The Latest Developments in Laser Profiling, Borehole Deviation

And Laser Enhanced Videometry

By
Bob Wells
Measurement Devices Ltd
York, England
Abstract
This paper presents a novel development for the determination of burden in
quarrying and mining applications. Combining data from a laser scanner with an
integrated video camera, together with borehole deviation measurements, gives a
comprehensive overview of the area of rock face to be blasted. This data is modelled
in a unique software package for more accurate evaluation of burden.
Background
Since the development of bench blasting mining techniques in the late 1800s, many
significant improvements have been made in drilling techniques, explosives chemistry
and costs. Until the 1980s however, methods of determining burden relied on such
techniques as holding a plumb line in over the crest, triangulating in on a few points,
use of a burden stick or eyeballing. Early in the 1980s, Measurement Devices Ltd a
Scottish based company, developed rock profiling, borehole deviation and integrated
computerised blast geometry design systems. Initially the systems were aimed at
improving blast safety margins particularly with regard to the avoidance of fly-rock.
Later changes in the UK mines and Quarries regulations reflected the growing
concern for blasting safety and its direct correlation with blast geometry
measurement. Elaborating on early deductions that a safe blast is an efficient
blast, MDL changed the emphasis of their developments with the aim of specifically
providing fast, accurate and concise management information for the control of
blasting through in situ geometry measurements, and reporting.
The results from applying this technique at a number of major quarries clearly
indicate dramatic improvements in blast efficiency, costs and safety.

History of Blasting
The first explosive, gunpowder, was developed in China in the 13th century. This
invention made possible the development of fireworks, rockets and weapons that
propel high velocity projectiles. The first recorded use of an explosive for mining was
in 1627 by Kasper Weindl at the Royal Mines of Schemnits at Ober-Biberstollen,
Hungary. In this application, holes were drilled in rock with hand-held star drills and
sledgehammers. Black powder was then loaded into the holes, a fuse was inserted to
allow personnel to evacuate the area, and the charge was ignited, fracturing and
displacing the rock.
The black powder used at this time was a relatively slow-burning mixture containing
fuel and oxygen and was highly inefficient by modern standards. However, this new
mining method was a significant improvement over the standard pick and shovel.
With the invention of dynamite in 1867 by Alfred Nobel of Sweden, a new age of
explosives development was begun. Unlike black powder, the nitro-glycerine based
dynamite formulation had high detonation velocity and energy. Many variations on
Nobels basic formulation were quickly developed which further increased available
energies and provided other desirable properties such as lower sensitivity and more
water resistance.
The invention of high energy dynamites made modern style bench blasting
economically viable. These explosives quickly became the workhorse of the mining
industry, both above and below ground. Development of the modern rock drill bit
further enhanced mining efficiency and modern bench blasting was born.
The subsequent development of ammonium-nitrate based explosives, emulsions,
slurries, water gels, and improved drilling equipment further improved bench
blasting costs, but did nothing to change the basic technique, which has evolved little
since the late 1800s.

