
Road crash laser scanners to save millions of pounds - th0ma5
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14092232
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anigbrowl
I wonder why they use survey-style standing scanners. I'd put a standard
reference marker on the ground and then fly a small quadrocopter UAV around
the scene - for about $10-15,000 you can get pro ones designed to handle the
weight of a pro camcorder and which are robust enough to operate in wind or
rain.

The problem with the laser scanner on survey sticks is that you've got to do
at least 3 scans and even then you're likely to have a lot of 'holes'. If
there's a steep drop at the side of the road then too bad, you're not going to
be able to take any readings from that side. Also, the height from which the
readings are taken would be a limiting factor. It seems to me that a quality
optical camera + laser scanner in the air could quickly deliver 360 degree
coverage of the scene, followed by a zig-zag scan over the top. It wouldn't
take any longer and could give you a much better model of an accident scene.
The significant extra DSP required for all the image processing can be done on
a computer in a police van or back at the station - it need not be realtime,
because you can tell from looking at the stills/video whether you have good
coverage or not.

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dquigley
I've thought this would be a great idea for a long time. Glad to see the
technology is catching up and being implemented. My only concern would be that
someone forgets a crucial angle or some level of detail is missed and then
someone ends up blaming the new technology. Honestly you can miss information
whether you're doing it the old way or with a scanner like this, but whenever
you change processes, it's easy to blame the new technology.

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sramam
wonder how this compares with a kinect.

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vdm
According to [http://www.laserscanning-europe.com/en/blog/3d-laser-
mapping...](http://www.laserscanning-europe.com/en/blog/3d-laser-mapping-
crash-investigations-help-reduce-traffic-congestion)

they're using Riegl VZ-400s. [http://www.riegl.com/nc/products/terrestrial-
scanning/produk...](http://www.riegl.com/nc/products/terrestrial-
scanning/produktdetail/product/scanner/5/)

The (fairly) new Faro Focus is ~€30k, and that's about a quarter the price of
anything that came before it. <http://www.faro.com/focus/us>

Can't wait to get my hands on one of them.

