New Usage-based Service Plans for Trimble Catalyst Enable Precise Positioning on Demand

Trimble has announced that its Trimble Catalyst software-defined GNSS receiver for Android phones and tablets is now available with a usage-based service plan: Trimble Catalyst On Demand. The new service plan is focused on satisfying the requirements of a growing number of industries and organizations who recognize the benefits of using high-accuracy GNSS technology in the field, but need a more flexible payment model. Trimble Catalyst On Demand provides scalable access to RTK-quality GNSS positioning using an affordable pay-per-use hourly pricing model in addition to the current Catalyst monthly plans. The new service also enables automated domain-level email address access,... (read more)

2019-07-10 11:43:40

Virtual Surveyor Puts Emphasis on Lidar Elevation in UAV Mapping Software

Virtual Surveyor has enhanced the Lidar elevation data handling capabilities in Version 6.4 of its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV or 'drone') surveying and mapping software. A new function enables Virtual Surveyor users to select specific feature classes from classified Lidar point clouds before converting the point cloud into a surface terrain. “The latest upgrades in Virtual Surveyor 6.4 are designed to meet the needs of UAV users who are increasingly equipping their drones with Lidar systems,” said Tom Op ‘t Eyndt, CEO of the company in Belgium. Virtual Surveyor, which has doubled its user base in one year, is popular... (read more)

2019-07-09 09:00:26

Weaver Consulting Adopts Delair UX11 UAV for Large-scale Surveying

Delair, a leading supplier of commercial drone solutions, along with one of its regional resellers, Seiler Instrument, has announced that Weaver Consultants Group has adopted the Delair UX11 high-performance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV or 'drone') for its work in large-scale volumetric surveying and topographic mapping. The US national firm provides a full range of engineering services and has particular expertise in solid waste and landfill projects. The firm’s initial use of the new Delair platform has been in developing digital twins of its clients’ sites – mainly large disposal and landfill operations – and performing regular volume calculations to assist... (read more)

2019-07-04 09:30:26

Lidar Technology for Game of Thrones

Lidar technology is more present in our lives than we realize – and sometimes even while we watch television, for instance. Imaging hardware and software from Teledyne Optech helped to enable 3D spatial data acquisition and visual effects for HBO’s hit series, 'Game of Thrones'. A team utilized Teledyne’s Lidar technology to create a detailed 3D representation of the old city of Dubrovnik, Croatia, as the model for the fictional city of King’s Landing. Lidar is becoming increasingly popular for creating realistic computer-generated imagery (CGI) and visual special effects. Traditionally, Lidar has been used for mapping and in construction, civil... (read more)

2019-07-03 01:15:30

LandViewer Now Features Change Detection that Runs in Browser

The major utilization of remote sensing data has been to compare images of an area taken at different times and identify the changes it underwent. With a wealth of long-term satellite imagery currently in open use, detecting such changes manually would be time-consuming and most likely inaccurate. EOS Data Analytics has now introduced the automated Change Detection tool to its flagship product LandViewer – a cloud-based tool for satellite imagery search and analysis. Unlike the methods involving neural networks that identify changes in the previously extracted features, the change detection algorithm implemented by EOS is using a pixel-based strategy, meaning... (read more)

2019-07-03 10:37:30

Leica Geosystems and Autodesk Extend Collaboration to Streamline Construction Documentation

Leica Geosystems, part of Hexagon, has announced further cooperation with Autodesk to offer streamlined communication and collaboration by integrating the field software Leica Captivate and iCON with Autodesk BIM 360. With the increasing complexity of construction projects and massive amounts of information generated, interoperability with various information systems and industry standards is a requirement for project success. The two organizations are again joining forces to bring new efficiencies in building construction. Professionals can now implement streamlined workflows based on reliable, high-accuracy data and workable 3D models. “As a user of Leica iCON and of Autodesk BIM 360, BAM are excited... (read more)

2019-06-27 09:04:42

Tackling the Challenges of Road Construction

As new technologies emerge with the promise to increase productivity and efficiency, costing is one of the most important criteria in a project life cycle. Construction companies are seeking more effective and cost-efficient methods to complete their work as accurately as possible. (This story is brought to you by Satlab Geosolutions; Click here to download this case study) Based in Korat, Thailand, Khunnon Construction, a subsidiary of S.P.T Construction, focuses on superhighways, road and bridge constructions. These projects require precise accuracy. With that in mind, Khunnon Construction purchased the Satlab Geosolutions SLC multi-purpose GNSS receiver after being appointed as the main... (read more)

2019-06-25 03:04:34

Taking Full Advantage of the Benefits of UAS Technology

Leveraging UAS technology across surveying and engineering sectors is demanding. The expectations of accuracy and accountability requires the best in expertise, methodology and equipment. Using the latest unmanned aerial system (UAS) photogrammetric hardware and software, surveyors are now capturing millions of survey measurements on the ground, where they would previously have measured only hundreds. It is essential to have the best-quality equipment, software and workflows to ensure this data is accurate, robust and defensible for professional use. Geosyntec is a leading consulting and engineering firm that works with private and public sector clients to address new ventures and complex problems... (read more)

2019-06-25 10:58:53

SimActive Introduces New Drone Processing Service

Canadian photogrammetry software manufacturer SimActive has launched a new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) data processing service based on Correlator3D. Clients can now upload full projects and have SimActive experts generate optimal results from their imagery, including DSMs, DTMs, 3D models and orthomosaics. As opposed to common cloud-based solutions where outputs are generated automatically and delivered as-is, the new offering includes quality control by photogrammetry specialists. Manual tagging of ground control points is also performed as part of the service. “We are glad to allow clients with no experience in photogrammetry an access to a high-end processing software”, said Dr Philippe... (read more)

2019-06-24 09:53:11

Sensor Fusion for Precision Agriculture

Low-cost Lidar Camera System without GNSS

Precision agriculture has considerably benefited from the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, often combined with active ranging sensors like Lidar to gather information from underneath the crops, but existing systems are relatively expensive for the farming sector. In this project, researchers in Canada have used an integrated sensor orientation method for the local referencing of Lidar measurements. Their approach is based on loosely coupled, image-aided inertial navigation in which the pose of the camera replaces the GNSS measurements. The result is a low-cost solution that is useful for capturing topographic data of inaccessible areas as well as in GNSS-denied environments.... (read more)

2019-06-20 01:50:38