Trimble reported recently that it will begin to distribute Neptec Technologies Corp.’s obscurant-penetrating laser scanners (OPAL) and 3-D real-time intelligence (3DRi) software. In addition, Trimble plans to integrate data from Neptec’s scanners and software with Trimble’s geospatial and enterprise-level mine information solutions for the mining industry.
Trimble said Neptec’s OPAL and 3DRi technologies can be used for real-time sensing, high-resolution data capture and recognition of features and assets. OPAL scanners provide sensing technologies for an accurate view of surroundings and 3DRi software provides intelligence to interpret that input and dynamically track the situation. Adding the OPAL laser scanner to its portfolio of mining solutions, explained Trimble, expands its 3-D laser scanning capability to offer improved data capture and penetration through dust, snow, rain and fog and to operate in high airborne particulate conditions common in mines.
“With operating margins continuously being squeezed, our mining customers are increasingly looking for new technology solutions to measure and optimize the performance of their operations in real time,” said Nathan Pugh, business area director of Trimble’s Mining Division. “The unique ability of Neptec’s OPAL 3-D LiDAR to capture a real-time 3-D view of a harsh and dynamic mine environment, and then extract actionable information without the need for extensive manual post-processing of the data, enables many new geospatial data-driven applications in functional areas such as drill and blast, haulage and materials processing for mining.”
