization systems, which hold significant promise for the future. Notably, further research and real-world applications of these technologies will be essential for realizing their full potential and overcoming the challenges of operating robots in confined spaces.

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Section: Lidar Surveyingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stockpile Volume Estimation in Open and Confined Environments: A Review

Alsayed,

Nabawy

2023

Drones

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“…Our fusion method and approach combined the advantages of the profilometer, which provides precise position estimations of near objects, and LIDAR, which offers broad field-of-view position estimations at far distances (Immonen et al 2021). The profilometer was used to estimate the volume of soil stockpiles and the thickness of road layers using an excavator based on the acquired multi-4D point cloud information (Niskanen et al 2022). This method facilitated the documentation and visualisation of soil layer quality and soil stockpile volumes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trench visualisation from a semiautonomous excavator with a base grid map using a TOF 2D profilometer

Niskanen

Immonen

Makkonen

et al. 2023

J Vis

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Real-time, three-dimensional (3D) visualisation technology can be used at construction sites to improve the quality of work. A 3D view of the landscape under work can be compared to a target 3D model of the landscape to conveniently show needed excavation tasks to a human excavator operator or to show the progress of an autonomous excavator. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate surface visualisation from measurements taken with a pulsed time-of-flight (TOF) 2D profilometer on-board a semiautonomous excavator. The semiautomatic excavator was implemented by recording the feedback script parameters from the work performed on the excavator by a human driver. 3D visualisation maps based on the triangle mesh technique were generated from the 3D point cloud using measurements of the trenches dug by a human and an autonomous excavator. The accuracy of the 3D maps was evaluated by comparing them to a high-resolution commercial 3D scanner. An analysis of the results shows that the 2D profilometer attached to the excavator can achieve almost the same 3D results as a high-quality on-site static commercial 3D scanner, whilst more easily providing an unobstructed view of the trench during operation (a 3D scanner placed next to a deep trench might not have a full view of the trench). The main technical advantages of our 2D profilometer are its compact size, measurement speed, lack of moving parts, robustness, low-cost technology that enables visualisations from a unique viewpoint on the boom of the excavator, and readiness for real-time control of the excavator’s system. This research is expected to encourage the efficiency of the digging process in the future, as well as to provide a remarkable view of trench work using an excavator as a moving platform to facilitate data visualisation. Graphical abstract

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