DJI’s Metric Camera for Aerial Surveying

DJI has released the X4S camera, a lightweight version of the large aerial cameras carried in manned aircraft. How do aerial or metric cameras differ to a DSLR? An aerial mapping camera is primarily designed to have a low distortion metric lens and reliable construction to maintain its calibration. To achieve this the cameras have very few moving parts, particularly those that would affect the lens focal length. Aerial camera lenses are very high quality and virtually distortion free. This, and a constant lens focal length, means that every pixel is in the right place. 3D mapping from photogrammetry is based on... (read more)

2018-03-19 11:43:13

Photogrammetry Tool for UAV Land Surveying Missions

Before the introduction of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for aerial photogrammetry, planes, helicopters and metric cameras were used. Aerial mapping projects were often not only costly, but also complex due to the images being taken from high altitudes. UAVs have provided more affordable and faster aerial mapping solutions. When it comes to planning survey missions for small UAVs, UgCS is suitable software for the job. It supports most UAV platforms and provides useful tools such as a photogrammetry tool and an image geotagging tool. The photogrammetry tool in UgCS (designed by SPH Engineering) allows creating and flying photogrammetry missions... (read more)

2017-03-08 11:54:19

Surveying and Mapping with Your Smartphone

When we interviewed Professor Thomas Kersten back in 2014, he predicted that the smartphone would become a valuable surveying instrument within just a couple of years – and he was not far wrong! Thanks to the rapid pace of technical advancement, smartphone photogrammetry now enables us to capture reality in 3D. Some smartphones come with a 3D scanning application already integrated, while others can be turned into a 3D scanner by simply downloading an app. And who knows what the next few years will bring. Will we soon see smartphones equipped with a Lidar sensor – a 3D laser scanner... (read more)

2018-06-07 12:47:35

Gexcel Presents Wearable Mobile Surveying System

Gexcel, an Italian provider of Lidar and imagery analysis software solutions, has entered the 3D mobile mapping market with its HERON system. HERON is Gexcel’s innovative professional indoor and outdoor real-time 3D surveying system, developed under an EC-JRC licence. Developed for challenging mapping and surveying tasks, such as deep dark underground mines or tunnels or in a complex industrial area, HERON is suited both for surveying, localisation and model-comparison tasks. Surveying For challenging surveying jobs the system works as follows. The surveyor wears the HERON backpack laser scanner and walks along the site without using GPS/GNSS, targets and trolleys. The... (read more)

2017-05-23 04:33:57

Surveying the Past Using a Drone

Modelling the Caesar’s Camp Oppidum under Dense Cover

Archaeology has long been reliant on ground-level geophysical disciplines and aerial photographs shot from an aircraft or ultralight. Airborne observations not only enable remains that are invisible on the ground to be detected and studied in a non-destructive way, but also to pinpoint where reconnaissance probes or excavations should be performed. If a site is covered by dense vegetation, Lidar is the only tool practicable for aerial observation. Lidar was applied in a unmanned aerial system (UAS or ‘drone’) survey of the site known as ‘Caesar’s Camp’, situated in the French municipality of Changé/Saint-Piat, located 2km south of Maintenon. The... (read more)

2018-02-01 09:17:39

Focusing on High-quality Surveying Instruments

FOIF

FOIF (Suzhou FOIF Co., Ltd.) is located in Suzhou Industrial Park in China, near Shanghai. The company has integrated the disciplines of R&D, manufacturing, sales, logistics and after-sales service to address the measurement needs of the construction and surveying industries by providing high-quality instruments including gyroscopes, GNSS receivers, total stations, theodolites, levels, laser plummets, etc. The company has evolved into the leading manufacturer of its kind in China. The origins of FOIF date back nearly 50 years, with the founding of Suzhou First Optical Instrument Factory in 1958. Over the past almost half a century, FOIF has achieved many ‘firsts’... (read more)

2014-04-30 12:07:02

South Located in Newly Named Surveying Building

South Surveying recently completed its new headquarters in Guangzhou, China, where more than 1,000 of its employees are now working in national and global sales, research & development, quality assurance, marketing and manufacturing of total stations, GIS software and GNSS receivers. To express the importance it places on the field of geomatics in general and surveying in particular, South has proudly renamed its new premises 'the Surveying Building'. The building is situated adjacent to the downtown boulevard in this busy metropolis in the southern region of China, a country that is working on its infrastructure and construction at a previously... (read more)

2012-04-18 11:40:18

Foreign Surveying Control Tightened in China

China will increase the supervision of foreigners who conduct surveys and map areas of the country. Foreign organisations and individuals, who engage in surveying and mapping in scientific research and teaching programs, travel or exploration, must obtain approval from the government and accept supervision, the State Bureau of Survey and Mapping said. The number of foreigners conducting surveying and mapping in China is on the rise and many field projects have been carried out illegally, which have threatened the security of the country, according to the state bureau. The Chinese law on surveying and mapping states that foreigners must cooperate... (read more)

2006-08-31 12:00:00

Florida – hub of surveying and GIS

Florida was the hub of the surveying and geospatial industry during the last week of April 2006. From 23rd through 26th of April the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping held their annual conference at the Caribe Royale Resort and Convention Center in Orlando. The Geospatial Information & Technology Association (GITA) was conferencing from 24th through 26th of April at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa. In the convention center in Orlando some 45 exhibitors displayed their latest stuff for almost 1,000 visitors of the show. Amongst the exhibitors the visitor could spot quite a few this year from China.... (read more)

2006-06-22 12:00:00

The Profession of Surveying: A Changing One?

One noteworthy finding that can be distilled from the recent readers' survey held by 'GIM International' is the changing nature of the surveying role. A surveyor's work is shifting away from ‘boots on the ground’, as increasing automation and the growing influence of robotics require surveyors to increasingly develop their ‘soft skills’ to survive; they are becoming mediators, advisors and consultants rather than ‘just’ operators of technology. To cite one of the respondents: “With the enabling technology from robotics and AI, strong standardisation, certification and quality assurance which leverage geomatics as a technology rather than an independent profession, geomatics might... (read more)

2018-03-01 09:54:43