OWL EYE® TERMINAL

Truck volume scanner —
load volume measured in one drive-through.

Drive-through LiDAR for bulk and tipper trucks: volume, mass and load height — captured alongside your certified weighbridge, at up to 10 km/h.

0–10 km/h capture
±1 % volume accuracy
~ 8 s per truck
−40 °C to +80 °C
See it in action

The full system — in 30 seconds.

Live drive-through scan, dual-mast capture, dense 3D point cloud, dashboard at a glance. Truck in. Truck out. Volume booked.

How it works →
OWL EYE  ·  Drive-through capture · Load volume scanner

Truck load volume measurement, drive-through. No stopping.

OWL EYE® Truck Terminal is an industrial LiDAR system that scans the load volume of inbound and outbound trucks to ±1 % accuracy in seconds — a drive-through complement to the weighbridge, and an alternative to it wherever no legal-for-trade weighing is required.

OWL EYE® TERMINAL is a drive-through load volume scanner — volumetric truck measurement as a dual-mast system: two LiDAR gantries flank the truck lane, capturing each truck as a dense 3D point cloud as the vehicle drives through at up to 10 km/h.

Volume, payload and load height are calculated automatically — automated payload measurement and truck bed volume measurement in a single pass. A pass takes about 8 seconds at up to 10 km/h; the result reaches your truck-management system within seconds after the pass. No driver action, no manoeuvring — captured in parallel to the weighing event.

OWL EYE® TERMINAL is a second source of truth alongside your certified weighbridge: the bridge gives you mass to legal-for-trade accuracy; TERMINAL adds the dimensions a scale can’t measure — volume in m³, load shape, load height and a 3D model per truck. Together you get a plausibility check on every weighing, an overspill / off-centre alert before the truck leaves the gantry, and volume-grade KPIs for the operations the scale never sees (intra-yard moves, dispatch, inventory turnover).

How this runs day to day: case study from a North-Sea port terminal. Need the volume while the truck is still being loaded? OWL EYE® Filling Terminal measures the fill live under the silo spout or wheel loader.

„A truck weigh-bridge tells you how much. OWL EYE® TERMINAL tells you what shape — and where the load sits."

OWL EYE® TERMINAL is in production at K+S salt-mine truck terminals. OWL EYE® systems run at K+S, Aurubis, Nordzucker, Agrana, thyssenkrupp, Lanxess, Egger, Tarmac, Secil and other industrial sites.

Payload measurement · Core capabilities

Three properties that complement the weighbridge.

Dual-mast drive-through

Two LiDAR gantries — one entry, one exit. Truck drives through at full speed.

Dense 3D point cloud

The whole truck captured per pass, reconstructed into one 3D model. Result within seconds after the pass.

Volume + mass + load shape

Volume in m³, mass in tonnes (density-calibrated), and load distribution.

Load volume scanner · How it works

Two masts. One pass. Volume booked.

The truck drives through the gantry. Two LiDAR sensors capture it as a dense 3D point cloud as it drives through and reconstruct a complete 3D load model. Volume, mass and load shape are delivered before the truck reaches the exit.

Applications

Every yard with a truck — every truck with a load.

Bulk and tipper trucks at receiving stations, dispatch yards, weighbridges and processing plants.

Salt & potash receiving Aggregate quarries Sugar-beet receiving Cement & lime trucks Wood-chip dispatch Coal & coke yards Ports & terminals Mining truck loops
Truck volume measurement · Technical specifications

Industrial grade. Outdoor-ready.

Built for 24/7 truck-yard operation, all weather.

Volume accuracy
± 1 %
Capture speed
0–10 km/h
Temperature range
−40 … +80 °C
Protection class
IP65+
Sensor type
3D-LiDAR · multi-vendor
Interfaces
REST · OPC UA · SAP
Connectivity
WLAN · LTE · Ethernet · Fiber
Auto cleaning
compressed-air (optional)
Why OWL EYE®

Why drive-through LiDAR completes the weighbridge.

