Aerodata Completes Data Acquisition in The Netherlands

Aerodata Int. Surveys (Belgium) has announced the completion of aerial photography of the province of Zeeland (The Netherlands) with her own digital frame camera, the 90-megapixel Vexcel UltraCam-D, at 15cm GSD (Ground Sample Distance). In three days of perfect weather conditions more than 5.000 photos with stereoscopic overlap were taken over an area of around 3.000km², after which the data acquisition of built-up areas with 7,5cm GSD commenced. Only a few days later all 15cm imagery had passed quality assurance to enable further digital processing (orthorectification and mosaicking) without any delays. The complete dataset will be ready and will be... (read more)

2005-04-13 12:00:00

Medium-format Cameras for High-accuracy Mapping

Field Test of the Phase One iXU-RS1000 Camera

Small and medium-format cameras are increasingly gaining popularity for mapping small and medium-size areas, corridors, construction sites and cities. They are also used as companions of Lidar systems, mounted on unmanned aerial systems (UASs), and for monitoring and inspecting infrastructure. The author of this article investigated the suitability of the Phase One iXU-RS1000 camera for high-accuracy mapping and found this medium-format camera to be a metric camera with stable and clearly definable interior orientation parameters, producing images of high geometric and radiometric quality. In photogrammetry it is important that cameras produce images of which the geometric distortions are as small... (read more)

2018-01-17 10:09:48

Palm-sized Dual Frequency RTK GPS receiver

Geneq has presented one of the world's smallest dual-frequency (GPS L1/L2) GPS RTK receivers for high-accuracy GIS data collection. The SXBlue III GPS is weighing slightly more than one pound (517g) and fitting comfortably in the palm of your hand. Equally small is its patch antenna. At 5.5cm wide and weighing 80 grams, according to Geneq it is one of the smallest dual-frequency antennas in the world. The SXBlue III GPS offers 51 channels of proven 1-cm RTK performance and tracks L1 C/A code and L1 P(Y)/L2 P(Y) carrier phase as well as SBAS (WAAS/EGNOS/MSAS/GAGAN). Support for RTK Networks is... (read more)

2010-11-17 11:13:01

DIMAC Systems IT Rack

DIMAC Systems (Luxembourg) has unveiled its latest generation IT Rack, the centralised image acquisition system of its renowned DiMAC (Digital Modular Aerial Camera). The IT Rack has been designed to be fitted on any type of aircraft, from small single engine planes to large bi-turbo ones. Its design, size (HxWxD: 44x27x36cm /17x11x14 in) and weight (35kg/75lbs) make this tailor-made anti-vibration rack easy to install on and remove from any aircraft. The IT Rack is made of three high-quality components: the Master Computer Unit, the Slave Computer Unit and the Removable Storage Unit. The Master Computer Unit can be considered... (read more)

2008-09-16 11:15:09

A3 Edge Digital Mapping System Upgrades Oblique Capabilities

VisionMap has announced the introduction of upgraded oblique capabilities to its A3 Edge Digital Mapping System. The A3 Edge camera, well-known for its high capture productivity, now utilises a proprietary roll stabilisation technology that increases its efficiency, particularly for oblique projects. The A3 Edge camera collects images by means of two telescopes that sweep from side to side to create an extremely wide 106° field of view. Each sweep captures oblique and vertical images simultaneously. The new roll stabilisation technology shortens the time it takes to complete each sweep, allowing for even faster coverage of the entire area. Productivity is... (read more)

2015-07-30 09:31:13

Palm-sized SXBlue III-L GNSS Announced

Geneq, Canada, has announced the SXBlue III-L GNSS, a palm-sized L1/L2/GLONASS GNSS receiver that is designed to use OmniSTAR’s G2 or HP service to attain 10cm accuracy in all regions of the world. The SXBlue III-L GNSS connects wirelessly to smartphones, handhelds, tablets or notebook computers that are Bluetooth-compliant. In addition, SXBlue III-L GNSS receiver is fully RTK capable (1cm real-time accuracy) when using an RTK network or other RTK reference station. The SXBlue III-L GNSS is designed to use OmniSTAR’s G2 service, which supports GPS and GLONASS satellites, to provide 10cm accuracy in real-time in most parts of the... (read more)

2012-10-19 09:04:06

Higher-resolution Satellite Imagery for Global Applications

European Space Imaging is now able to supply 30cm imagery from the WorldView-3 satellite for European and North African customers wishing to use the most sophisticated very-high-resolution satellite imagery on the market. This is made possible through its partnership with DigitalGlobe and the WorldView Global Alliance. Access to the world’s highest-resolution commercial satellite imagery captured by WorldView-3 satellite will improve decision-making, enable more efficient operations, and enhance a variety of applications for customers in the civil government, defence and intelligence, energy, mining, and global development sectors, European Space Imaging stated. Many customers who were previously reliant on aerial imagery can... (read more)

2015-03-20 10:20:49

HxIP: Updates to 2017 Airborne Imagery Collection Plans

The Hexagon Imagery Program (HxIP), an important source for professional airborne imagery provided through the cloud, has announced updates for 2017 airborne imagery collection plans of wide area coverage (WAC) at 30cm accuracy and urban area coverage (UAC) at 15cm accuracy. By the end of 2017, the HxIP will update its content for more than 3.9 million km² in North America. This includes a refresh of 18 previously captured U.S. states and completes the full coverage of the continental United States, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, and select areas of Alaska. In addition to the 30-cm... (read more)

2017-08-15 11:44:14

Multispectral and Thermal Sensors on UAVs

Capabilities for Precision Farming and Heat Mapping

Mini and micro unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in combination with cost-efficient and lightweight RGB cameras have become a standard tool for photogrammetric tasks. In contrast, multispectral and thermal sensors were until recently too heavy and bulky for small UAV platforms, even though their potential was demonstrated almost a decade ago. Nowadays, however, lightweight multispectral and thermal sensors on small UAVs are commercially available. Read more about their capabilities for use in precision farming and heat mapping. (By Stephan Nebiker and Natalie Lack, Switzerland) The multispectral cameras and thermal infrared (TIR) sensor in the authors’ performance tests were mounted on an eBee... (read more)

2016-08-02 09:21:38

Terrestrial Laser Scanning in Forest Inventories

Toward International Benchmarks

Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) is an effective technique for acquiring detailed tree attributes in forest plots. During the last two decades, national mapping agencies, companies, universities and research organisations have put tremendous effort into developing methods for tree attribute estimation using TLS. There is, however, still a lack of proper understanding on TLS performance. Different data collection methods and processing standards have led to a large range in tree detection and measurement accuracy. This article explains the early results of an international benchmarking initiative for TLS methods in forest inventories. The study has identified important differences in methods that should lead... (read more)

2017-12-18 03:58:07