Traceability for industrial 3D digitalisation by advanced scanning systems

The Directorate “Prosperity” of the EC has highlighted 3D laser scanning as a key enabling technology for the advent of Industry 5.0, which uses new technologies to provide prosperity and growth, whilst respecting the planet. In 3D scanning, a laser rapidly captures surface details, creating digital representations of objects of interest. It has a wide range of applications including structural monitoring in geodesy, large part manufacturing in aerospace, and cargo optimisation in shipping. However, the output of 3D laser scanning is often millions of data points which must be integrated with sophisticated software to extract an image. This can take vast amounts of computational power and currently the measurement uncertainty associated with each individual data point is often worse than more classical probe-based approaches.

To address this, the project will develop software representations of three different laser scanning systems and use these ‘digital twins’ to determine how instrumental, environmental and target factors contribute to the overall measurement uncertainty. Procedures will also be developed detailing how to generate SI-traceable reference datasets for the verification of software analysis packages, including verified datasets of relevant case studies. Results will be used to generate good practice guides and demonstrators detailing how to perform instrument calibration or provide software validation services in this area.

The work is anticipated to increase the use of this technology, allowing a more efficient and reliable monitoring of ageing infrastructures, help optimise cargo logistics with an associated reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, and support complex, digitised workflows in manufacturing, construction, and logistics.