Mailbox - Sensor Fusing

Surveyors of the Month: Team Geokno

This month's Survey Team Geokno. Geokno (www.geokno.com) deals in geospatial knowledge products and services, taking advantage of the long research and development tradition of IIT Kanpur in these areas. The team is carrying out structural measurement of a high-rise chimney to establish the quality of its construction. Team Geokno measured the chimney using a terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) supported by a network of control points established using a total station (TS). The work was challenging to perform, with difficult survey, planning and data-processing considerations. Its start up is currently being incubated at IIT Kanpur.

Sensor Fusion

In my November editorial I speculated as to the sort of simplification we might expect in aerial laser scanning; inventions such as ready-to-use systems, maybe, or other combinations and integration of equipment to further improve measurement. I asked if the market was ready for sensor fusion: a photogrammetric camera system with high-quality Lidar, making just one flight necessary for data acquisition, and 65% of people responded that they would welcome integrated techniques such as Lidar combined with a photogrammetric camera system. While in November I remarked that this was already within the realms of technological possibility, it would appear already to exist. AELIS let me know that their Beechcraft King Air B200 is a multipurpose special-mission aircraft offering it all: photogrammetry and aerial survey flights. Modified under EASA-approved STC, the aircraft is fitted with two holes of 52cm diameter and ready to take on worldwide missions thanks to its performance and complete avionic system. This market evolution is allowed by the dual holes of the B200 and capacity to reach 35,000 feet. According to the manufacturer, this can only enhance operator productivity. For more information search for Beechcraft on our website.

By Roosmarijn Haring, editor in chief, GIM International