GB2434269A

GB2434269A - Laser measuring apparatus and position determining device for surveying and route clearance measurement

Info

Publication number: GB2434269A
Application number: GB0600897A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Graham Canning Hunter
Original assignee: 3D LASER MAPPING Ltd
Current assignee: 3D LASER MAPPING Ltd
Priority date: 2006-01-17
Filing date: 2006-01-17
Publication date: 2007-07-18
Anticipated expiration: 2026-01-17
Also published as: GB2434269B; GB0600897D0

Abstract

A measuring apparatus 150 is disclosed comprising a vehicle incorporating one or more laser scanners 140, a location determining means 168, and a data processing means162 whereby the data processing means 162 is in communication with the one or more laser scanners 140 and the location determining means 168 such that in use it correlates the data produced by the one or more laser scanners with the location of the vehicle. The apparatus is particularly suited for determining horizontal and vertical clearance along a particular route.

Description

MEASURING APPARATUS

BACKGROUND

a. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to measuring apparatus and a method of operating such an apparatus. In particular, the invention relates to measuring apparatus that comprise one or more laser scanners.

b. Related Art It is useful, for example for planning purposes or for determining routes for high or wide vehicles to know the clearance that there is along a particular route, for both vertical and horizontal clearance. Conventional surveying and measurement techniques are time consuming. Furthermore, the data that is generated using such conventional techniques is often not well suited to being integrated into existing databases or information systems. It is an object of the present invention to address these shortcomings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a measuring apparatus comprising: a vehicle; one or more laser scanners; a location indication means; and a data processing means, the one or more laser scanners, the location indication means and the data processing means being received on the vehicle; wherein the data processing means is in communication with the one or more laser scanners and the location indication means, the data processing means, in use, correlating the data produced by the one or more laser scanners with the location of the vehicle.

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According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of measuring a location, the method comprising the steps of: a) mounting one or more laser scanners on a vehicle; b) taking measurements using the one or more laser scanners; C) determining the location of the vehicle; and d) correlating the measurement data generated in step b) with the location data generated in step c).

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a measuring apparatus adapted for use with a vehicle, the apparatus comprising: one or more laser scanners; a location indication means; and a data processing means, the one or more laser scanners, the location indication means and the data processing means being configured to be received upon a vehicle; wherein the data processing means is in communication with the one or more laser scanners and the location indication means, the data processing means, in use, correlating the data produced by the one or more laser scanners with a vehicle location

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 shows a schematic depiction of a vehicle comprising a measuring apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention; and Figure 2 shows a schematic depiction of a measuring apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the following Figures in which Figure 1 shows a schematic depiction of a vehicle 120 comprising a measuring apparatus 150 according to an aspect of the present invention. The measuring apparatus comprises one or more laser scanners 140 and a control unit 160.

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*5S S S * S * S S S * S * * * *S S * S S S * * S. * : : * . ** 5 Figure 2 shows a schematic depiction of a measuring apparatus 150 according to an aspect of the present invention, comprising three laser scanners 140 and a control unit 160. The control unit comprises a central processing unit 162, volatile storage means 164 and non-volatile storage means 166. The control unit also comprises a location identification means 168 and a data storage means 170. The control unit 160 comprises a data bus 172 to which the central processing unit 162, volatile storage means 164, non-volatile storage means 166, location identification means and data storage means 170 are connected. The data bus has an exterior interface to which the laser scanner(s) are connected. The central processing unit (CPU) receives data from the data bus 172 and processes the data in accordance with the programs being run by the processor. The operating system that controls the operation of the control unit and one or more application programs are held on the non-volatile storage means 166, which may comprise a hard drive or flash memory. The volatile storage means preferably comprises RAM, or another form of memory.

In use, the vehicle progresses along a desired route and the one or more laser scanners are configured so as to scan features of interest along the route. The data produced by the scanner(s) is sent to the CPU, which correlates the data from the scanner(s) with the data received from the location identification means.

The correlated data is held in memory and then written to the data storage means.

The correlated data may be stored within the data storage means 170 either in a simple database or in a more complex manner, for example in a data format suitable for use with a geographical information system (GIS) or integrated into an existing data set. The data storage means may comprise a hard disk, which may be removable such that the data held on the data storage means can be easily transported for further processing and/or analysis using a computer system.

Alternatively, the data storage means may comprise a hard disk and a removable backup medium, such as a tape drive or cartridge.

The location identification means 168 provides the control unit with the location of the vehicle. Preferably the location identification means comprises a global 4832a2.

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* S * S S * * S * * * S. * S S * * S ** * S * * S. positioning system (GPS) unit that is capable of determining the location of the a vehicle to an accuracy of up to 20 metres. The accuracy of the location and orientation can be determined using one or more of a number of techniques, such as differential GPS or the use of some form of dead reckoning (for example, using an inertial measurement unit, such as a gyroscope, and/or data from the vehicle's diagnostics system regarding its speed). Use of these techniques can reduce the uncertainty of the location determination to less than 1 metre and to as little as 10 centimetres.

