GPS World

Tag: DEM

  • GeoCue releases True View 645/650

    GeoCue releases True View 645/650

    Photo: GeoCube
    Photo: GeoCue

    GeoCue, a U.S. LiDAR data technology company, has announced its latest True View 3D Imaging Systems (3DIS) product, the  True View 645/650. Combined with GeoCue’s integrated data processing software suite, True View EVO, all GeoCue 3DIS products include the full post-processing software workflow, including direct integration with Applanix POSPac.

    The survey-grade True View EVO supports the direct creation of many standard project deliverables including ground classified point clouds, surface models, contours, Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), volumetric analysis, wire extraction and similar products without the need for additional third-party software.

    According to GeoCue CEO Frank Darmayan, the newest True View 645/650 includes a Riegl mini VUX3-UAV laser scanner and dual mapping cameras. This system delivers colorized LIDAR deliverables with accuracy better than 3cm RMSE for the True View 645, and better than 2cm for the True View 650.

    The mini VUX-3UAV, a 360° rotating mirror scanner, increases the scanner frequency to 300 kHz and offers a unique mode where the 200,000 pulse per second scan rate is focused in a 120° cross-track field of view, providing significantly increased point densities in aerial mapping applications.

  • IIT Roorkee offers free online course on GNSS and DEMs

    The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee is offering a free online course on GNSS and Applications on the NPTEL platform. The four-week course will provide a basic understanding about digital elevation models (DEMs) and their applications in civil engineering and Earth sciences.

    During the course, various DEMs and their sources, generation techniques, derivatives, errors and limitations will be discussed extensively. Surface hydrologic modeling using DEMs, modeling derivatives and their applications will also be discussed.

    Intended audience. Under- and post-graduate engineering and post-graduate science students and faculty.

    Pre-requisites. Current students of engineering, post-graduate science students and Ph.D. students should have basic knowledge of geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing.
    Industry support. Geoinformatics companies (such as NIIT, Esri India, Leica Geoinformatics, MapmyIndia, ISRO and more).

    The course will be taught by Arun K. Saraf, professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at IIT Roorkee. He teaches courses on remote sensing, digital image processing, GIS, advanced GIS, geomorphology and related topics to undergraduate and postgraduate students of Geological Technology and Applied Geology. He has a Ph.D. in remote sensing from the University of Dundee, United Kingdom.

    The course takes place July 26-August 20. Registration is open until August 2 and can be done through the SWAYAM platform.

  • RedTail Lidar Systems demos mapping capability

    RedTail Lidar Systems partnered with an engineering firm to demonstrate the RTL-400 lidar system’s high-resolution, high-accuracy mapping capability.

    Cross-section of lidar point cloud (Image: RedTail Lidar Systems)
    Cross-section of lidar point cloud (Image: RedTail Lidar Systems)

    According to the company, its lidar imagery was used to generate as-built conditions of a steep ravine to aid in long-term monitoring of the slopes under which a natural gas pipeline was buried.

    A narrow road traversing the top of the ravine through which the pipeline was installed was of concern since the instability could be dangerous. Loss of vegetation along the buried pipeline’s path also makes the area especially susceptible to slides after heavy rainfall.

    Top view of lidar point cloud (Image: RedTail Lidar Systems)
    Top view of lidar point cloud (Image: RedTail Lidar Systems)

    The RTL-400’s high-resolution point cloud data of the 13-acre ravine area was captured in 10 minutes, RedTail Lidar Systems said. The as-built digital elevation model (DEM) created from the lidar point cloud can be compared to future DEMs to determine if any changes have occurred in the slope’s topology, which would serve to identify hazards and provide input for slip mitigation.

    RedTail Lidar Systems is a division of 4D Tech Solutions, a company focused on providing innovative technology-based solutions to address government and commercial customer needs.

  • V6 of Virtual Surveyor provides streamlined workflows with drones

    V6 of Virtual Surveyor provides streamlined workflows with drones

    Image: Virtual Surveyor
    Image: Virtual Surveyor

    The newly released version 6 of the Virtual Surveyor drone surveying software offers a faster, more efficient workflow and better overall user experience in a more stable platform, according to the software maker.

    Version 6 offers new capabilities, an improved licensing system and an extended free application.

    “Surveyors who have used the Virtual Surveyor package in the past will be amazed at how easily they can manipulate data and how quickly the software renders results of even the most complex topographies,” said Tom Op ‘t Eyndt, managing director of Virtual Surveyor nv in Belgium.

