Single laser can measure cargo package dimensions

Laser scanning technology can now read the dimensional weight — or the space a cargo package occupies — with a single laser, providing a faster and more accurate tool for determining proper freight charges.
The system, developed by Freight-Scan and Lincoln Laser Co., uses a single laser scan, rather than the slower, conventional method of measuring the dimensions of a package by hand or by multiple lasers.
The FS100 cargo-scanning system produces a unique digital signature for each package that enables 3D mapping of the size, dimensions, geometry and spatial relationship of the cargo.
That information, along with the gross weight of the package, is used to find the right shipping rates.
“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,” said a release from the high-tech public relations firm Zebra Communications on behalf of FreightScan. “The concept of dimensional weight has been adopted by the transportation industry as a uniform means of establishing a minimum charge for the cubic space a package occupies.”
But until recently, determining a parcel’s dimensional weight, or “dim weight,” mostly has been a manual process, limited to using a tape measure, manually calculating dimen-sional weight, and then comparing that figure to gross weight. Freight carriers use the greater of the actual weight or dimensional weight to calculate shipping charges.
Dimensional weight is commonly used for invoicing by airfreight forwarders, truck carriers and commercial airlines. In 2007, DHL, FedEx, United Parcel Service and the U.S. Postal Service adopted the dimensional weight system for their ground services. Warehouses for transport and logistics companies are also investing in equipment for calculating the dimensional weight of packages.
Other laser scanning systems currently in use require multiple lasers to triangulate the dimensional measurement.