The preceding discussion has referred to the use of the location identification means to determine the location of the vehicle. It should be understood that the location identification means is also capable of determining the orientation of the vehicle at a particular location and that references to location data should be interpreted to include both location and orientation data. Determining both the location and orientation of a vehicle is commonly referred to as precise navigation.

The configuration of the laser scanners is determined by the nature of the measurements that are to be made. For example, in a if it is required to measure the overhead clearance along a particular route then a first laser scanner is configured to measure vertically upwards and a second laser scanner is configured to measure vertically downwards. In operation, the first scanner will determine the distance to any overhead objects for example, bridges, cables, etc and the second laser scanner will determined the distance to the ground. By combining this data, along with the vertical offset between the two laser scanners, it is possible to determine the overhead clearance at each point measured. By combining this data with the data from the location identification means then the overhead clearance and its variation along the route can be determined.

Preferably the first and second laser scanners are received on a common mounting such that any vibration or perturbation caused by the movement of the vehicle will be common to both scanners and thus any effect on the measured clearance will be minimised or eliminated. In order to further reduce measurement 4832a2 17 January 2006 * *S. * S

S * S S * * S * * 55 * * S * * * * ** S * * S inaccuracy from vehicle vibrations, the laser scanners may be received on a mounting that is able to damp and/or reduce unwanted motion.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, a first laser scanner is configured to measure the horizontal clearance from one side of the vehicle and a second laser scanner is configured to measure the horizontal clearance from the other side of the vehicle. By combining the data produced by the first and second scanners, along with the horizontal separation of the scanners it is possible to determine the overall width that the vehicle's route is received in. Again, the first and second scanners may be commonly mounted or received on a resilient mounting in order to reduce measurement inaccuracy from caused by vibration.

The above-described embodiments of the present invention may be combined and or modified dependent upon the characteristics of the route that need to be measured. For example, first and second laser scanners may be used to measure the vertical clearance and third and fourth laser scanners may be used to measure the horizontal clearance. If the position of a laser scanner can be accurately controlled and stabilised, then it may be possible to measure the vertical clearance using a single laser scanner which is fixed at a known reference height and pointed upwards.

It will be readily understood that the control unit may be implemented using a laptop or desktop computer, with an external GPS location unit, or other location identification means. The location identification means and the laser scanner(s) may be connected to the computer using, for example the USB or the IEEE-I 394 interfaces. The control unit may comprise one or more communications interfaces, for example a wired and/or wireless LAN interface such that data can be extracted from the control unit when the vehicle has is close to an appropriate base. Alternatively, or additionally, the control unit may comprise a wireless communications interface, such as GPRS or a 3G communications interface that enables correlated data to be transmitted to a remote server.

4832a2 17 January 2006 e.e S.' S S * . S * * S S S S * SS S S S S: * * S. * -* S --S It will be understood that the present invention may be used with any vehicle, whether a road vehicle or a train. The laser scanner(s) and the control unit may be mounted in the open, for example on a flat bed lorry as is shown schematically in Figure 1, or the vehicle may be adapted to comprise a number of apertures that the laser scanners can operate through.

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Claims

CLAIMS

1. Measuring apparatus comprising: a vehicle; one or more laser scanners; a location indication means; and a data processing means, the one or more laser scanners, the location indication means and the data processing means being received on the vehicle; wherein the data processing means is in communication with the one or more laser scanners and the location indication means, the data processing means, in use, correlating the data produced by the one or more laser scanners with the location of the vehicle.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising first and second laser scanners, the first laser scanner being configured to measure substantially vertically upwards and the second laser scanner being configured to measure substantially vertically upwards.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising first and second laser scanners, the first laser scanner being configured to measure substantially horizontally in a first direction and the second laser scanner being configured to measure substantially horizontally in a second direction.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first direction is at an angle of substantially 1800 to the second direction.

5. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus further comprises data storage means, the data storage means, in use, storing the data correlating laser scanner data with the vehicle location.

6. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus further comprises a communications interface such that the correlated data can be communicated to a further entity.

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SI * -S - 7. A method of measuring a location, the method comprising the steps of: a) mounting one or more laser scanners on a vehicle; b) taking measurements using the one or more laser scanners; C) determining the location of the vehicle; and d) correlating the measurement data generated in step b) with the location data generated in step C).

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein step b) comprises the steps of I) taking measurements in an upwards, substantially vertical direction; and ii) taking measurements in a downwards substantially vertical direction.

9. A method according to claim 7, wherein step b) comprises the steps of i) taking measurements in a first, substantially horizontal direction; and ii) taking measurements in a second, substantially horizontal direction.

10. A method according to claim 9, wherein the first and second substantially horizontal directions are substantially parallel.

11. Measuring apparatus adapted for use with a vehicle, the apparatus comprising: one or more laser scanners; a location indication means; and a data processing means, the one or more laser scanners, the location indication means and the data processing means being configured to be received upon a vehicle; wherein the data processing means is in communication with the one or more laser scanners and the location indication means, the data processing means, in use, correlating the data produced by the one or more laser scanners with a vehicle location.

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