The Queensland Centre for Advanced Technologies (QCAT), a world-class research facility in Australia for the mining, energy and manufacturing industries, has developed an automated technology for estimating the volume of material contained within the tray of various haul trucks. Two proximity lasers are placed high above the roadway to enable them to scan each truck as it passes underneath. A dedicated embedded system is used to achieve high-speed communication between the lasers and a ruggedized field computer where the data are processed. The system can run unattended, but time-stamped video is recorded from the sensors' point-of-view for later reference if needed.