KARA/NOVEREN
INDUSTRY: WASTE HANDLING
Laser measuring system automates handling of garbage at KARA/NOVEREN.
Needs
At KARA/NOVEREN there was a wish to automate the crane control, allowing the system to run unsupervised. Puls Design A/S was therefore contacted to implement a laser measuring system, which would be able to locate the highest point of the garbage, thereby allowing the crane to continually grab waste from the highest points and move it to the incinerator.
Solution
Robust and accurate system
Managing director Sven Kallenbach from Puls Design explains: "We chose to use infrared laserscanners, as they provide many advantages over traditional vision solutions made with cameras. The scanners were to be installed in a very dirty and dusty environment - it was therefore necessary that the system did not need any external light sources other than the infrared light emitted from the scanner itself. The laserscanner measures the time it takes for the light to be reflected from a surface and return to the scanner. The obvious advantage of this system, is that we achieve a full 3D-scanning with height specifications in stead of only a 2D image. From this we deduce very accurate information about the highest point of the garbage mound, which is then sent to the crane system allowing it to grab from the right position."
There are two laserscanners mounted on the crane itself, which moves in an X/Y-coordinate system over the garbage. Measured data from the laserscanners is collected in an evaluation unit, where it is processed to create a 3D-image. The evaluation unit is also responsible for communicating with the customer's system.
Great advantages
The advanteges at KARA/NOVEREN's waste incineration plant is that the systems runs fully automated, eliminating the need for a human operator around the clock. This has provided a very stable solution as well as large savings in man power.
Similar systems have been installed at multiple waste handling plants in Denmark.
By Peter de Neergaard
