The Owl Eye system uses innovative LiDAR sensors (Light Detection and Ranging). These 3D laser sensors record the environment and create a point cloud of the surrounding contour. This is a form of three-dimensional laser scanning. Using the known density of the bulk material, the volume can be converted into a mass. The measurement, evaluation and visualization is done via a web server application with a connected powerful database.
Stockpile inventory as know-how
Sachtleben Technology GmbH has a high-precision Riegl laser scanner with a range of up to 1.2 km. This is used to scan quarries, open-cast mines, bulk material stockpiles or buildings three-dimensionally as a service. For this purpose, the scanner is set up at various set-up points and the individual point clouds are merged into one large common point cloud. The data from the quarries and open pits are then analyzed for slope monitoring for the mining office. For inventory purposes such as year-end inventory, volumes are calculated from the scanned bulk piles. The evaluated volumes are then converted to mass using the known bulk density.
This knowledge has been incorporated into the Owl Eye System’s algorithms, so that automated data evaluation is reliable and precise.
Digitally measured and logged
The Owl Eye System developed by Sachtleben Technology is used for measuring and logging of bulk material stockpiles. Any bulk material can be recorded. It is detected by modern 3D LiDAR (laser) sensors. These scan the environment by day and by night and record a 3D image. This is then automatically evaluated by the Owl Eye software developed in Germany and visualized via an intuitive dashboard. Finally, the stockpile volumes are evaluated. For this purpose, the volume between the recorded contour and the ground is calculated. The ground can have any shape. With a point cloud of good quality, a volume accuracy of ±1 % is achieved.
Another application within the Owl Eye system is the so-called ”Stockpile History Management”. This means that stockpiles can be scanned at any time intervals (e.g. hourly) and a record can be generated of which part of a stockpile has been at which location and for how long. This also works when a stockpile is dumped on or against another stockpile. The stockpile is divided into discrete blocks. Information can be added to each block individually or grouped. Information can be laboratory data, grades or any notes. Each information can be additionally assigned a color, so that you have a quick overview of the composition of the stockpile. It is also possible to color the stockpile by age.
Inventory at any time
In times of raw material shortages, purchasers are often faced with the challenge of ordering raw materials. The problems often consist of material shortages and supply bottlenecks. It often turns out that an unplanned order for raw material can sometimes have significant consequences for production and sales. It is therefore even more important to know how much raw material is still available in the flat stores. This is especially true when it comes to high-priced materials or when delivery times are very difficult to predict. To deal with this problem, the Owl Eye system from Sachtleben Technology GmbH can be used to precisely record and evaluate bulk material inventories in flat stores. However, the system can be used not only for inventory purposes, but also for process optimization and control. For this purpose, the scanning frequency can be increased as desired and, for example, a measurement can be performed every five minutes. In addition, a 3D image is saved for each measurement, so that the measured values and inventory can be optimally tracked in retrospect. Open interfaces allow access to the data within the database via third-party systems such as an ERP system.
Authors:
- M.Eng Quirin Kraus - Sachtleben Technology GmbH,
- M.Sc Severin Kraus - Sachtleben Technology GmbH