Current Blasting Practices

There are a number of factors to consider when deciding on a specific blast design.
Some of the major factors are: Safety and Environmental Concerns
Placement of holes too close to the free face can result in dangerous fly-rock, a
situation where rocks are sometimes propelled great distances, endangering lives and
property. Excessive noise or airblast can also result, creating public relations
problems with nearby homes and businesses.
Excessive ground vibration created by the blast can also cause environmental
problems and, in extreme cases, damage property. While some vibration is created by
every blast, the problem can be greatly exaggerated by subdrilling (excessive
drilling of blastholes below the bottom of the free face), improper detonator timing
selection, and improper blast geometry.
Production Concerns
The desired rock sized distribution from the blast can vary dramatically from one
operation to the next based on many factors. The major factor to be considered is
the end use of the blasted rock. If the rock itself, or some component of the rock, is
the desired final product, the blasted rock is normally subjected to additional
mechanical crushing steps to further reduce average rock size. Often this secondary
breakage produces a mixture of sizes, which are segregated and sold based on size.
Sometimes the rock is subjected to leaching operations to remove desired minerals
(gold or silver for example) so size distribution is important since it directly affects
leaching efficiency. In other operations, such as cement manufacture, all the blasted
rock is crushed to a relatively small size for processing.
If the rock or its components are not the final product, different blasting strategies
may be employed. Examples of this situation are construction blasting and strip
mining, which is the removal of a layer of rock to allow recovery of a lower layer of a
desired material such as coal. In these situations, the blasted material is to be moved
as quickly and inexpensively as possible and no thought is given to any subsequent
processing of the rock. Occasionally, the blast itself is used to move a significant part
of the blasted rock, thus reducing mechanical loading and hauling costs.
Thus, the desired size distribution from the blast can vary dramatically depending on
the end use of the rock and the type and size of the equipment used to move and
process the results of the blast.

Cost
Another major factor to consider when deciding on a blast design is overall cost of
drilling and blasting the rock mass. The sum of drilling, explosives and labour costs
must be kept to a minimum to ensure the continued competitive viability of the
mining venture.
Blast Design
There are a number of variables under the control of the blaster as he designs the
blast:

Burden - the distance between the blasthole and the free face.
Spacing - the distance between adjacent boreholes.
Sub-drilling - the amount of borehole drilled below the bottom of the free face.
Hole Diameter - controls the amount of explosive, which can be loaded in a given
borehole.
Delay Pattern - the chronological order in which the holes are detonated.
Stemming - the amount of inert material loaded in the top of the hole or within
the hole to contain the explosive energy and products during the detonation.
The procedure described above has a number of uncertainties, which can dramatically
effect the results of the blast:
Inaccurate estimates of shothole burdens can result in substantial variation from
hole to hole, and even within the same hole, of the amount of rock to be blasted
by each unit weight of explosive.
Inaccurate borehole placement and path can also create large variations in
explosive energy distribution within the rock mass.
Uncertainties about rock face height and floor elevation can result in wasted
explosive energy, uneven floor, oversize rock and high vibration.
Incorrect estimates of rock volume and explosive usage, can result in production
cost uncertainties, inventory calculation errors and poor business decisions.

Survey Methods
Early laser profiling methods consisted of a basic 2 dimensional approach to burden
measurement and this technique is still in use and often adequate in many cases.
Points are surveyed at relevant points between the crest and toe of the bench. This
data is manually recorded or collected in some form of logger and downloaded to
the computer. The proposed drill angle, hole offset from the crest are entered into
the software and a profile of the rock face is created graphically. Normally a
tabulated text output of depth and burden is produced at the same time.

Example print out from MDL 2D Profiler Software

Advances in laser design and microchip design have now reduced the early 2D
systems from a power hungry tripod mounted system to a simple hand-held device
that requires only 2 AA batteries.
The latest hardware from MDL, the BurdenAce, now has the capability to measure
and calculate the burden in front of the shothole directly on the laser itself and the
tabulated information printed out on a thermal printer in the field. This pocket-sized
instrument is ideal for verification of burden prior to drilling and is ideal accessory for
the drilling contractor and blast designer.

MDL BurdenAce

Thermal Printer

However, 2D systems are inevitably subjective, in that the points in the profile are the
choice of the individual operator and potentially dangerous burden can be missed by
not picking up enough points to accurately define the true profile.
Another potential error in 2D profiling is not surveying the profile directly in front of
the shothole, which results in an increased burden calculation.

