MS-96 stands for “Mobile Scanner” and 96 stands for 96 million image pixels and 960,000 LiDAR points per second.
The system is designed to be modular and to be associated with different types of accessories allowing it to travel with the moving equipment. The scan is carried out thanks to the movement given to the equipment. Without this path, the scanner only makes a very limited point measurement.
The MS-96 is designed to operate in all types of indoor and outdoor environments. It can be equipped with a removable GNSS antenna allowing it to carry out georeferenced scans with very high precision.
The equipment is coupled to an accessory (backpack, vehicle chassis, stabilizing harness, etc.) allowing indoor scans to be carried out (home, basement, industrial building, shopping center, airport, etc.) or outdoors (road, forest, construction site, etc.) without any loss of performance and without impacting the precision of the final data.
The batteries have charge indicators which make it easy to assess their capacity, and to consider their use or recharge. To do this, you must press the button on the front of the battery.
The antenna attaches to the top of the MS-96 system. As the two feet of the antenna are not symmetrical, its position on the system has obvious mechanical fitting.
Once positioned, the user firmly presses the two lower plates of the antenna feet to ensure the electrical connection of the antenna to the system. Then, the user secures the binding by pressing the two “quick locks” on each side.
The batteries are recharged using a dual desktop charger associated with its mains power supply. The desktop charger allows to recharge two batteries simultaneously for a charging time of approximately two hours and thirty minutes.
The MS-96 is designed to be positioned on a support (backpack, car mount, desktop docker, etc.) with which it will connect via SmartConnect (quick connection device between the MS-96 and its docking support). This SmartConnect will thus be able to replicate one or more ports (connectors) to allow the system to interact with the outside, in particular the remote box. This remote box has two major missions:
The connection between the scanner and the remote box is established via a single cable. By default, the kit is supplied with a one meter cable.
The MS-96 kit is supplied in a transport backpack to accommodate the MS-96 and its remote box, a GNSS antenna (accessory), and its desktop support. Its dimensions are compatible with the constraints imposed by a large majority of airlines (side pockets are available to insert the batteries. The latter will be more easily accessible during air transport without having to open the entire bag in passing security controls, thus keeping fragile items under protection and without having to handle them).
The desktop charger is not intended to be stored in the backpack.
Each accessory also comes with its own tailor-made transport case.
The user can refer to the manual corresponding to each configuration.
It is strongly recommended to position the system on its accessory, cable connected between the remote box and the dock associated with the accessory, before any attempt at electrical ignition.
Once plugged in AND the MS-96 system mechanically positioned and locked on its desktop support (or any other support accessory), the operator turns on the system by pressing the circular button located on the remote box. The button will blink in blue and the scanner will emit four (4) power-on beeps. The system also shows that it is powered on by a bright blue stripe.
Several light sequences can be distinguished concerning the power button:
Several light sequences can be distinguished on the light stripe of the MS-96 system:
The operator will choose at his convenience any type of equipment equipped with a Wi-Fi receiver to view and control the system. A smartphone is perfectly appropriate.
To facilitate the connection, the operator can first scan the QR code placed under the remote box or enter the necessary information to connect to the Wi-Fi Hotspot.
Once connected to the system’s WiFi, the operator types the following URL via a web browser of his device: http://app.viametris/
A home page appears listing the existing projects (if applicable) as well as settings and information functionalities.
The user can change some system settings such as language, kinematic model, and image quality.
The kinematic model represents the mode in which the system will operate. Thus, by defining a model, the system will be able to change its internal parameters, adapt its alarms and operating thresholds, and influence the calculation and post-processing. The user can define:
Each accessory can be associated with one or more kinematic models. The user must ensure before starting a project that he is in the correct mode.
In the case of motorized use, on a chassis rigidly fixed to the vehicle, it is preferable to provide the properties of the kinematic model to facilitate data post-processing. These properties will then be used throughout the calculation and will facilitate the configuration of the calculation software (PPiMMS/QINERTIA). This is detailed in the corresponding user manual.
The MS-96 system has 4x very high definition cameras of 24 million pixels each. To support such a data stream at a rate of 5 frames per second, the MS-96 is equipped with a HEVC H.265 compression program allowing it to reduce the amount of data to record and thus relieve the system hard drive.
The user can adjust the level of compression. There are 2 different modes: “Standard” and “High Quality”.
The “High Quality” mode will produce images with better contrast, for cases that requires to distinguish very small objects.
WARNING #1: the contrast of an image is also influenced by motion blur. It is therefore also essential to adapt your speed according to the type of ambient light.
WARNING #2: the “Standard” mode will produce data archives of approximately 1 Giga Bytes per minute of recording.
WARNING #3: the “High Quality” mode will produce data archives of approximately 2 Giga Bytes per minute of recording.
After selecting the settings described above, the operator can start a scan. To do this, the operator selects an existing project or creates a new one. This project constitutes a scan and context container to help the operator manage his different missions. This project can also contain cartographic geometries to help the field operator carry out his mission (see further).
By clicking on the project at stake, the operator adds a new scan by clicking on “New Scan”.
The system switches on each of the sensors. This phase lasts around thirty seconds.
After starting a project, the system will wait to obtain a nominal state for each of the internal components. In the meantime, the recording button is grayed out, prohibiting scanning. Depending on the kinematics defined beforehand, the nominal state is not the same.
The table below describes what the system considers nominal criteria before starting a scan.
