Welcome to another edition of “Customer Stories”. This is a series in which we feature in-depth testimonials and interviews with companies who use photogrammetry and bullet time applications – analysing their work to help other multi-camera setup owners.
Today’s interview is with John Archibald, the Data Processing Engineer at Structural Technologies. He specialises in capturing images of structures and processing them into data which is used to facilitate virtual inspections for clients.
John bought ESPER triggering and powering hardware to build a specialised photogrammetry setup design for scanning in very confined spaces.
Photogrammetry in dirty and hard to access places…
Structural Technologies develops and integrates products, engineering support, and repair and maintenance services to provide value-added solutions throughout the construction industry. We work on various structures from skyscrapers to universities to nuclear power plants.
Our mission – making structures stronger and longer lasting.
I work in the research and development division. We specialise in the data acquisition of a structure’s concrete to perform a strategic inspection for repair work.
The better the image capture, the better the data we can extract. This makes it easier for us to get the best understanding of potential construction repair and thus puts us ahead of the competition.
Because data acquisition is crucial we needed a photogrammetry setup that would provide the client with really high-resolution virtual inspections. These haven’t been possible in the past and this is a market differentiator for us.
Dropping the “homemade trigger” approach
First, I needed hardware that would allow us to remotely trigger all of the cameras in the array.
And we had two options…
Making it in-house by fabricating an electronic circuit, or buying something already available on the market.
The price of the readymade product was comparable to a day, or a few days, of our team’s work. But there are always a bunch of risks involved that could end up consuming more man-hours by trying to pursue a solution.
So we decided to try the solution available on the market – the TriggerBox.
We were really excited to test it. Once it arrived and we tested it I immediately knew it was the right decision. There was certainly no need to spend any more time thinking about homemade solutions.
This gave us great peace of mind.
Everything worked; the interface was super easy to use and overall it was an amazing out-of-the-box solution.
“Software interface is really well designed, intuitive. Hardware works really well to the point where my boss said “When (4 cameras) fire simultaneously it sounds like a single camera!” Saved my team time, effort, and money. Very nice product – I feel lucky to have found this company.”
JOHN ARCHIBALD – DATA PROCESSING ENGINEER | STRUCTURAL TECHNOLOGIES
We no longer had to worry about anything going wrong. We know that the units have been tested by you and there is a guarantee and support in case we need it. One less headache with these neat little boxes!
But there was a hardware communication aspect which worried me.
Our photogrammetry setup needed to integrate with a computer during the data capture so I was concerned that I would need to learn an API or learn how to create a custom interface.
But it turned out to be as simple as learning 6 commands and putting a separate microcontroller to communicate in the serial codes to have full control of the TriggerBox.
Your controller software was super convenient and very simple to use for me. It already had all the necessary functions built in so it only took me an hour to set everything up.
Powering photogrammetry setup without charging or changing the batteries
Powering a convenient mobile photogrammetry setup of expensive cameras was a challenge.
We work in remote places that are dirty and hard to access. Bringing cameras in for an extended period of time necessitates different ways to power them simultaneously.
When first searching for the remote triggering mechanisms that led me to the TriggerBox, I quickly realized the usefulness of the PowerBox – this is exactly what we need.
But I was super hesitant to use anything other than the factory supplied batteries because I didn’t want to damage the cameras. I was also worried that a 9V power capability on PowerBox would not be good for a camera with a 7.4V battery.
“I needed a way to conveniently power multiple expensive cameras. I was super hesitant to use anything other than the factory supplied batteries because I didn’t want to damage the cameras. A little reassurance from the ESPER staff and initial experimentation showed me that I had no need to be hesitant because this product works flawlessly.”
JOHN ARCHIBALD – DATA PROCESSING ENGINEER | STRUCTURAL TECHNOLOGIES
Customer service has been very friendly and helpful.
A little reassurance from the ESPER staff and initial experimentation showed me that I had no need to be hesitant because this product works flawlessly. All of the cameras in the array are supplied with constant regulated power.
Getting new clients with unique scanning offerings
There are not really many other products like it that I’ve found.
Getting hands-on with the TriggerBox and PowerBox was one of the first steps that we took to make this photogrammetry setup a possibility and not just something that was kind of imaginary or a vague idea.
Once we had your hardware and tested it we knew that we could actually get this system made which will open new opportunities for us. Our prototype launch was very successful and this was a big step forward for us.
It has allowed us to create something new that our company has never used before (scanning with multiple cameras in these hard to access locations), which will allow us to appeal to more clients and win work that we otherwise may not have been able to win.
Click here to learn more about ESPER TriggerBox and PowerBox.
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