NV5 pioneers adoption of Hexagon’s Leica CoastalMapper

NV5 has become the world's first geospatial firm to acquire and operationalize Hexagon’s next-generation airborne bathymetric Lidar system. The new Leica CoastalMapper represents a major leap forward in how coastlines, rivers and shallow-water environments are surveyed. NV5 is part of Acuren Corporation and a leading provider of tech-enabled engineering, certification, consulting and geospatial solutions.

Developed by Leica Geosystems, part of Hexagon, the CoastalMapper brings together a high-performance bathymetric Lidar, a powerful topographic Lidar and advanced imaging capabilities – all within a compact, lightweight pod. This unique integration allows simultaneous collection of bathymetric and topographic Lidar data alongside high-resolution imagery in a single flight.

The system captures up to one million bathymetric points and two million topographic points per second, producing imagery with a 5cm ground sampling distance (GSD) at standard altitudes. The result: faster, more precise and more complete coastal mapping than ever before – setting a new benchmark for airborne data acquisition in both engineering and environmental applications.

Steep mountainous river terrains

The CoastalMapper’s versatility allows it to fly at higher altitudes than earlier generation systems, making it ideal for surveying complex environments such as steep mountainous river terrains. It supports a wide range of applications including infrastructure resilience, flood monitoring and environmental investigations in both shallow and deep waters.

“We’re thrilled to be the first to bring the Leica CoastalMapper into active service,” said Kurt Allen, president of NV5’s Geospatial Business Unit. “This sensor system opens up new possibilities for our clients – allowing us to deliver richer, more comprehensive datasets across challenging coastal and riverine environments. It’s a leap forward in our ability to support environmental resilience and infrastructure planning with precision and confidence.”

John Welter, president of Geospatial Content Solutions (GCS) at Hexagon’s Geosystems division, added: “Partnering with NV5 to launch the Leica CoastalMapper is a milestone for Hexagon. NV5’s leadership in geospatial innovation makes them the ideal first adopter of this transformative technology. We’re excited to see how they’ll leverage the CoastalMapper to push the boundaries of what’s possible in airborne bathymetric mapping.”