A Portable Laser Backpack For 3D Mapping

wooferhound writes "A portable laser backpack for 3D mapping has been developed at the University of California, Berkeley, where it is being hailed as a breakthrough technology capable of producing fast, automatic and realistic 3D mapping of difficult interior environments. ... The backpack is the first of a series of similar systems to work without being strapped to a robot or attached to a cart. At the same time, its data acquisition speed is very fast, as it collects the data while the human operator is walking; this is in contrast with existing systems in which the data is painstakingly collected in a stop-and-go fashion, resulting in days and weeks of data acquisition time. It utilizes novel sensor fusion algorithms that use cameras, lasers range finders and inertial measurement units to generate a textured, photo-realistic, 3D model that can operate without GPS input and that is a big challenge."

Comments

Re:Cavers

[miketheanimal]

I'm a caver. It would last about 30 seconds in most cave environments. It wouldn't even fit in the cave I explore most.

Re:Big Challenge

[Scorpinox]

Every year more and more companies are releasing algorithms that are getting better at automatically turning that data into simple 3d models. As someone who reduces this "raw" point cloud data by hand, these new methods are both a blessing and a curse in terms of ease of use/job security.

Re:As Someone Who 3D Maps for a Living

[nospam007]

Trucks and planes are not very useful in prehistoric caves.

Alternate use - camera fogger?

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

Since it sounds like it is able to scan a room with a laser and detect the reflections I'd like to see a version that can detect cameras and blind them automatically.

Something like a combination of their system and the spyfinder.

False positives would be no big deal if you've got enough laser sources - its not going to hurt to "blind" a false positive reflection.

Re:Big Challenge

[Yetihehe]

So in this case those programs are just tools which make your job easier. Congratulations, you still have job security and not mindless work. In many other fields this is the same. People who did mindless work, now can do other tasks which are probably more gratifying and use their intellect more.