UAS Mapping – Where Is It Heading?
The use of a UAS to acquire geodata for mapping purposes has evolved beyond infancy and is now rapidly maturing. How will it evolve in the foreseeable future? The use of an unmanned aerial system (UAS...
Remote Sensing
Remote sensing is all about gathering information on the earth using techniques that are ‘at a distance’ rather than touching the earth. Generally speaking remote sensing produces either point cloud data or imagery. The data is further processed using [geographical information systems] as part of [cartography].
Often Remote Sensing is differentiated by the type of platform or sensor used. Platforms can range from satellites through aircraft and drones to cars and ships. From a sensor perspective, Remote Sensing is a broad field that encompasses techniques such as [photogrammetry] and [lidar] but also [echosounding]. Often a form of ground truthing is required to transform the Remotely Sensed data into comprehensible products.
Shedding Light on Earth
Images of Earth taken at night are revolutionizing our ability to measure and understand nearly every dimension related to human activity on Earth and allow us to get a glimpse into human/Earth intera...
How SLAM Technology Can Support New-build Projects
When it comes to new-build projects, there are numerous significant pressures on delivery, whether it’s keeping to a strict budget, completing on time or even keeping all stakeholders in the loop th...
Drones: The Brilliant, the Bad and the Beautiful
For surveyors, drones or UAVs are simply another tool in the armoury. They are platforms on which to mount sensors – camera, video, infrared, multi-spectrum etc. But for other professionals they hav...
The Power of Visual Documentation in Construction
The Netherlands’ new Quality Assurance Act means that crews may be called on to prove they are building to plan at any point. For this, teams need to have a day-by-day overview of the project situat...
Ask the Specialist: Optimizing BVLOS
What will be the impact of beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) on the application of drones in the geospatial surveying profession? At 'GIM International', we received this question from one of our re...
Circling the Earth
What if circling the Earth were as easy as going on a bike ride? Just imagine: the extraordinary, stunning views from orbit would be accessible to everyone with the same amount of effort as cycling th...
What Cloud Computing Means for Lidar in Construction
Increased focus on cloud computing and point clouds in the construction sector is expected to result in new levels of speed, collaboration and real-time communication. The construction sector is under...
What are the main issues to consider before using UAVs for land administration projects?
Are you thinking about using drones for land administration projects, but don't know where to start? Read on for advice from our specialists. For our ‘Ask the specialist’ features, we invite reade...
The Integration of COWI’s Aerial Mapping Business in Hexagon Geosystems
In early 2020, Hexagon announced it would be acquiring COWI’s aerial mapping business, which is known for its leading position in the European market for aerial data capture and geodata digitalizati...
Digitizing Reality: Automated 3D Point Cloud Data Processing Using AI
How can today's advanced technology solve the challenges that many organizations face after obtaining vast 3D point cloud datasets, such as the management, storage, registration, fusion and extracti...
The Smartphone as a Professional Mapping Tool
To what extent will the smartphone become a professional mapping tool? Modern smartphones already contain many of the important functions to be used as mapping tools. However, whether they are suitabl...
What Are the Main Reasons for Choosing UAV-based Lidar Mapping?
Lidar mapping based on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or ‘drones’) can generally be thought of as a close-range version of manned airborne laser scanning. In brief, lower mobilization costs and mu...
UAVs: Where to Focus on Next?
In June 2018, RSPSoc's 'Photogrammetric Record' publication devoted 11 pages to determining which term they would use for drones. They ultimately decided on ‘unmanned aircraft system’ or ‘UAS’...
Simultaneous capturing of Lidar and imagery
Aerial surveys conducted in the UK and Ireland demonstrate the potential of a combination of nadir camera, oblique cameras and a Lidar unit in one to meet the need for accurate, detailed and up-to-dat...