Incorrect
Burden

2D methods are no substitute for a full 3D survey of the face to be blasted but can be
useful ideal for quick calculations and for re-checking profiles prior to detonation.
The major drawback of purely 2 dimensional systems is that the area of the face
either side of the profiles is not surveyed and inevitably this part of the face may well
contain weak burden areas. This limitation has been recognised for many years and
3D systems were quickly developed whereby the entire face is surveyed and profiles
interpolated by the software. This approach allows the blast designer to extract
profiles at any given interval and also to vary the shothole positions and recreate the
profiles again.
However the profiles interpolated from the face survey may still not show the areas
of weak burden which may lie either side of the profiles.
Methods have been devised to look either side of the profile to see if there is an
area of weaker burden but these methods are still subjective and have problems
where a corner or loose end is included in the blast
UK Quarry regulations require the weakest area of burden to be detected on the
face and MDL has addressed this requirement by introducing a new methodology.
The entire rock face to be blasted is modelled as a complete surface and compared
directly with the surface as defined by the proposed blast holes or the surveyed drill
holes, which have been measured using one of the MDL BoreTrak deviation
instruments.
Profiles can be extracted to assist with the design but are not the end result, which
was the previous case. The new method of analysis overcomes the potential areas of
weak burden, which might easily have been missed by a profile based analysis only.
Whilst writing the software for this application it was decided to also incorporate the
latest developments in hardware which includes the integration of a video camera
into laser scanner.
This enhances the data capture and also provides the opportunity to use the
instrument from a remote location and to integrate digital imagery into the
modelling techniques.

Laser Enhanced Videometry (LEV)

The system is the product of integration of a motorised theodolite, a zoomable CCD
camera and a laser range finder. The laser rotates with the theodolite and determines
three dimensional co-ordinates of points using the bearing and distance principle.
The camera provides a visual interactive guide for the laser scanning operation and
also captures images to be used for image-based rendering and, where necessary,
stereo photogrammetric measurement.
A variety of survey techniques are used to collect data for 3D modelling. The most
outstanding ones are digital photogrammetry and laser scanning. The former has the
unique advantage of providing image information for lifelike rendering whereas the
latter provides direct 3D data with the extent of automation and reliability that the
former will struggle to match for a few more years to come. The combination of the
two techniques provides the best of both worlds and potentially more. Such
combined systems have recently emerged for airborne platforms demonstrating huge
potential.
Measurement Devices Ltd have developed this advanced system, with patent applied
for. The aim of the project is to fully exploit the concept of laser, camera and
theodolite combination for various terrestrial-surveying applications. The system
developed is designed to provide a surveying tool that eases the territorial surveying
and exhibits virtually the territory realistically and informatively. It will be a useful
means for environmental planning, production of 3D games and films, quarry 3D face
modelling, architectural preservation and reconstruction etc.
A zoom lens CCD camera and a laser reflectorless range finder are mounted on a
motorised theodolite so that they can pan and tilt panoramically. The zoom CCD
camera used in the system is Sony EVI-371, which is designed for use in camcorders.
The CCD chip is a 1/3 inch interline transfer chip with 752582 image cells and the cell
size is about 6.5(H)6.25(V) microns. The lens can zoom from 5.4 to 64.2mm focal
length in 12 optical settings. The frame grabber used for the system is creative Blaster
IE500 imaging card. It digitises both fields of the composite video input and
generates a digital image.
A desktop or laptop computer can control the zoom lens and the focal length of the
camera. Live image from the camera can be shown in real-time on the computer
screen. The wide angle focal setting is mainly used for capturing image for image
indexing and user interfacing purposing, and long focal settings are used for
measurement and rendering purposes.