    Virtual Surveyor leverages the expertise and interpretation skill of a land surveyor and combines it with the computing power of the computer, the company said.The software generates an interactive onscreen environment through orthophotos and digital surface models, generated from the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), where the surveyor selects survey points and breaklines to define the topography.

    Image: Virtual Surveyor
    Image: Virtual Surveyor

    Virtual Surveyor enables land surveyors to complement traditional fieldwork with UAV imagery to generate highly accurate topographic products up to five times faster than otherwise possible. It bridges the gap between UAV photogrammetric processing software and engineering computer-aided design (CAD) packages.

    “The focus of Version 6 development has been to streamline the workflow — from the importing of drone data to exporting topo information into CAD — to make the surveyor more productive,” Op ‘t Eyndt said.

    Key enhancements in Virtual Surveyor 6 include the following:

    • Easier editing – The new editing functions allows users to quickly select, delete or move individual point and lines placed by the computer during the automated creation of elevation points. The associated Undo/Redo function allows reversing all edit operations.
    • Better CAD integration – The addition of Descriptor functionality means that point descriptions remain with the point during export to CAD, working the same way as the land surveyor collects data in the field.
    • 3D geometry retained – All points, lines and other data imported into the software, either from a UAV or field surveyed data, retain elevation values and integrate seamlessly into the merged scene. This allows a surveyor, for example, to collect point values from a ditch bottom that may be obscured by vegetation in the drone image and have the bottom points accurately represented in the topography.
    • Improved drawing tools – Users can now densify (drape) lines and boundaries to map current surface conditions. Individual vertices are now adjustable in all directions and exact X, Y and Z locations can be specified as well. Sub-surface modeling is now possible with these new improvements. Created features can then be exported to CAD for profile or alignment creation.
    • Extended free plan – Referred to as the Valley version, the free Virtual Surveyor suite has added functionality, including the ability to import photogrammetric data.
    • Improved licensing – We better honor our principle: “The license follows the user”. With an improved licensing system based on a Virtual Surveyor Identity (email) the user will be able to work where he or she wants.

    “The enhanced user experience will continue to appeal to professional land surveyors, who are our core client base,” said Op ‘t Eyndt. “And the seamless integration with CAD and advanced drawing tools will make Virtual Surveyor more attractive to design engineers.”

    Virtual Surveyor is available in a free 14-day trial.

  • Dewberry to update lidar for Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands after hurricane

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has selected Dewberry, a privately held professional services firm, to collect and process Quality Level 1 topographic lidar data of Puerto Rico, including the islands of Culebra, Vieques and Isla de Mona; and the U.S. Virgin Islands of St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas.

    The new data will be used to identify the impact of Category 5 Hurricane Maria, which struck the territories in September 2017.

    Digital elevation model of El Yunque National Forest produced from 2016 topographic lidar data. (Image: Dewberry)

    The project will be completed under Dewberry’s Geospatial Product and Services Contract with USGS to support the agency’s 3D Elevation Program.

    Dewberry has been performing mapping, mitigation planning and sea-level rise studies in Puerto Rico for more than 10 years, primarily serving the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

    In a similar effort, the firm recently collected and processed more than 3,400 square miles of topographic and bathymetric lidar data for USGS, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

    For that project, the data were collected prior to Hurricane Maria’s landfall, and the new data will be assessed in comparison to that dataset to evaluate the storm’s impact. Lidar data have not been collected for the U.S. Virgin Islands in more than 10 years.

    Digital Elevation Model of the Guajataca Lake Dam produced from 2016 topographic lidar data. (Image: Dewberry)

    The new lidar data will be collected, processed and delivered by the spring of 2019. Dewberry will perform all ground surveys and its geospatial team will complete the processing and creation of digital elevation models and other ancillary products. The firm’s subconsultant, Leading Edge Geomatics, will perform the data acquisition using two Riegl VQ1560i sensors.

    “The pre-storm data we had collected and processed under our prior task order was instrumental in assisting FEMA, its partners and the local Puerto Rican government in planning and conducting its post-Maria disaster recovery work,” said Amar Nayegandhi, CP, CMS, GISP, vice president of geospatial and technology services for Dewberry. “The new data are being collected at a higher density to also support the infrastructure community and will show how the storm has altered the terrain.”

  • Esri releases Sentinel-2 Image Services through Living Atlas

    Esri is releasing Sentinel-2 Image Services to all Esri users for no additional cost.

