Category Archives: Lidar/Imaging

UAS: It’s Unstoppable and Headed Your Way

From time to time I like to stop and think about the mission of Pangaea and explain that mission to you. My task is exposing you to new, emerging geospatial technologies. But why bother? Here’s a little analogy I thought of to help explain why keeping abreast of new geospatial tech is critical. Imagine emerging...

High-definition mapping sensors (lidar, digital, and oblique imagery, here mounted on a helicopter during collection of an autonomous vehicle mapping project) provide an accurate, cost-effective approach to limit the interference and potential delays related to collecting extensive control on a right of way.

Closer Than It Looks

Above: High-definition mapping sensors (lidar, digital, and oblique imagery, here mounted on a helicopter during collection of an autonomous vehicle mapping project) provide an accurate, cost-effective approach to limit the interference and potential delays related to collecting extensive control on a right of way. A hybrid of geospatial technologies could help autonomous vehicle mapping drive...

Reality Capture has always played a role in the safety factor for surveyors and data collectors. Image courtesy of Olsson Associates.

Reality Capture in 2016

An overview of criteria for obtaining and processing 3D data today. Above: Reality Capture has always played a role in the safety factor for surveyors and data collectors. Image courtesy of Olsson Associates. Ten years on, 3D and BIM are the de facto standards for design. It took firms a long time to recognize the...

The RiCOPTER UAS with VUX-SYS lidar is the first integrated survey-grade laser scanner-UAS.

Shedding Light on Lidar

RIEGL USA’s CEO talks about the important trends in the lidar profession.  For an inside look at the lidar profession, Heights interviewed James Van Rens, CEO of RIEGL USA. RIEGL provides a wide range of lidar scanning solutions for the aerial mapping and surveying profession, as well as mobile and terrestrial scanning applications. Van Rens...

TIR mosaic showing an isolated desert spring in the Summer Lake project area. (Courtesy: Oregon DOGAMI).

Thermal Imaging Heats Up the Geospatial World

Thermal Infrared (TIR) remote sensing technology makes existing applications more cost-effective and creates new applications, including for the environment. News footage frequently shows a dramatic scene of a suspect hiding in the shadows on a pitch-black night. Despite the darkness, the subject glows white-hot in the video recorded from a police helicopter’s thermal infrared (TIR)...

An ICIMOD team manually validated the accuracy of the 2011 classification maps.

A Crowning Achievement in Nepal

An ICIMOD team manually validated the accuracy of the 2011 classification maps. Pairing satellite imagery with advanced object-based image analysis helps people in Nepal better manage vital resources. For decades, the high-mountain regions of Nepal have been caught in a perpetual catch-22. The small populations of these remote, isolated areas depend nearly exclusively on local...