Renishaw Presents Merlin

Renishaw, a British engineering company, has launched Merlin, the latest laser scanner in its range of mobile 3D mapping products.

Merlin supports safer, faster and more complete marine survey data acquisition for efficient coastal, offshore and inland waterway project management and enhanced decision-making capabilities for vessel operators.

Renishaw has worked closely with the world’s leading hydrographic software companies to develop Merlin’s new dedicated Renishaw SLM driver, which is fully operational with the following industry-standard software packages:

• HYSWEEP® multi-beam collection and editing software from HYPACK®. Fully operational in the HYSWEEP_15.0.18 version of HYPACK® 15;
• NaviScan and Kuda sonar and laser data acquisition software from EIVA;
• QINSy (Quality Integrated Navigation System) hydrographic data acquisition software from QPS;
• Teledyne PDS software for hydrographic survey and dredging operations (version 3.9.5.4 and newer).

Using time-of-flight laser technology, Merlin quickly measures and records time-tagged geo-referenced data points above the waterline.

This time-tagged information can now be synchronised with the vessel’s bathymetric data captured below the waterline, which means that a detailed 3D map of the full marine environment can be captured simultaneously.