Velodyne Lidar recently signed a multi-year agreement with long-standing partner Visimind, a Swedish company that provides customers in the EMEIA region with integrated solutions, including mapping and vegetation management. Visimind’s solutions are powered by Velodyne Lidar’s Puck, Ultra Puck and Alpha Prime lidar sensors.

Visimind is a leading provider and expert in airborne mapping of power lines and portable solutions for major European energy distribution companies like EDF, Terna, RTE, E.ON and Vattenfall. Visimind offers a line of products to energy distribution companies that enable better control of infringements and vegetation maintenance as well as complete mapping capabilities for power lines. Visimind’s outstanding solutions powered by highly precise OxTS IMUs and Velodyne Lidar sensors contribute to increased public safety by securing precise information to energy distribution companies.

Velodyne Lidar sensors for best performance

Visimind selection of Velodyne sensors was driven by high performance, ease of integration, lower power usage that enables long operation and convenient, portable systems. Daniel Öhman, CTO of Visimind explains, “We have been in the mapping business for more than 20 years. Since our first lidar integration in 2007 and have since then tested many sensors available on the market. We were impressed by Velodyne Lidar’s performance and outstanding quality in challenging weather conditions and environments. I’m proud to integrate sensors from such a renowned American manufacturer who pioneered 3D lidar technology that drives further innovations embracing multiple industries.”

One example of a successful integration using Velodyne’s lidar is Visimind’s PLCT. The PLCT is a handy tool for real-time control of vegetation infringement. Visimind’s most recent project with EDF-SEI in France involves using PLCT in the field to detect places with vegetation in dangerous proximity to power lines. Lidar data from the Velodyne’s Puck sensor combined with Visimind’s software will detect the power line in real time and accurately measure the distance to vegetation.

Another example of the Vismind and Velodyne’s partnership is the E-Cutter, a Visimind system designed for machines dedicated to pruning. E-Cutter enables real-time control of the corridor width during pruning of vegetation under power lines. It enables the operator to work more efficiently and precisely. The product uses a roof mounted Ultra Puck to detect the power line and the cutting head of the machine.

For mapping, Visimind has built the mDAM system, which incorporates a Velodyne lidar sensor, INS and one or more cameras. The mDAM has used both Velodyne’s Ultra Puck and alpha Prime sensors. The system can be mounted on a drone, car, helicopter or similar vehicle to create detailed surface maps of accessible and less-accessible terrain.