OWL EYE® TERMINAL captures the dimensions a scale can’t — volume, shape and height — in motion, alongside your certified weighing event.

Capture in motion (no stopping)

Trucks drive through at up to 10 km/h, in parallel to the weighbridge run. No extra queue, no driver intervention, no manual logbook.

Volume + shape, not just weight

The dimensions a scale can’t give you: m³, load distribution, height. Tells you whether the truck is properly loaded or risking overspill.

Field-proven. Outdoor 24/7.

Hardened in K+S salt-mine truck loops — and at a North-Sea port terminal.

ERP / TMS integration

REST API, OPC UA and SAP — book volume directly into your truck-management system, paired with the certified weighing record.

OWL EYE® Software

Every truck. Every load.

The web dashboard logs every truck pass with volume, mass, load shape and timestamp.

  • Per-truck 3D load model archive
  • Live volume / mass / shape
  • Driver, plate, supplier per pass
  • Load-distribution alerts (overspill, off-centre)
  • Daily / shift / supplier reports
  • REST API, OPC UA, SAP integration

DASHBOARD PREVIEW · PER-TRUCK 3D MODEL

Turn-key delivery

Worldwide. Flexible. Reliable.

From yard survey to live drive-through capture — TERMINAL ships as a complete package. Outside Europe, installation and service run through certified local partners in the USA, Canada and Australia + Pacific — see all international partners.

01

Yard survey & gantry planning

On-site survey, lane geometry, gantry foundation planning, sensor calibration.

02

Mount & commission

Gantry mounting, sensor commissioning, network and TMS integration. Typically under three weeks.

03

Training & support

Onboarding for drivers + dispatchers, documented interfaces, 24/7 remote support.

Installation, vehicle ID & price

Gantry, identification, budget — the practical part, answered.

Steel structure: yours or ours

The scanner gantry is simple steelwork. Build it with your own local steel contractor to our drawings — or we organise the complete installation including the structure. Both are standard paths.

Number plate or RFID identification

Every measurement is automatically assigned to the vehicle: ANPR camera reads the number plate, or an RFID reader picks up the vehicle tag. The volume result books against the right truck, order and customer in your ERP — no terminal, no paperwork.

Base system from approx. €25,000

The base configuration starts at approximately €25,000 plus an annual maintenance fee. Site layout, lane count and ID option define the final quote — send us your gate layout and you get a firm offer.

FAQ

Truck Terminal — answered.

The questions we hear most from yard managers and weighbridge operators when they first evaluate OWL EYE® TERMINAL. Need something more specific? Ask us.