The laser and theodolite used in the system are based on an existing product the
MDL Quarryman ALS (Autoscanning Laser System) designed for rock profiling and
scanning. The computer via an RS232 port, can control the laser range finder and the
horizontal and vertical positions of the theodolite. At the same time, the computer
can receive range, horizontal and vertical angles. A control program has been
comprehensively implemented to enable the operator to control the instrument and
the camera from the computer.
The automatic calibration of the interior parameters and the exterior parameters of
the camera is one of the fundamental tasks for the development of the system. The
calibration precision determines the accuracy of the measurement and the realisticity
of 3D rendering on the computer screen. The calibration includes three interior
parameters and six camera-to-theodolite parameters at various focus settings within
the range of zoom.
A rigorous and precise calibration based on the camera-on-theodolite calibration
method was implemented for the manufacturers use
The Principal Point
It is assumed that the optical axis of the camera is straight so that the principal point
for all zoom lenses falls at one point on the image. When the camera zooms in, the
targets on the image move towards the centre of the image. The intersection of all
target paths, while zooming, is considered as the principal point. The control
program was implemented to enable the operator to click targets while zooming in
and out. The computer calculates the average of the intersections of all target paths,
which is considered as the principal point. The principal point needs to be calibrated
several times and the average is taken. For the current camera used in the system, the
principal point is at (3.1, 13.0) from the centre of the image (y downward is positive)
with image size (800600).
The Principal Distance
The principal distance varies with zoom lenses. At each zoom position, the calibration
starts with pointing the camera/theodolite so that the central part of the image is
filled with featured scene. This central part of image is shown as a rectangle and it is
called the interest image in the paper. The angular readings of the theodolite are
recorded in the mean time. A pixel with the most unique surrounding features within
the interest image is chosen as the target point and its image co-ordinates are
recorded. Normally this point has the most features and relatively easy to be
matched. The theodolite is then rotated to 5 positions along four directions: left,
right, up and down. At each position, a corresponding image is grabbed and the
angular settings of the theodolite are recorded. The interest image is moved to
enclose the moved target point by best estimate from previous calibration data. The
target point is then searched and located with sub-pixel precision by area based
matching techniques. A very strict check including back matching etc is performed to

discard some unreliable matchings. If both horizontal and vertical directions have 4
matches discarded, re-calibration is suggested. At least 7 sets of locations of the
target (including the initial target location) with respect to the angular settings of
the theodolite can be obtained along the horizontal and vertical directions.

Target

The target and The principle image

x x0 = f tan( 0 )

(1)

where
x ---- target location in x direction,
x0 ---- Initial location of the target in x direction,
f ---- Principal distance in pixels
---- Horizontal angle of the theodolite
0 ---- Initial horizontal angle of the theodolite associated with x0
x0, 0 and f are unknown. A set of x and have been recorded. The least squares
method is used to fit the equation (1) to solve x0, 0 and f . Because the value of f (the
principal distance in pixels) depends on the image dimension, the horizontal view
angle H is calculated and stored instead,
HR

H = 2 tan 1
2f
where, HR is the horizontal dimension of the digital image in pixels. The horizontal
view angle can also be obtained from the calculation of the vertical direction. If the
calibration results for both horizontal and vertical directions are valid, the average
value is taken. A further check on the reliability of the matching can be conducted on
the basis of the least squares solution.
This calibration method can be conducted automatically without the need of setting
special targets, which enables the user to carry out the procedure at any time
necessary. It is designed for regular instrument check-up purpose. The automation
without the set of targets greatly reduces the cost of the calibration and considerably
increases the ease of the use of the calibration utility.

GENERATION OF 3D MODELS
An algorithm was developed to detect the laser spot on the live image when firing
the laser by considering the offset of the laser and the camera optical axis and the
calibration result. A method of calculating the angular settings of the theodolite
from pixel co-ordinates on the image was derived. That means whenever the
operator clicks one point on the computer screen, the theodolite can pan and tilt to
shoot the target clicked.
An algorithm was also developed to find the laser spot associated with a specific
image. Those algorithms enable the operator to define an irregular polygonal area to
be scanned by using a mouse. Internal points are generated by the computer
according to the scanning density defined. The instrument will automatically carry
out the scanning procedure, grab the image, and collect 3D data with corresponding
location on the grabbed image.
Algorithms and programs were also developed for the construction of a triangulated
irregular network (TIN) model from the collected 3D points. This model can accept
randomly scattered points and an irregular polygonal scanning area with convex or
concave boundary.
The 3D triangular wireframe model of an example scan is shown below together with
the video image draped over the scan.

