Category Archives: Lidar/Imaging

The GeoDude on the Adoption of Laser Scanning Today

Part 2 Above: Although not yet fully mainstream for topographic surveys, laser scanning is frequently used to topo sites with a lot of detail and hardscape. Credit: Allegheny Surveys. With new and emerging technologies such as laser scanning, many professionals want to know “When is the right time to get in?” They may worry about...

Behind the Big Eye of the SX10: Trimble, Danderyd, Sweden

A visit to Trimble’s engineering and production center in Danderyd, Sweden, reveals the story of the SX10’s development. As surveyors, we purchase and use some of the most sophisticated instruments of any field-oriented profession. Such sophistication yields incredible precision, accuracy, reliability, and flexibility, and, as would be expected, can carry hefty price tags. With such...

Joining us on the test survey was Lennart Gimring, Survey and Mapping Manager for ÅF Infrastructure AB who was an early adopter of the SX10. Gimring reports that the rollout with his crews has been quite smooth. Photo by Petter Magnusson - PMAGI AB

The Unthinkable and the Thinkable

The following is the editorial for the July print issue of xyHt magazine: If we completely dismiss a notion as unthinkable, we might find ourselves ill prepared should the notion become an eventuality. This applies to how we might view the status of our professions and how we fit into the markets we serve. Is...

HxGN 2017

HxGN LIVE 2017 Takeaways

The big buzz among those interested in laser scanning was Leica’s BLK360 laser scanner (pictured above as demonstrated to xyHt editor Gavin Schrock). The small, affordable ($16k) scanner was originally jointly announced by Leica Geosystems and Autodesk at AU 2016 in November. At HxGN LIVE 2017, attendees learned that scanner shipments had begun. The BLK360...

Surveying a Mile Down

Above: The metrology viewed as a combined model. A 3D surveying company provides highly detailed lidar data on subsea drill centers. This article almost didn’t happen. I first met with ADUS DeepOcean in January 2017, when we discussed how they had captured high-resolution laser data deep in the ocean off Ghana. Today, four months later, I...

The Hydrous: Mapping Vanishing Reefs

Using geospatial technologies, The Hydrous provides “open access” to oceans in an attempt to save critical habitats. The oceans of the world are vital to our survival. While monitoring their health is the realm of scientists and protecting their health is the responsibility of everyone, few of us truly experience the richness of these aquatic...