Category Archives: Surveying

NavVis VLX: A New Take on Mobile Mapping

The NavVis VLX, the first-of-its-kind wearable mapping system designed for hands-free reality capture, including survey-grade point clouds, was introduced in May and is already having an impact in the field. The VLX captures high-quality data in even the most complex built environments. The unprecedented data quality delivered by a compact, versatile device sets a new...

Trimble R12i: The Next Evolution of GNSS Solution

The new Trimble R12i GNSS receiver marks the latest addition to its Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) portfolio. The Trimble R12i incorporates robust tilt compensation to increase productivity for land surveyors. The Trimble R12i incorporates Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)-based tilt compensation using Trimble TIP™ technology, which enables points to be measured or staked out while...

Army Corps’ (JALBTCX) data improves coastal projects

In a hotel conference room on Long Island, New York, a team of experts is processing data and information on computers. Alongside them is a large display monitor that is projecting the information. The team is the Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of Expertise (JALBTCX). “It’s a beautiful thing. On the screen they are...

National Geodetic Survey Age Discrimination?

Now that I am in my 60s, I have become more aware of potential age discrimination, and the reverse thereof. A few years ago, it bothered me when my purchase total was reduced at the last minute and realized I had received the “Senior Discount” without actually qualifying for it. Now it bothers me when...

Biking to capture street imagery in the Galapagos. © Chris Beddow

Galapagos in 360 Degrees

“Like cinders… infernal… leafless…” Charles Darwin wrote those words in his diary on September 16, 1835, after setting foot for the first time on the Galapagos. Darwin, whose scientific work in the far-flung archipelago considerably changed our understanding of how life on Earth evolves, was a keen observer of nature. And on that day, while...

In a multi-path test, the Oscar is one of only a handful of rovers we’ve tried that fi xed in this test location under a power-line tower. It checked into a conventionally established surveyed mark under the tower as well as the others.

What is Tersus GNSS?

I had seen the name Tersus GNSS in geospatial social media for several years before our xyHt team stopped by their booth at the INTERGEO exhibition in Berlin in 2017. For a startup, launching in 2014, the company appeared to be making a lot of the right moves. As high precision GNSS was entering what...