Spotlights
February 10, 2021
Improving safety at Europe's largest port with drone scanning and RealityScan
Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe, covering 105 square kilometers. To ensure the safety of those working in this heavily industrialized environment, regular inspections are performed on jetties and other structures.
These inspections, while necessary, also pose challenges—all work must come to a halt while the inspection is being performed, and the area to be inspected is often difficult to access, even hazardous. For the underside of a jetty, for example, inspectors would ordinarily go underneath in a small boat, which can be dangerous.
These inspections, while necessary, also pose challenges—all work must come to a halt while the inspection is being performed, and the area to be inspected is often difficult to access, even hazardous. For the underside of a jetty, for example, inspectors would ordinarily go underneath in a small boat, which can be dangerous.
To solve these problems, Dutch company Terra Inspectioneering performs high-definition industrial inspection using drones, using not just unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) but also rovers and sailing drones.
The use of this technology leads to shorter downtimes and lower costs, and eliminates the need to put inspectors in potentially dangerous situations. It has the added benefit of being able to provide 3D models for future projects, such as repair and reconstruction.
The use of this technology leads to shorter downtimes and lower costs, and eliminates the need to put inspectors in potentially dangerous situations. It has the added benefit of being able to provide 3D models for future projects, such as repair and reconstruction.
At the Rotterdam port, Terra used drones to inspect a large concrete jetty in Botlek, an area that serves the petrochemical and industrial sectors, as part of the planned inspection the jetty receives every five years.
First, a surveyor determined approximately 20 control points at measured intervals, and marked the points with yellow stickers. Then a sailing drone was sent off to take photos of the underside of the jetty, with the idea of including at least one sticker in each photo.
The photos were then used to create a 3D model of the jetty's underside in RealityScan. To start off the process, the coordinate system was configured in their local system and the control points, measured by the surveyor, were entered into RealityScan. In the next step, the model was scaled to the control points. Lastly, the final model was exported to the client's BIM software to perform clash detection and further construction investigation.
Inspection workflow
First, a surveyor determined approximately 20 control points at measured intervals, and marked the points with yellow stickers. Then a sailing drone was sent off to take photos of the underside of the jetty, with the idea of including at least one sticker in each photo.
The photos were then used to create a 3D model of the jetty's underside in RealityScan. To start off the process, the coordinate system was configured in their local system and the control points, measured by the surveyor, were entered into RealityScan. In the next step, the model was scaled to the control points. Lastly, the final model was exported to the client's BIM software to perform clash detection and further construction investigation.
Overall, around 7,000 images were captured to create the 3D model, which was then used to visualize the jetty. Data capture took one day, and data processing took roughly a week.
Despite weather factors, between the sailing drone and RealityScan, Terra was able to deliver to the client an exact and detailed 3D model of the jetty.
"RealityScan is fast. It allows us to take many pictures without lots of constraints on where the images have to be taken," says Steven Verver, Founder of Terra Inspectioneering, "and it generates fantastic 3D models that we can scale to measured coordinates.”
"RealityScan is fast. It allows us to take many pictures without lots of constraints on where the images have to be taken," says Steven Verver, Founder of Terra Inspectioneering, "and it generates fantastic 3D models that we can scale to measured coordinates.”
Download RealityScan
RealityScan is free to use for students, educators, and individuals and companies with an annual gross revenue below $1 million USD.Above the $1M threshold? Visit our licensing page to find out about your purchasing options.
Download the launcher
Before you can install and run RealityScan, you’ll need to download and install the Epic Games launcher.
Install Epic Games Launcher
Once downloaded and installed, open the launcher and create or log in to your Epic Games account.
Having trouble? Get support, or restart your Epic Games launcher download in Step 1.
Install RealityScan
Once logged in, navigate to the RealityScan tab in the Unreal Engine section and click the install button to download the most recent version.