The fifth Spar Point Research conference, SPAR 2008, on 3D laser scanning, mobile survey and Lidar-based asset management included a debate on an industry ‘wish list’. Laser scanning is an important tool in assessing the current state of a plant, providing a bridge between the physical and digital worlds. A Spar Point survey of asset owners found a ‘groundswell of demand’ for standards.
BP
Deborah Deats, Design and Document Team Leader at BP Texas City put interoperability at the top of her wish list, followed by data management. ‘My crew wants to be able to update a point cloud database with one new scan, without re-registering the whole file.’ Cody Leishman, laser scan specialist at Petro-Canada Oil Sands, agreed on the need for better data interoperability, calling for ‘better control of display and interference tools, more tools for interfacing with engineering models, and attribution of data.’ Chevron’s Kevyn Renner gave this year’s process industry keynote titled ‘3D and the Virtual World—Petroleum Refining Meets Web 2.0.’ More from www.sparllc.com.
This article originally appeared in Oil IT Journal 2008 Issue # 4.
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