Neptec's unique dust-penetrating 3D laser scanner for mining - based on its innovative Space technology - on display at CIM Convention in Toronto May 5-8

OTTAWA, April 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - Neptec Technologies Corp., a spin-out of Neptec Design Group Ltd., an award-winning space flight technology company and NASA Prime Contractor, today announced that it will be exhibiting its new OPAL-360 series of obscurant-penetrating 3D laser scanners at the Planetary and Terrestrial Mining Sciences Symposium, held in conjunction with the Canadian Institute of Mining 2013 Convention, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from May 5 to 8.

"OPAL-360 represents the first step in Neptec's broader strategy to adapt over 20 years of technology innovation for clients such as NASA and the Canadian Space Agency for commercial use on Earth," said Paul Nephin, Chairman and Founder of Neptec. "It clearly demonstrates the value of government investment in space innovations that can be adapted successfully to commercial markets such as mining and oil and gas, and create benefits for Canada in the form of exports and job growth."

Neptec Technologies is taking orders for June delivery of its rugged, multi-purpose 360⁰ LiDAR sensors, which are uniquely suited for autonomous off-road vehicles and robotics applications in harsh environments, as well as more conventional survey, mapping and monitoring tasks. Unlike conventional laser scanners, OPAL scanners can see through obscurants such as dust, smoke or fog and are packaged to withstand the physical abuse they will be subjected to in applications in the mining, oil and gas, and construction industries, and for defence and security applications.

The OPAL-360 is environmentally sealed (IP67) with no externally moving parts, has a -40⁰C to +65⁰C operating temperature range, and is ruggedized to withstand significant vibration and shock levels. It delivers an unprecedented combination of range, data density, acquisition speed and obscurant penetrating capability - all packaged for harsh environments. Different versions in the OPAL-360 series support ranges of 400m out to 3km at accuracies of one centimeter and data acquisition rates of up to 200,000 points per second.

More Information, Less Data!

In real-time applications such as autonomous navigation or monitoring, it's not about collecting and processing millions of data points per second but about collecting the right amount of 3D data that contains the actionable information you really need.

OPAL sensors collect 3D data in 360 degrees in seconds using a unique, non-overlapping scan pattern and can adjust the amount of data being collected in real-time under software control - from sparse to high resolution - without relying on vehicle movement to fill in those "data gaps." They are compatible with Neptec's 3DRi (3D Real-time intelligence) software toolkit, which includes "out-of-the-box" features such as automatic change detection, automatic scan alignment, and object recognition and tracking. OPAL and 3DRi products make it easy to integrate optimized 3D machine vision solutions and reduce development and life cycle costs.

"We are excited about bringing this technology to industries like mining and oil and gas," said Mike Sekerka, Chief Operating Officer at Neptec Technologies. "While full machine automation is the long-term goal in these industries, there are many immediate opportunities to improve safety and productivity with intelligent 3D vision applications that assist the operator and reduce workload. We're already working with clients in the mining sector to define such applications for excavators and haul trucks using our OPAL and 3DRi 'building blocks' to provide practical solutions for the industry."

Neptec Technologies and Neptec Design Group will be jointly exhibiting at the Planetary and Terrestrial Mining Sciences Symposium at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre exhibit floor - accessible to all delegates to the Canadian Institute of Mining 2013 Convention - from May 5 to 8.

About Neptec Technologies Corp.

Neptec Technologies Corp. develops innovative 3D machine vision products for machine automation and robotics applications in harsh environments. The company was founded in 2011 to commercialize space-technologies developed by Neptec Design Group Ltd., an award-winning spaceflight technology company and NASA prime contractor. Our first products are a family of obscurant-penetrating laser scanners (OPAL) and a software development tool kit (3DRi)  with advanced features such as automatic change detection and object recognition and tracking. Together, these out-of-the-box "building blocks" make it easy to integrate intelligent real-time machine vision applications on autonomous off-road vehicles, and for more familiar LiDAR-based survey and measurement tasks in harsh environments. The company is located in Kanata, Ontario. For more information, visit www.neptectechnologies.com .

SOURCE Neptec Technologies Corp.