April 18, 2012 -- The transportation of abnormal loads on UK roads causes average delays per vehicle of 15-25 minutes and the resulting congestion can cost up to a £1600 ($2500) per mile. Planning of suitable routes is now being made easier following a development by 3D Laser Mapping. Using StreetMapper – a mobile laser mapping system – together with advanced Computer Aided Design (CAD) software, the Nottingham company can create real world 3D visualisations of proposed routes modelling the clearance envelope of the vehicle and its proximity to possible obstructions. The StreetMapper ‘Clearance Detection Module’ simulates the abnormal loads’ progress along the route identifying height and width restrictions and highlighting potential collision objects.

“Traditionally this process was time consuming and complex, relying on vector data derived from multiple sources, in different formats and often of questionable accuracy,” commented Jon Chicken, Managing Director of Nottingham based 3D Laser Mapping developers of the StreetMapper system. “Using StreetMapper the proposed route can be surveyed, at normal traffic speeds, without disruption to other road users, in a single pass. The billions of individual measurements captured by StreetMapper are then processed to create a 3D model of the entire route.”

“The Clearance Detection Module combines information about the abnormal load and compares this with the 3D model to automatically simulate turning manoeuvres, calculates ground and overhead clearance and identify possible obstructions such as roadside signs, barriers and overhead cables,” continued Chicken.

StreetMapper has been specifically designed for the rapid 3D mapping of highways, runways, railways, infrastructure and buildings. Using vehicle-mounted lasers offering a 360-degree field of view, StreetMapper enables high precision mapping to a range of 300 metres, a capacity of 550,000 measurements per second per sensor and recorded accuracies in independent real world projects of better than 10 millimetres.

The StreetMapper Clearance Detection Module uses AutoTurnPro 3D CAD software that combines the respected AutoTURN engine together with the patent pending process of generating a three-dimensional vehicle swept path envelopes.  Developed by Transoft Solutions AutoTurnPro 3D provides an advanced solution for modelling and analysing vehicle movements.

CONTACTS:
Charlie Whyman, 3D Laser Mapping Ltd, Email Contact
tel: +44 (0) 1949 838 004, www.3dlasermapping.com