Senior Vice President of Engineering & Chief Technology Officer, Orasure
Search every verified Oliver Zweigle interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In 2016, Oliver Zweigle, then Innovation Manager at FARO, demonstrated a robot designed to automate the 3D scanning process. He stated that the robot was developed to reduce the time operators spend waiting during scans, which typically take eight to ten minutes. According to Zweigle, the robot autonomously moves to pre-set scan points, stops to capture a 3D scan, and then proceeds to the next position, using sensors including a camera and laser scanners for navigation and obstacle avoidance. He described the robot as "very reactive and safe," capable of navigating through crowds without collisions. Zweigle also noted that the robot could be remotely controlled for use in hazardous environments such as nuclear power plants. He explained that users could create a 2D map of the environment via a graphical interface, set scan points, and then initiate an autonomous scanning session. The robot's battery life was cited as six to eight hours, and its speed was set at approximately 0.8 meters per second for safety, though it could theoretically reach two meters per second. Additionally, Zweigle presented a new indoor version of the robot, which he described as lightweight, foldable, and portable in a rucksack for easy transport to scanning projects.
“We have a 3D scanning process where the acquisition and scanning takes some time, basically eight to ten minutes for a normal 3D scan including the pictures, and during this time the operators have to wait. We want to reduce this time as much as possible by automating the complete process with a robot that goes to scan...”
“Besides automation, there is the possibility for people to remotely control the robot directly on their own, for example to go into dangerous areas like nuclear power plants.”
“The robot drives completely autonomously to the next scan point and has obstacle avoidance, driving through people without collisions or problems. It is very reactive and safe, always trying to find the best way around obstacles.”
“We use different sensors including a camera for 3D navigation and two laser scanners, combined with intelligent software that solves the rest of the problem.”
“The main idea is the automation of the 3D scan process so the customer can save time and later automatically register the scans using a 2D map of the environment and a graphical user interface available for Windows or mobile devices.”
“Once the mapping is finished, you can set different scan points on the complete map where the robot will later stop to scan. Then you just press the start scan button, wait for 20 seconds, and the robot will start driving and scanning autonomously.”
“The battery can run six to eight hours depending on how much the robot has to drive, and it is possible to have one working night or one working game with the scanner.”
“The robot can theoretically go up to two meters per second, but in this case, we are running at approximately 0.8 meters per second for safety reasons.”
“We have developed a brand new indoor version of the robot for scanning, made for indoor and flat floors. It is very lightweight compared to the other world versions, mounted on a normal dolly, foldable, and portable in a rucksack for easy transport to scan projects.”
Oliver Zweigle, Innovation Manager, FARO.
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