A surveying company in the South Pacific significantly improves crew safety and their deliverables by mapping an open pit nickel mine using a UAV. For 140 years, nickel mining has played a critical role in the economy of New Caledonia, an archipelago nation in the South Pacific Ocean. With nearly one quarter of the world’s known...

A potential market for surveyors is collecting data for rapid hazard analysis, using 3D photogrammetric techniques. Every state with mountains has to deal with rockfall hazards. Helping proactively manage these hazards, i.e. rockfall mitigation, can be an opportunity for service diversification for land surveyors, especially in the mapping and analysis of suspected areas of rockfall...

Leica Geosystems’ high-profile launch of the “MultiStation” is just part of the story of the potential for new products to significantly enrich workflows for surveyors.  Three related developments in workflows caught our eye recently because they may serve as a harbinger of things to come in workflow optimization, from the activities of the individual in the...

To help preserve and manage cultural heritage sites, an interdisciplinary team is using 3D laser scanning and photogrammetry to model the sites at high resolution—meeting unique challenges with innovative techniques and creating novel opportunities for surveyors. CyArk, a nonprofit organization dedicated to digitally preserving and sharing the world’s cultural heritage, uses laser scanners to generate...

“Fit for purpose” is a phrase I’m hearing about with increasing frequency. I’d strongly suggest that you, my fellow surveyors, begin to pay attention to it. Here’s why.In the May issue I wrote about a recent situation that occurred in Virginia where two counties had decided to define their common boundary through a “GIS map”...