Cargo scanning system eliminates interference

Using the FS100 cargo scanning system cargo packages can now be static measured, or 'dimmed', using a single laser scan, virtually eliminating system interference in busy warehouse environments.

Developed by Freightscan in collaboration with Lincoln Laser, the FS100 cargo scanning system produces a digital signature for each package, enabling 3D mapping of the size, dimensions, geometry and spatial relationship of the cargo.

The shipping of parcels from one location to another requires the need to accurately assess the amount of capacity required to meet shipping demands.

All cargo has both a scale weight, or gross weight, and a dimensional weight.

By determining dimensions other than, or in addition to gross weight, shippers can pack goods more efficiently and carriers can fill ships, railcars, trucks and airplanes more optimally.

The need for improvement in assessing dimensional weight is felt most critically in the air cargo market.

The problem is with the airlines flight cut off times of several hours before a plane takes off, and their need to handle cargo at the last possible minute.

It becomes virtually impossible to verify the package dimensions given everything that the airlines have to do to process cargo.

Shipping costs have historically been calculated on the basis of gross weight in kilograms or pounds.

By charging only by weight, lightweight, low-density packages become unprofitable for freight carriers due to the amount of space they take up in the truck, aircraft, ship or railcar in proportion to their actual weight.

The concept of dimensional weight has been adopted by the transportation industry worldwide as a uniform means of establishing a minimum charge for the cubic space a package occupies.

Until recently, determining a parcel's dimensional weight or 'dim weight', has been a completely manual process.

The traditional method for determining chargeable weight has been limited to using a tape measure to collect dimensions, manually calculating dimensional weight, and then comparing that figure to gross weight.

Manual measurements are time-consuming, inaccurate and slowdown the workflow.

Despite these limitations, manual 'dimming' is still done liberally today in many warehouses.

Dimensional weight calculates the volumetric weight of packages.

Freight carriers then utilise the greater of the actual weight or dimensional weight to calculate shipping charges.

In the US, domestic air shipments are calculated as (length x width x height)/194, with all dimensions in inches.

For international freight, dimensional weight is calculated as (length x width x height)/166, again using inches.

Dimensional weight is commonly used for invoicing by air freight forwarders, truck carriers, as well as all commercial airlines worldwide.

In 2007, DHL, Fedex, United Parcel Service and the USPS adopted the dimensional weight system for ground services.

Increasingly, warehouses for transport and logistics companies are investing in dimensioning equipment for calculating the dimensional weight of their packages in order to keep in line with their carriers and avoid back charges.

In a typical air cargo distribution centre, for example, approximately 33 per cent of cargo processed actually yields a higher chargeable weight using dimensional weight.

That 33 per cent of cargo generates significant additional revenues, with an average increase to chargeable weight of 255lb.

The challenge then becomes how to pinpoint the 33 per cent of cargo that should be dimmed in order to maximise warehouse resources.

In the handling of freight, technical solutions exist for conveyor-driven cargo dimming, but not for loose cargo, skids and pallets that are frequently handled in space- and time-constrained environments.

The most prevalent technical-based solution used for dimming conveyor-driven cargo is laser triangulation.

In triangulation, a laser is directed on the cargo and uses a camera to look for the location of the laser's dot.

These three pieces of information - the laser's dot, the camera and the laser emitter - form a triangle that determines the shape and size of the cargo being measured.

Laser triangulation, however, is somewhat limited in harsh and busy warehouse environments.

Cameras used in triangulation have a problem dealing with ambient light issues.

As triangulation spreads laser energy out along a line, the field of view has to be opened up enough for the system to view the entire line at the same time.

This greatly increases the probability of ambient light entering into the system, causing dimensioning problems, particularly when the laser is coming into contact with highly reflective surfaces.

Dimm Tech (Defined Imaging and Multiple Measurement) is a technical system used for scanning a piece of cargo or multiple pieces of cargo, and obtaining a unique defined image, or digital signature.

In essence, it is a three-dimensional laser imaging system used for measuring the static dimensional weight, or 'static dimming', of freight on a skid.

Static dimming refers to packages that do not get processed on a conveyor system.

It accurately defines the dimensions of boxes that are to be loaded into a cargo hold to maximise the efficient use of space.

Multiple packages can be dimmed with a single scan, and Dimm Tech will generate individual sets of measurements for each package.

A typical configuration will allow for up to four packages to be placed in the scanning area, and with one scan the system will provide four distinct sets of length, width, height and dimensional weight.

The software associates all scans with an air waybill, tallying the total dimensional weight for the shipment regardless of whether it is a one-lot or a 72-lot shipment.

It allows for static dimming of all cargo without interrupting the flow of throughput.

Using a combination of 3D laser range finding and laser raster scanning, the system directs a precisely positioned laser light source on the intended cargo area.

The reflected light then travels back to the system, as well as scattered ambient light.

The FS100 cargo scanning system ignores light from sources other than the laser, so there is no interference, effectively mapping the cargo's physical features with very high resolution.

Dimm Tech was developed by Freightscan, which provides technology solutions for the freight and logistics industry, and released under the product name Freightscan FS100.

Freightscan collaborated with Lincoln Laser Company to refine the laser end of the Dimm Tech and provide turnkey system manufacturing.

Freightscan initially designed the system electronics, user software package, hardware layout and provided rough documentation of the system's performance.

Lincoln Laser was then brought in to take the system from its working prototype state into a technically precise unit, and to productize the system so it could be manufactured for mass production.

Then Lincoln provided full documentation of the unit's operability within a test environment.

Glenn Stutz, vice president and chief operating officer of Lincoln Laser, said: 'We helped them fully develop their breadboard into a final working system.

'For example, we redesigned the optical system, boosting its signal output by 400 per cent.

'Our aim was to help Freightscan engineer the product so it would function at optimum performance and be ready for manufacturing.

'The system scans with a single laser, where other systems require multiple lasers.

'It takes all of the laser's energy and concentrates it on a single point.

'The FS100 has an efficient rejection of ambient light compared to other systems, and the often-used triangulation, and therefore it is much more accurate.' Lincoln Laser has also taken on manufacturing of the FS100 unit.

The Freightscan FS100 scans loose cargo, multiple packages, skids and pallets and then quickly identifies higher yield shipments.

It completes full scans of dimensional cargo in four seconds, with precise measurements to within 1in.

Multiple lot shipments can be scanned in skyline mode, which measures total volume of the shipment and generates an alert that dimensional weight is greater than gross weight.

Warehouse personnel can then break down the shipment and obtain individual dims to charge using dimensional weight.

Shipments without such an alert are then processed using gross weight as the chargeable weight.

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