The table below describes how to obtain these nominal criteria:
Once the nominal state is reached, the operator starts and stops recording/scanning as many times as desired. A counter at the top of the HTML page indicates the duration of the current scan.
WARNING #4: it is recommended to carry out scans of less than 30 minutes whenever possible to facilitate their subsequent handling.
WARNING #5: starting (or stopping) the scan is based on the same principle: the operator must press the Start (or Stop) button for 5 seconds until the blue wheel around the button has made a complete revolution.
At each stop, the operator will be asked to enter an optional comment. He can then restart a new scan or exit the project as he wishes.
WARNING #6: the system has a security trigger upon inclination: beyond 20° of inclination, the system alerts the operator; beyond 25° of inclination, the scan stops automatically.
WARNING #7: in Outdoor mode, a GNSS reception cutoff > 3min will automatically stop the scan in progress. The operator will then have to return to a nominal state before being able to start a new scan.
The operator can control the power lighting during acquisition when approaching a darker environment. The function is available from the toggle bar on the left of the interface. The operator then selects the flash icon.
WARNING #8: as the power consumed is greater, the system autonomy is divided by 2 when the flashes are on.
Data export can be carried out in different ways:
– Each scan independently or several chosen scans
– A project or several projects containing all the corresponding scans
The operator connects a storage medium (key or external disk) with sufficient free space.
WARNING #9: the external storage media must be formatted in NTFS or exFAT.
During the export, the system creates a tree structure at the root of the media.
The system is turned off either via the interface by pressing the “Power” button or by pressing the physical button located on the remote box.
WARNING #10: if the system is currently scanning, pressing the physical button on the remote box will stop the scan, order the project to exit (sensors turn off) and cut off power to the system.
The desktop configuration allows the system to be used statically on a desktop for management purposes, exporting or deleting existing scans via a USB key or external hard drive, importing geographic files, or even updating update the system firmware.
For this, the kit includes an MS96 desktop support (docker or docking station) allowing you to connect to the system with the one (1) meter cable provided.
The docker must first be connected with the cable, and connected to the other end to the remote box. Once both are connected, the MS96 can be positioned on the desktop docker and the system can be turned on.
Each project created on the MS-96 system can be associated with geometric objects to spatially model the scale of the associated site on the plan background. The operator will thus be able to graphically visualize the project area to ensure the completeness of the data acquired.
To do this, the user can import cartographic geometries (points/polyline/polygons) in GeoJSON format via the external storage medium connected to the USB port of the remote box.
To do this, the GeoJSON files must be specifically located in the right folder on the external storage medium respecting the following tree structure:
[disk root]/[device serial number]/import/geometries/[project name]
The user can then import the geometries via the interface by going in the settings of the project and clicking on “Import spatial data”.
It is possible to update the firmware of the MS-96 system as well as its remote box via a dedicated management HTML page. A firmware update comes in the form of a *.SAR file provided by the VIAMETRIS team.
The user will copy the *.SAR file onto an external storage medium, respecting the following tree structure:
[device root]/[device serial number]/import
WARNING #11: the remote box and the MS-96 each have their own serial number. It is therefore necessary to build a dedicated tree structure for each of them.
This HTML page is accessible via a browser connected to the system hotspot at the following URL:
http://app.viametris:1234/updateLists/
The firmware management page is displayed and the operator can then connect a storage medium to the USB port of the remote box to carry out the update.
Battery charging must be carried out in a dry environment, protected from bad weather, inside a building.
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:
(1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and
(2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.
The Company “VIAMETRIS” is not responsible for any changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance. Such modifications could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.
NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his own expense.
This device must be professionally installed.
This equipment complies with FCC’s radiation exposure limits set forth for an uncontrolled environment under the following conditions:
(1) this equipment should be installed and operated such that a minimum separation distance of 20cm is maintained between the radiator (antenna) and user’s/nearby person’s body at all times.
(2) this transmitter must not be co-located or operating in conjunction with any other antenna or transmitter.
This device contains licence-exempt transmitter(s)/receiver(s) that comply with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s licence-exempt RSS(s). Operation is subject to the following two conditions:
(1) This device may not cause interference.
(2) This device must accept any interference, including interference that may cause undesired operation of the device.
L’émetteur/récepteur exempt de licence contenu dans le présent appareil est conforme aux CNR d’Innovation, Sciences et Développement économique Canada applicables aux appareils radio exempts de licence. L’exploitation est autorisée aux deux conditions suivantes :
(1) L’appareil ne doit pas produire de brouillage ;
(2) L’appareil doit accepter tout brouillage radioélectrique subi, même si le brouillage est susceptible d’en compromettre le fonctionnement.
This applies to all firmware versions.
The user interface on Apple iPhone is incompatible with WebGL 3D technology developed by Apple. It is therefore advisable to deactivate “Metal” usually here:
Settings → Safari → Advanced → Experimental Features → WebGL via Metal
This only applies to the firmware update server “v1.0.0”. The bug is solved from the firmware update server “v1.1.1” onward.
To avoid a “Server error (500)” load the page twice by typing enter in the URL bar.
Do not use page refresh (F5). Instead reload the page by clicking Enter in the URL bar.
It is possible to get an error message when unmounting the disk. To update the other device, simply unplug and reconnect the drive.
In order to optimize and quicken issues resolution, it is recommended when contacting Viametris support to provide the following:
• System serial number
• Precise description of the events preceding the problem
• Photos/screenshots illustrating the problem(s) encountered
