Category Archives: Lidar/Imaging
Imaging Rover on the Canal
A Florida surveying company puts a new technology to the test on an historic canal fronted by 21 subdivisions. Editor’s note: The announcement of the Trimble V10 imaging rover in late 2013 was greeted with a mix of excitement and questions (“what is it?”). With close-range photogrammetry just beginning to reach the toolboxes of surveyors...
Q&A with 3D Guru TJ McCue
Autodesk is sponsoring an eight-month 3D RV (recreational vehicle) 100 stop tour of the U.S. that celebrates the future of how things are designed and made. Led by TJ McCue, host, writer, and 3D enthusiast, the 3D RV tour is visiting America’s cities, towns and off-the-beaten path byways to explore a powerful and fundamental change...
Drone Art: Art Meets the Science of UAS at Elevated Element
Our company, Elevated Element, uses UAS for aerial photography. Our monuments capture project came about when we were contacted by Direct Dimensions, a 3D modeling firm, with the idea of combining the techniques of aerial UAS photography and digital 3D scanning. We chose the Francis Scott Key Monument in Baltimore’s neighborhood of Bolton Hill because...
How to Talk with Clients About Laser Scanning
Clients should choose a laser scan primarily when they need to document existing conditions for a future construction or complex renovation project. When complex conditions exist, the risk of a mistake using a tape measure and sketch pad greatly increases the probability of a construction error. If this matches our clients’ needs, we then discuss...
Accuracy With Small UAS Mapping
Two recent advances in heretofore unrelated technologies are giving birth to a new way to perform local-area metric mapping. The first is the development of small, unmanned aerial systems (sUAS), spurred on primarily by the miniaturization of autopilot components. The second is the development of novel algorithms for creating digital surface models from collections of...
From Traditional Photogrammetry to UAS
Photogrammetry has changed substantially in the past three decades. When Jeff Yates began in the business 32 years ago, he used a projection system known as a Kelsh two-bucket plotter. “That was four generations ago of photogrammetric systems hardware,” he recalls. “From there, we went to the analog stereo plotter. That was the second big...