Overview
The road pavement inspection vehicle is fitted with Photoneo's 3D MotionCam-3D Color M that utilizes parallel structured light (PSL). PSL is an advanced 3D imaging technique designed for capturing dynamic scenes with high spatial and temporal resolution. Unlike traditional structured light systems, which sequentially project multiple patterns and require multiple frames to reconstruct depth, PSL employs a novel sensor and projection system that captures all necessary depth information in a single exposure.
The system's specially designed sensor architecture decodes this pattern in parallel, utilizing per-pixel modulation or multi-channel filtering to extract spatial phase information simultaneously across the entire field of view.
By eliminating the need for sequential frame acquisition, this technique effectively "freezes" motion, allowing accurate 3D reconstruction of fast-moving objects or rapidly changing environments without motion blur or temporal artifacts. The result is a single-shot, high-resolution depth map that preserves the geometric integrity of the scene at a specific instant in time.
This is especially suited for road inspection vehicle scanning and capturing road pavement conditions as it passes by at normal driving speeds.
Challenges
The use of MotionCam-3D and PSL technique is perfect for pavement inspection by capturing/freezing images for high-res 3D reconstruction for that specific instant. The solution requires a computer at the helm to process all the data, which is a challenge when deploying onto a moving vehicle on the road.
The computer would be subject to constant shock and vibration, and should the vehicle encounter poor road conditions, the effects will be more rigorous. In the long run, components and connectors may become loose, resulting in possible points of failure. And being in a vehicle, the computer must accept its electrical power source from the vehicle, which is susceptible to fluctuations during startups and shutdowns.
The system must also provide connectivity for cameras and other required sensors for the solution to function, and wireless communication technology for real-time data upload. Lastly, the computer must provide sufficient computing power to handle the data streaming from MotionCam-3D, either for storage and subsequent processing or for real-time on-the-fly operations such as fusing individual scans together using libraries like Photoneo 3D Meshing or 3D Instant Meshing.
Solution
Photoneo, now part of Zebra Technologies, chose to implement Neousys' Nuvo series computer to couple with their MotionCam Color M for road inspection. Neousys Nuvo series systems feature E-MARK certifications, EN 50155 (EN 50121) compliance, or MIL-STD-810G compatibility when fitted with patented damping brackets to withstand shock and vibration up to 3Grms.
Capable of operating in temperatures as low as -40°C and as high as 70°C, the systems is powered by Intel® Core™ processors up to 24 cores/ 24 threads, and built-in AI inference capable NPU, or you can install a dedicated NVIDIA® graphics card for more processing oomph. Offering rich connectivity, there are PoE+ ports for cameras to connect via a single cable to provide both data transmission and power delivery; USB3.2 up to 20Gbps bandwidth; COM, digital input/ output ports to connect to sensors and actuators; while SocketCAN offers network-like communication flexibility between in-vehicle applications over traditional CAN bus.
Expansion wise, Nuvo series systems come with mini-PCIe sockets with SIM slots for wireless communication 5G/ 4G or WiFi6/ 5 modules. By installing two modules, they can work in tandem for redundancy purposes in the field for central control room communication, or for vehicle to everything (V2X) applications, etc.
Nuvo systems can be paired with a Neousys patented SuperCAP power backup module to safeguard the computer and protect the valuable collected data. The SuperCAP power backup module monitors the computer's power consumption in real-time, and when a power source failure is detected, it will supply power to the computer and know exactly when to shut down the computer to protect it from sudden loss of power that may otherwise damage the computer hardware and data!
Photoneo, now part of Zebra Technologies, chose to implement Neousys' Nuvo series computer to couple with their MotionCam Color M for road inspection. Neousys Nuvo series systems feature E-MARK certifications, EN 50155 (EN 50121) compliance, or MIL-STD-810G compatibility when fitted with patented damping brackets to withstand shock and vibration up to 3Grms.
