3-D MAPPING TECHNOLOGIES FOR HIGH LEVEL WASTE TANKS
This research investigated four techniques that could be applicable for mapping of solids remaining in radioactive waste tanks at the Savannah River Site: stereo vision, LIDAR, flash LIDAR, and Structure from Motion (SfM). Stereo vision is the least appropriate technique for the solids mapping application. Although the equipment cost is low and repackaging would be fairly simple, the algorithms to create a 3D image from stereo vision would require significant further development and may not even be applicable since stereo vision works by finding disparity in feature point locations from the images taken by the cameras. When minimal variation in visual texture exists for an area of interest, it becomes difficult for the software to detect correspondences for that object. SfM appears to be appropriate for solids mapping in waste tanks. However, equipment development would be required for positioning and movement of the camera in the tank space to enable capturing a sequence of images of the scene. Since SfM requires the identification of distinctive features and associates those features to their corresponding instantiations in the other image frames, mockup testing would be required to determine the applicability of SfM technology for mapping of waste in tanks. There may be too few features to track between image frame sequences to employ the SfM technology since uniform appearance may exist when viewing the remaining solids in the interior of the waste tanks. Although scanning LIDAR appears to be an adequate solution, the expense of the equipment ($80,000-$120,000) and the need for further development to allow tank deployment may prohibit utilizing this technology. The development would include repackaging of equipment to permit deployment through the 4-inch access ports and to keep the equipment relatively uncontaminated to allow use in additional tanks. 3D flash LIDAR has a number of advantages over stereo vision, scanning LIDAR, and SfM, including full frame time-of-flight data (3D image) collected with a single laser pulse, high frame rates, direct calculation of range, blur-free images without motion distortion, no need for precision scanning mechanisms, ability to combine 3D flash LIDAR with 2D cameras for 2D texture over 3D depth, and no moving parts. The major disadvantage of the 3D flash LIDAR camera is the cost of approximately $150,000, not including the software development time and repackaging of the camera for deployment in the waste tanks.
- Research Organization:
- SRS
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC09-08SR22470
- OSTI ID:
- 992784
- Report Number(s):
- SRNL-TR-2010-00239
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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