Trimble V10 Imaging Rover

Hi Mike - We have a V10; it doesn't get used much but when it does it can be a lifesaver. We mainly use it for valve sites and substations, it's fantastic if access is a problem at something like a valve site, and it allows you to shoot everything in a substation without ever getting within 15 or 20 feet of anything.

The thing with the V10 is that every station has to have several points that can be seen from at least two other stations in order to get a good adjustment; it takes some practice to get good at it. TBC is doing an adjustment of the positions as well as the compass and tilt data in order to properly georeference the photos. And you definitely want to make sure your TBC is current because they keep making improvements to the workflow.

It doesn't take any time at all in the field; all of the time is in the processing. The great thing about it is that we've already had two instances where the client called and wanted something that wasn't in the original scope, and we were able to give it to them in minutes and didn't need to revisit the site. If you need to capture a dynamic site in a state and be able to revisit it in that state the V10 is great.

The only real drawback I can think of is that the cameras are only 5 MP, so the resolution isn't great - there is probably a practical limitation of 120' or so with it unless you're looking at something that really stands out, like the top of a tower. And even at only 5 MP, when you start taking panoramas with 12 of them you fill up some memory fairly quickly. The data transfer from the V10 to the data collector is via cable; it's much faster with a tablet than it is with a TSC3. But you don't have to stand there and wait for it; once the panorama is captured you can start moving.

I hope your Trimble dealer has someone on staff who really knows how to use it, and is experienced in processing the data; a day of really good quality training will save you some headaches with the learning curve.

Feel free to contact me at the e-mail in my profile if you have any questions.

Lee

Somewhat steep learning curve if trying to learn without good training. We have a V10, and so far have been only doing test projects to get up to speed. We did not get any training (wasn't offered to us), but there are a number of tutorials and videos available. I think a well written manual with step-by-step instructions would be very valuable, but of course it is a limited market so the costs of doing that might be hard to recoup. Once you figure it out the process is pretty straightforward. Proper field procedures need to be followed.

I would consider it a "poor man's scanner". A terrestrial laser scanner is much more useful, in my opinion, but also costs a lot more and takes more time to get the data. I do believe it is a good tool to have. We have been using a Trimble GX scanner since about 2007, and just ordered a new TX8, which is much quicker.

Our "test" area is close to the office, and we scanned it with a loaner TX8 and also did the V10 capture, and we are in the process now of comparing data, results, and workflow. I just got a call that the TX8 scanner we ordered several months ago arrived at the dealer today, so we hope to get that soon. One thing we have not yet worked with is imagery collected with the new scanner. It does not have an on board camera (the GX does, but it was relatively low resolution), but there is a camera kit that we also bought which uses a 24MP camera. The nice thing about that is the higher resolution, and we can upgrade to even higher resolution in the future. Our main client wants imagery as well as point cloud data.

http://trl.trimble.com/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-727421/Product%20Bulletin%20-%20Trimble%20TX8%20External%20Camera%20Kits.pdf&apos ;">Trimble External Camera Kits

I definitely agree with everything John said. We don't own a scanner, but I have some background with them. The niche that the V10 fits is the job where you need 300 points, not 300,000,000.

is there any document or video available that shows V10 processing data workflow ?
is it easy to extract objects from point cloud in TBC ?

I haven't looked, but I'm pretty sure there are videos on YouTube. There are also at least two tutorials on working with V10 data in TBC; you may need to have TBC to access them. I found the tutorials and white papers to be helpful but there's no substitute for working hands-on with it.

Hi,
Putting new life in this old conversation.
It looks as if the V10 is no longer in production, but might still be available.
Anyone still using the unit? Were there any software upgrades for TBC to smoothen the workflow for making linework out of the pictures.
New insights to Share?
I was wondering if the unit could be used for collecting as-built data on cables.

Christof.

My unit had a problem that seemed to be firmware or communications related, so they had to send it to somewhere in Europe. That was months ago, still have not gotten it back. In fact, I had forgotten all about it, I need to find out what is going on.

I believe it could be used for cables. The problem would be getting "pass" points between images unless it was in an urban setting with lots of features in the background that could be used to tie images together.

We still have one that we use periodically for as-built on things like valve sites and electrical sub stations. By cables I assume you mean power lines? It would work but it's not well suited for long linear corridors.

Hello Lee,

can you please send me documents ? i couldn't find anything on you tube .

I got TBC 4.1 and didn't find anything on tutorial .

please share here if you have any documents .

best regards

they are several files here which one must replace with new version and where i can find latest version of antenna and receivers ?

C:ProgramDataTrimbleIGSConfig

Hello, i have found a cheap V10 rover is it possible to use it with spectra sp 80 rover or combine it with other receivers ?

It would be very useful for me in some cases that i do not need a million point from laser scaner!

Just add to this thread, Trimble has pretty much dropped support for the V10, at least in TBC. It was a cool product that filled a niche but the SX10 is a far better, more versatile solution.