Category Archives: Lidar/Imaging
InSAR
How can you monitor broad-area land deformation with high precision? Why, from space, of course. Is it possible for satellites to accurately monitor the motion of landscapes with millimeter levels of precision? What about over wide areas while being frequently updated? If you scoffed in response to either of these questions, you might be surprised....
Demystifying Mobile Mapping
Above: A mobile mapping rig of the engineering consulting firm Tetra Tech; the crew mapped the entire 288 miles of roadways in the city of Redmond, Washington in six days of driving. A surveyor examines (and asks users a lot of questions about) the Pegasus:Two system. Editor’s note: How could measurements taken from a moving vehicle...
UAS & The Combo that Opens Access
The most logical integration of technologies for surveyors is combining 3D laser scanning with UAVs. It’s no secret that many geospatial professionals are enamored with unmanned aerial systems (UAS). For many years, the pros and cons of deploying small UAS for mapping and surveying, along with their ongoing regulatory discussions, have been well researched and...
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...
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 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...