OWL EYE® Truck Terminal

What is a load volume scanner? +
A load volume scanner measures the volume of a truck load with laser/LiDAR — no contact — instead of weighing mass mechanically. With OWL EYE® TERMINAL, two LiDAR masts flank the lane; the truck drives through at up to 10 km/h while the system captures it as a dense 3D point cloud and computes volume, payload and load height plus a 3D model per vehicle in about 8 seconds. Compared with a weighbridge: no pit, no stopping, no civil works — and dimensions a scale never sees (load shape, overfill, off-centre loading, residual volume in partially emptied tippers). Use it as a weighbridge alternative or as a second source of truth alongside your certified scale. Details: OWL EYE® TERMINAL — drive-through truck volume measurement.
How does truck volume measurement with LiDAR work? +
Truck volume measurement with LiDAR works on the time-of-flight principle: sensors on two masts fire laser pulses at the passing load and reconstruct the surface profile from the reflections. OWL EYE® TERMINAL captures the vehicle as a dense 3D point cloud as it drives through at up to 10 km/h; the point cloud yields a 3D model of the load — volume to ±1 % accuracy, in about 8 seconds. For payload, the volume is converted via material-calibrated bulk density; empty reference scans per vehicle type also enable residual-volume measurement in partially emptied tippers. Results are handed to truck management, scale software or ERP in under 10 seconds. System page: OWL EYE® TERMINAL; cost comparison vs the scale: weighbridge alternative.
How does a truck volume scanner measure the load volume? +
A truck volume scanner measures the load by its geometry, not by its weight. With OWL EYE® TERMINAL, two LiDAR masts flank the lane and capture the truck as a dense 3D point cloud while it drives through at up to 10 km/h; a pass takes about 8 seconds. The software compares the loaded truck with a reference scan of the same vehicle empty: the space between the empty bed and the load surface is the load volume, measured to ±1 %. Multiplied by the bulk density of the material, the volume gives the payload in tonnes — truck load volume measurement and load height from a single pass. A truck load scanner complements the weighbridge: for legal-for-trade billing, the certified scale remains the reference.
Do trucks need to stop? +
No. OWL EYE® TERMINAL is a drive-through scanner: trucks pass through the dual-mast gantry at 0–10 km/h and the system captures each truck as a dense 3D point cloud while it drives through, processed into a complete 3D load model. Total time per truck is around 8 seconds — no stopping, no manoeuvring, no driver action. The scan itself needs no weighbridge — for legal-for-trade weighing you keep the certified scale. Volume, mass (density-calibrated) and load shape are delivered to your truck-management system before the vehicle reaches the exit.
How fast can the truck drive through the terminal? +
Up to 10 km/h drive-through speed — typical operations run at 5-8 km/h walking pace. The dual-mast LiDAR captures a full 3D snapshot in about 8 seconds. The truck does not stop, does not need to align precisely (a ±0.5 m lateral tolerance is fine), and does not need a driver action — the system triggers automatically on entry via inductive loop, light barrier or RFID.
How does the volume data integrate with our weighbridge / WAA / ERP? +
OWL EYE® TERMINAL ships with REST and OPC UA interfaces and a dedicated weighbridge sync mode that pairs each scan with the matching net-weight reading via vehicle ID, time stamp or RFID. From there the data flows into your WAA, SAP or any ERP — same payload as a manual weighing event, just enriched with volume, load height and a 3D image. Most terminals are live within one shift after the first commissioning day.
Can OWL EYE® TERMINAL replace a weighbridge for truck load control? +
Partly — it depends on what the figure is for. A weighbridge weighs the truck; calibrated and certified, it is the legal-for-trade instrument for billing and custody transfer. OWL EYE® TERMINAL measures the load volume (and, with material density, mass) as the truck drives through at up to 10 km/h — no stopping, no queue. For legal-for-trade weighing, keep the weighbridge. For load control — checking that trucks are not over- or under-loaded, reconciling deliveries, measuring throughput, capturing load shape and off-centre loading — drive-through volume measurement is the faster, queue-free option, and it sees things a scale cannot (the geometry of the load). Many sites run both: the weighbridge as the certified mass reference, OWL EYE® TERMINAL for fast load-control on every pass. If you only need load control and not fiscal weighing, a volumetric drive-through measurement can replace the weighbridge process entirely. Tell us your case at info@sachtleben-technology.com.
What does a truck volume measurement system cost? +
