ABP’s Ports in the North West UK have added value to their survey capabilities by investing in a Carlson Merlin LiDAR scanning system.
The Merlin, supplied by Swathe Services, is a vessel-based 3D mobile laser scanner system engineered for coastal, offshore and inland waterway surveying and will be used to survey important infrastructure around their ports and harbours.
The Merlin has been designed as a mobile unit to integrate with existing hydrographic equipment and can be used on both boats and land vehicles. It’s easy to install, has a 360-degree field of view and gathers up to 36,000 data points per second out to a range of 250m. The system can be used for mapping a variety of above water structures including monitoring quays and harbourside buildings or sand banks and eroding cliffs. All the data is acquired in existing survey software and integrates with current industry standard positioning and orientation systems.
By Jake Frith
