Rio Tinto engaged LiDAR specialist MINELiDAR to demonstrate an improved method for convergence monitoring.
SLAM-based LiDAR data, captured by Emesent’s Hovermap mobile mapping system, was compared to traditional tape extensometer measurements.
Designed for GPS-denied, harsh underground environments, Hovermap is able to rapidly scan and process accurate, high resolution point cloud data of drives and other excavations.
Historically, displacement in drives is measured wall-to-wall, using tape extensometers.
This method is time consuming and only measures at fixed, coarsely spaced locations 0.8 m to 1.5 m above the ground; thus creating spatial bias.
The method is also sensitive to damage and replacement of wall pins and can expose personnel to significant underground hazards.
Emesent’s mobile SLAM-based LiDAR mapping system, Hovermap, offers a variety of data capture methods to suit the environment (vehicle, drone, backpack and tether) and can scan a wide area rapidly.
It can be operated remotely, with personnel remaining safe under supported ground, while providing a full understanding of displacement around the target, at an acceptable level of accuracy.