The OWL EYE® TERMINAL base configuration starts at approximately €25,000 plus an annual maintenance fee. The scanner gantry is simple steelwork — built by your local contractor to our drawings, or we organise the complete installation. Vehicle identification via number plate recognition (ANPR) or RFID is available as an option. Send us your gate layout for a firm quote.
What is drive-through truck scanning and how fast is it? +
Drive-through truck scanning captures the volume, height and shape of a truck's load with 3D-LiDAR while the vehicle passes through a gantry — no stop, no manoeuvring, no driver action. With OWL EYE® TERMINAL two LiDAR masts flank the truck lane and capture the vehicle as a dense 3D point cloud as it drives through, which the edge unit turns into a complete 3D load model. Trucks drive through at 0–10 km/h (typical operation is 5–8 km/h, walking pace). End-to-end the system delivers volume in m³, mass in tonnes (density-calibrated) and a per-truck 3D snapshot to your truck-management system in roughly 8 seconds per truck. Compared to a weighbridge, a drive-through truck volume scanner removes the queue and adds load shape — useful for over- / under-load checks, supplier reconciliation and off-centre loading alerts. For legal-for-trade billing you keep the certified weighbridge; for everything else, the scan is the faster instrument.
How many more trucks per hour can OWL EYE® TERMINAL handle vs a weighbridge? +
In practice 2 to 4× the throughput of a stop-and-weigh process, depending on layout. A weighbridge typically processes 30 to 60 trucks per hour — each truck has to stop on the bridge, the driver has to wait for the ticket, and the queue builds at the entrance during peak hours. OWL EYE® TERMINAL measures the load volume as the truck drives through at up to 10 km/h: no stopping, no queue, no driver interaction. Realistic throughput sits at 120 to 200 trucks per hour on a single drive-through lane. The throughput gain only translates to a real operational benefit if the rest of your terminal (gate-in, gate-out, ERP booking) can keep up — we model that for you. For sites where the weighbridge is the bottleneck on peak shipping days, a drive-through volume lane often removes a queue that costs more in driver demurrage than the sensor itself. Tell us your peak-hour truck count at info@sachtleben-technology.com.
Can LiDAR truck scanning replace a weighbridge? +
For dispatch, reconciliation, load-shape control and per-truck volume — yes. The OWL EYE® Truck Terminal gantry runs at ±1 % volume accuracy and ±2–3 % mass after a one-off material density calibration, which covers the vast majority of operational use cases at higher throughput than a weighbridge. For legal-for-trade billing (MID / OIML certification) a weighbridge stays the reference instrument — LiDAR is not certified for custody transfer. The practical pattern at multi-material sites is to keep one calibrated weighbridge for invoicing and run a LiDAR gantry for everything operational: dispatch, queue management, under-/over-fill flagging and per-material reconciliation. The full positioning argument is on the weighbridge alternative page.
What is the accuracy of LiDAR vs a weighbridge? +
A modern certified weighbridge sits at 0.1–0.5 % mass after legal-for-trade calibration. OWL EYE® Truck Terminal LiDAR delivers ±1 % volume directly from the 3D scan and ±2–3 % mass after a one-off per-material density calibration. The accuracy difference matters at the level of a single fiscal invoice — it does not matter at the level of dispatch decisions, daily material balance or under-/over-fill control, where ±2–3 % is far inside the practical tolerance bulk operations already accept (loading variation between trucks is typically larger than this). The detailed side-by-side data table is on the LiDAR vs weighbridge page.
How much does a weighbridge cost vs an OWL EYE® gantry? +
A 60-tonne legal-for-trade truck weighbridge — pit, civil works, load cells, software, gate hardware — typically lands in the €120k–€180k range before site preparation. Recurring annual cost: legal recalibration, load-cell replacement, pit drainage. An OWL EYE® Truck Terminal gantry — two synchronised 3D-LiDAR heads, gantry steel, dashboard licence, commissioning — typically sits in the €30k–€50k envelope for a complete project including commissioning; base configurations start at approx. €25,000. No pit, no load-cell replacement, no annual legal-for-trade recalibration. Recurring cost is one yearly window service and the software subscription. Where the comparison decisively flips is on civil works: a new weighbridge pit alone can run €30k–€60k, and the prepared LiDAR surface is closer to €5k. For the full TCO break-down see the weighbridge alternative page.

Ready to add a second source of truth to your weighbridge?

We survey your truck yard, plan the gantry and come back with a detailed proposal for volume-grade load measurement alongside your certified scale — within a week.

info@sachtleben-technology.com +49 7831 969 22-190
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