20 GNSS Instruments for Seismic Surveying Company

Altus Positioning Systems has delivered 20 APS-3U GNSS surveying instruments to TerraView Surveys, a Canadian seismic surveying company based in Calgary, Alberta. Altus’s Canadian dealer, Butler Survey Supplies, was responsible for the sale and provided extensive technical support and training. The Altus APS-3U receivers are being used with Nautiz NX7 data collectors and MicroSurvey Seismic Surveyor software for seismic surveying and GIS mapping applications. TerraView also uses GPSeismic and GrafNav software for post-processing. Ron Stewart, president of TerraView Surveys, commented that the Altus APS-3U receivers have significantly improved their productivity, especially when working beneath heavy tree cover. Occupation times have... (read more)

2013-02-22 10:24:43

Total Stations for Bavarian Surveying Agency

The Bavarian Agency for Surveying and Geographic Information (Landesamt für Vermessung und Geoinformation Bayern (LVG), Germany) will equip all of its Cadastral Offices with total-station technology from Leica Geosystems. Up to 500 Leica Viva TS15 total stations will be provided over a period of five years. The first batch of 154 TS15 total stations was delivered through this framework contract in December 2011. The LVG has 51 state survey offices with 22 satellite offices in Bavaria, which between them manage and continuously update the official land survey register containing over 10 million plots of land. 500 survey teams... (read more)

2012-01-11 04:54:19

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

Surveying a Complete Island in the Maldives

In December 2016, Aeromao – in collaboration with Foresight Surveyors – completed a full photogrammetric survey mission with an Aeromapper Talon over one of the most unique and exotic islands in the Maldives. In total, the mission surveyed an area of approximately 1 square kilometre at a ground sample distance (GSD) of 2cm/pixel. The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flew at a cruise altitude of 100m AGL and collected 1,422 photos with an amazing level of detail. A digital surface model (DSM), orthophoto and point cloud were generated using Pix4DMapper. Despite the 2-hour flight-endurance capability of the Aeromapper Talon, the mission was... (read more)

2017-05-17 08:21:39

KaarbonTech UK Pioneers in Unmanned Aerial Surveying

Unmanned aerial surveying is developing at a fast pace. The latest progress sees the eBee UAV land on British shores being operated by KaarbonTech, an aerial surveying company. In June 2013, it announced it would be the first company to obtain approval from the Civil Aviation Authority to fly this commercially. The eBee, from senseFly, a Swiss company specialised in developing autonomous drones and image processing software, has a 16MP camera allowing it to shoot aerial imagery at down to 3cm/pixel resolution. The images can then be used to create maps and elevation models with a precision of 5cm. Its... (read more)

2013-06-03 11:59:48

Cloud Mobile Surveying and Mapping Integration

Surveying and mapping professionals can benefit from the new integration of imajing’s imajnet with Intergraph’s GeoMedia Professional. The combination of imajnet’s vehicle-mounted surveying system and cloud mobile mapping service with GeoMedia provides rapid and cost-effective capture of location information and measurement data for road, rail and utility networks, down to centimeter levels of accuracy. Intergraph’s GeoMedia is a powerful GIS management package that enables organisations to realise the maximum value of their geospatial resources, integrating them to present clear, actionable information. It provides simultaneous access to geospatial data in almost any form, uniting them in a single map view for... (read more)

2012-10-12 12:00:00

Trimble Student Paper Competition for Surveying

Trimble is holding its 2010 Surveying Student Paper Competition. The winning student author will have the opportunity to present their survey application paper at Trimble Dimensions 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The winner will receive a trip to the conference plus 3 nights' accommodations to take part in Trimble's internationally recognised conference with surveying professionals from around the world. The winning student's school will also receive a Trimble R8 GNSS System. Entries will be accepted from 14th June to 15th August. Judging will occur from 16th August to 21st September. The winner will be announced on 22nd September 2010. (read more)

2010-06-14 03:01:54

Surveying in the Valley of the Temples

Use of Full-waveform TLS in 3D Modelling of an Unstable Area

Full-waveform terrestrial laser scanning enables high-precision 3D topographic modelling of unstable rock valleys that is valuable for various geomorphological investigations. The area below the archaeological site of Temple of Juno in Agrigento, Sicily, is characterised by the presence of large sections of rock that have fallen down from the upper ridge. In this context, full-waveform laser scanning technology was tested for the production of a highly detailed 3D topographic model at two resolutions (2cm and 20cm) for simulating potential rockfall paths at the site. Along a long ridge outside the city of Agrigento, Sicily, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site,... (read more)

2014-11-03 10:47:25