    According to the company, Sentinel-2 is an Earth Observation Satellite that provides multi-spectral imagery for any location in the world at 10-meter resolution. Currently in beta, the service is updated daily with new imagery for all ground locations every five to seven days.

    The Sentinel-2 Image Services provide temporal, multi-spectral imagery of the entire globe for improved monitoring of agricultural and forest conditions, monitoring of land cover changes, and to assist with natural disaster management.

    Sentinel-2 is part of Copernicus, the world’s largest single Earth observation program directed by the European Commission in partnership with the European Space Agency.

    Esri makes the multi-spectral data quickly accessible using ArcGIS Image Server and publishes an image service through the ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World, hosted on the Amazon Web Services Infrastructure.

    The service includes all Sentinel-2 imagery going back 14 months, enabling change to be easily reviewed. Image analysis can be run directly on the service to create indexes displaying properties such as vegetation health or soil moisture as well as quantifying the changes over time, for better understanding of the environment.

    “We are committed to helping our users discover, explore, and better understand our changing planet,” said Jack Dangermond, Esri founder and president. “Pairing Sentinel-2 imagery with our ArcGIS Image Server provides a powerful platform for in-depth analysis which can inform meaningful action.”

    Sentinel-2 multi-spectral imagery can provide better visualization and understanding of catastrophic events such as Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, the company said. The ability to use imagery of the volcano along with other spatial data, such as digital elevation models, provides an unprecedented opportunity to help predict lava flow direction and provide advanced notice to those who may be in danger.

    Sentinel-2 can also help provide understanding of the conditions that lead to fires such as this past winter’s Thomas Fire, which is California’s largest wildfire on record. The Thomas Fire burned more than 280,000 acres and triggered massive mudslides. Visualizing factors, such as periods of increased moisture contributing to more lush vegetation followed by hot and dry weather, can help predict future wildfires and mitigate their effects in the future.

    The Sentinel-2 imagery is available through the Living Atlas, the foremost collection of geographic information from around the globe. The Living Atlas is included with all ArcGIS online subscriptions. It is comprised of maps, apps, and data layers that support the work of thousands of Esri users around the world. Full service access, including a rolling 14-month archive of the Sentinel-2 data, is now available to all Esri ArcGIS users.

  • Harris to offer Icaros OneButton for advanced UAS image processing

    Icaros Inc., a provider of aerial remote sensing services and software, has announced that Harris Geospatial Solutions, a division of Harris Corporation, will offer the Icaros OneButton family of image processing software as a front-end complement to its ENVI geospatial analytics solution for users extracting information from manned and unmanned aerial sensor data.

    “Together, OneButton and ENVI create a complete image processing and analytics workflow for aerial image data,” said Tom Bosanko, Icaros CEO. “Both packages are highly customizable to meet the needs of specific vertical market applications.”

    Icaros developed the OneButton family for geospatial end users to easily and automatically generate precise, fully orthorectified 2D maps and 3D models from frame-based aerial imaging systems. Originally engineered for manned aircraft sensors, the OneButton software has been modified to accommodate the collection conditions of unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

    “The combination of OneButton and ENVI provide best-of-breed, application-specific image processing and analytics, that enable customers to solve challenging problems related to everything from agriculture and forestry to utilities and city planning,” said Beau Legeer of Harris Geospatial Solutions.

    OneButton automatically processes raw raster imagery with onboard GPS/IMU data to stitch the individual scenes together into a seamless, color-balanced orthomosaic meeting photogrammetric standards.

    Outputs include digital elevation models (DEMs), true color 3D point clouds, multispectral mosaics and controlled oblique imagery — all ready for ingest directly into the ENVI software environment.

    OneButton comes in both Standard and Professional versions. The Standard package asks the end user to specify the application and terrain type for the project at hand. The software then intuitively sets parameters of the photogrammetric engine to perform the mosaicking to the level of precision required. For example, the processing algorithms would handle flat agricultural fields different from a rolling urban landscape.

    “The Professional version is more customizable, allowing end users to adjust the processing parameters themselves based on the precision they need, and then edit the resulting mosaic to remove anomalies, like an airplane moving down a runway. OneButton Professional was specifically designed to generate results with the efficiency and accuracy necessary for large scale projects and survey-quality results,” Bosanko said.

    OneButton is platform and sensor agnostic, and processes raster image data from small-, medium-, and large-format frame sensors capable of capturing visible RBG, multispectral, near-infrared and thermal infrared data.

    The OneButton solution for ENVI is available now to existing and new customers, and both companies expect further technology integration in the near future around cloud enablement of the UAS data processing and analytics workflow.