Category Archives: Lidar/Imaging
Yaw, Pitch, and Roll
Nautical lidar works for a waterway bridge replacement project in Boston. Waterway projects can pose major challenges for surveyors and engineers needing survey-grade data because of unpredictable variables in the marine environment. Surveyors face inaccessible areas, tidal changes, marine traffic, and unpredictable weather, as a few examples. The Massachusets department of transportation (MassDOT) undertook an...
Unmanned Lidar in the Air
A discourse on UAV lidar from the perspectives of a vendor and a user. IS A UAV LIDAR SYSTEM REALISTIC? While UAV lidar is definitely a breakthrough for vendors and users alike, is it enough? Can UAV photogrammetry deliver what is really needed by the surveyor and engineer? Indeed it can, but only in part....
Tech Feats for a X-Country Course
A 3D data company created a photo-realistic cross-country-course simulation using mobile mapping, with more innovation to come. When the best collegiate runners take their marks at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Wisconsin next year, the course will be as familiar as their favorite training routes. Above: Plans are underway to create treadmill routines that match the...
The GeoDude on Scanning Efficiency
A Snapshot from the GeoDude on Rich Data Here’s a comparison of today’s field and office efficiencies—for conventional surveying methods versus laser scanning—as applied to topographic and site surveys. Above: The firm that used scanning for this site survey noted that more than 60% of these types of projects entail scope creep; scanning typically avoids go-backs....
Mainstreaming Augmented Reality: No Headset Required, Part 1
Augmented reality technology is rapidly evolving into the mainstream; now you can employ and enjoy AR on your smartphone. Let’s start with Apple’s ARKit, a software developers’ kit (SDK) for augmented reality. Apps developed on this platform will work with all iPhones and iPads that use the A9 or A10 processor and are running iOS...
Night in the Afternoon: A US Solar Eclipse
What you need to know about the 2017 solar eclipse The upcoming solar eclipse will leave a 70-mile-wide trail of darkness across the United States on August 21, 2017 (see the map of the eclipse path on pages 44-45). This will be a once-in-a-lifetime event for many people. While another total solar eclipse will make...