Category Archives: Lidar/Imaging
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)...
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...
Prepping for El Niño
Above: A portion of a roadway that’s subject to flooding was scanned to perform drainage analysis as well as to map the existing conditions. As the severity of weather increases, so do the benefits of high-definition laser scanning for asset management and damage analysis. Editor’s note: Improvements in, and availability of, tools and resources for precise...
Visualizing the Perfect Putt
High-definition laser scanned topography-included in golfing greens contours books-elevates putting performance at the U.S. Open. It was two o’clock in the morning and pitch black, except for the red laser of the scanner. It pierced the darkness, accurately tracing the putting green’s profile. Michael O’Brien was enjoying perfect working conditions on the historic Pinehurst No....
3D Overnight
Surveying the Arsenal Interlocking rail corridor in Philadelphia safely and efficiently with mobile lidar. An old section of the Pennsylvania railroad called the Arsenal Interlocking is now one of the busiest segments of rail for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (Septa) regional rail system. A high volume of trains operates in this territory due to the...
Golf Simulator: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Green
A new hyper-real golf simulator app developed with point clouds calibrates golf greens so golfers can raise their mental game. Every golfer knows, you “drive for show put for dough.” Yet, once the ball is within several yards of the hole, it seems to take on a mind of its own. It speeds up, slows...