It can clearly be seen that the enhancement of the video draping on to the mesh
brings greater definition to the overall model and allows for visual inspection and
interrogation.

Borehole Deviation
In many ways performing a scan of the rock face is only part of the overall evaluation
of a potential blast. Unless the actual boreholes are measured accurately then the
burden calculations can only be an estimate of the true value.
Where rock conditions are good and there are no wet holes, in many cases a simple
tape measure a torch and an inclinometer can give a reasonable indication of depth
and drill angle. The direction or azimuth of the hole is less easy to measure but
various mechanical methods have been adopted.
Where such simple methods are not appropriate it is important to measure the actual
borehole direction and to combine this information with the results of the scan of the
rock face. This task was addressed by MDL some time ago with the introduction of
the BoreTrak system.
The principal of this device is based on a pitch and roll probe mounted on the end of
a series of lightweight carbon fibre rods. These rods are of fixed length and measure
the actual hole depth but more importantly will not rotate whilst in the hole. The
probe is also fitted with a clock and records the pitch and roll at a given time interval
during the survey.
A logger at the surface also records the time and the number of rods (depth) down
the hole. The rods are located in a rack at the surface, which is aligned along a
known azimuth. In this way the co-ordinates of hole can be calculated throughout its
overall length.

MDL Rodded BoreTrak System

Recently a new BoreTrak has been introduced which uses a compass for the azimuth
and thus removes the necessity for the rods. Although this makes the overall system
much more lightweight, compact and easier to use there are inevitably potential
problems where there may be ferrous materials in the rock, which can affect the
compass readings.

MDL Cabled BoreTrak

The position of each hole is measured either directly with the laser or as an offset to a
base line on the bench. The co-ordinates of the collar positions are then calculated
and the measurements from the BoreTrak equipment applied to determine the true
path of each of the boreholes. The data from all the boreholes is combined to form a
second surface.

3D model showing proposed and surveyed boreholes

3D Surface Analysis
The two surfaces from the laser scan and the BoreTrak data are compared and an
isopachyte (burden map) surface created. This third surface reflects the burden over
the entire face and is represented as a contoured plan with colour enhancement to
show the percentage of the planned burden. It can be seen immediately whether
there are any potential areas of excessively weak burden without the need for any
further processing.

3D face model showing burden map of face

The model can be further interrogated by a series of cross and long sections in order
to verify that the blast design is satisfactory. If the hole positions are only theoretical
then the software allows for the collar positions, drill angles and proposed burden
values to be amended. The burden map is automatically regenerated and the
results displayed for further analysis. Once the blast design is accepted a report is
generated for the driller and blast engineer to set out the bore hole positions and to
charge the holes accordingly.

Conclusions
This new approach to face profiling should go a long way to assist the reduction of
fly rock incidents as the software automatically detects the potential areas of weaker
burden. The laser scanning is automated to the extent that the operator does not
need to survey individual points other than perhaps the crest and toe lines and the
shot hole positions. As far as the rock face itself is concerned, the only decision to be
made is the spacing of points in the horizontal and vertical axes to determine the
scan density.
Of course the software can only model the data that is surveyed and if the density of
points chosen is not sufficient then the model generated will not be an accurate
representation of the surface. By inclusion of the video the survey can assessed by a
supervisor and potential problem areas identified from the 3D image.
Further development of the system will include automatic edge detection from the
video image so that crest and toe lines can surveyed automatically and the inclusion
of photographs from a digital camera alongside the integrated video. Models will be
merged together for composite mine plans for planning purposes.
It can be seen that by the reduction in size that 2D systems will be used for the most
basic of tasks and for checking. The more advanced 3D systems will be used not only
for blast design, but to provide a full 3D visualisation of the entire quarry site with
walk through facilities.

References
Stephen L Ball, Managing Director, Measurement Devices Ltd, Quarry Face and
Borehole Surveying 1998.