The Panoramo Shaft Inspection (SI) system from RapidView IBAK USA provides a complete, three-dimensional, high-resolution digital scan of manholes and other vertical cavities up to 300 feet deep in three minutes, without the dangers of confined-space entry.
The system’s Optoscanner technology uses two digital cameras, one on top of the unit and the other on the bottom. They are equipped with distortion-free, wide-angle lenses, and are synchronized to provide total 3-D coverage of a manhole or other shaft 16 inches to 10 feet in diameter.
“The cameras take photos that are stitched together to form a 360-degree view,” says Matt Sutton, vice president of sales and marketing. “You just lower the system on a cable to the bottom of a shaft, and a winch pulls it up at 14 inches per second. When you get to the top, you’re finished.”
The system can be truck-mounted or used with portable stand. Its inspection speed improves productivity and efficiency, reducing the cost of large-scale assessment programs. One crew can effectively do the job of four, Sutton says.
“A first-timer can do anywhere from 40 to 50 inspections a day, and a skilled user could conceivably do 60 to 70 inspections a day,” he says. “You don’t have to stop and look at anything. Instead, you can assess the images back at the office.”
A strobe flash provides sufficient light, and the camera offers 500 lines of resolution on 360-degree views and 3,000 lines on side views. While reviewing the photos, operators can stop at any point and tilt, pan or zoom, just as if they were in the shaft inspecting it themselves. Detailed, unfolded sidewall views are also available.
“You’re in complete control,” Sutton says. “You can stay at any point for as long as you want. And because the camera takes multiple pictures, it can triangulate points on a wall and provide three-dimensional measurements for rehabilitating. The measurements are very accurate because you’re using all three dimensions.” For information: www.rapidview.com or 800/656-4225.
