Mobile LiDAR in the News

Posted on May 17, 2012 by lidar

This news segment is just another example of the adoption of mobile LIDAR technology that is beginning to take place throughout the U.S. Drivers thought it was some kind of speed trap and called the news station.

 

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Autodesk Provides ASTM E57 Plug-in for AutoCAD

Posted on May 16, 2012 by lidar

Elmer Bol, Director of Reality Capture at Autodesk and founder of the recently acquired Alice Labs just sent me a link to a 32-bit and a 64-bit ASTM E57 plug-in for AutoCAD. That is BIG news. With 10 to 20 million+ AutoCAD users the ASTM point cloud data exchange standard just took a major step forward.

Virtually all of the major vendors are now supporting E57. The final step in the adoption process is for end users to start specifying it. Please make this part of you SOW, if only for archival purposes at this time.

Posted in Software, Standards | 1 Comment

URISA Offers LIDAR Webinar Series

Posted on May 15, 2012 by lidar

The Urban and Regional Information Systems Association – URISA has announced that they will be offering a 3 part webinar series on the use of LiDAR. The next session will be held on May 23rd. This one will focus on project planning. I believe the focus will be on the airborne platform. There is a small fee to attend.

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Combined Terrestrial and Bathymetric Survey Webinar

Posted on May 14, 2012 by lidar

A personal friend, Marc Farber who works for H2H Associates, based in Troy, New York sent me a notice about a webinar they are offering on May 17th at 1 PM EDT. This innovative firm has been using mobile laser scanning to provide volumetric measurement services to a number of aggregate companies in the Northeast U.S. Looks like they have placed the scanner on a boat equipped with multibeam sonar.

Should be an informative session.

Posted in Business Development, Mapping, Marketing, Mobile LiDAR | Leave a comment

National Survey of Finland Opens LIDAR Database

Posted on May 13, 2012 by lidar

I received a notice from Jouko Vanne that the National Land Survey of Finland had opened all of its topographic data to be used free of charge. He noted that, “In the beginning, the freely available data will particularly benefit application developers, map enthusiasts and organisations using geographic information.”

It appears that the actual LIDAR point cloud data is available for certain regions of the country. This was used to produce a 2m DEM.

I found this to be a very impressive example of what “can be” in terms of the work of a national survey agency and of the management of geospatial data. One can only dream of what we could do with the right leadership and support.

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Laser Scanning a Coffin

Posted on May 12, 2012 by lidar

This is not just any coffin, as Belinda Jones explains in this detailed article, this is a 2,300 year old Egyptian coffin that is for all intents and purposes, priceless. As you can see in order to obtain the desired resolution the folks at Hexagon Metrology opted for a handheld scanner. It’s a very interesting read.

Posted in cultural heritage, Historic Preservation | Leave a comment

Laser Scanning Firms Are Hiring

Posted on May 11, 2012 by lidar

In case you know anyone that is looking for a job that has either job estimating experience or is a 3D modeler then have them contact Ken Smerz (kens@precision3dscanning.com) at Precision 3D Scanning in Phoenix, Arizona. Ken is in the hiring mode to meet the increased demand for what he calls his “professional measuring services”.

Ken prefers to keep things simple and it seems to be working for him. A number of other firms are also expanding. You can always post job openings on the LiDAR News website.

Posted in Business Development | 1 Comment

Autodesk Scanning and BIM Webinars

Posted on May 10, 2012 by lidar

Over the past few months Autodesk has produced 3 webinars on the intersection of BIM and laser scanning. These were done in conjunction with Faro, Topcon and Leica GeoSystems. Given the pace of the past few months I am not sure if I had the chance to sit in on all of these, so I hesitate to provide an opinion.

I will say that Autodesk regards the concept of BIM as applying to civil as well as architectural workflows. I get the idea, but I just can’t get by the use of the term “building” as it applies to highway design for instance. Unlike reality capture, another Autodesk favorite, which is an all inclusive concept that I completely support.

I think these webinars should be a good introductory resource.

Posted in BIM, Education, Marketing, Software | 1 Comment

Google Obtains First License for Autonomous Vehicle

Posted on May 9, 2012 by lidar

Bill Gutelius sent me this link yesterday about Nevada being the first state to grant Google a license to operate its autonomous, LIDAR-guided vehicle on their highways. In case Bill had not taken the time to send me an email I would have still known about it because it was on my local NH news.

As I have noted before the similarities between the consumer adoption of LIDAR and GPS are striking. When laser scanning becomes local news in New Hampshire it has to tell you something about the future of this industry.

In the meantime the article notes that GM may be working on a similar technology for the Cadillac. This may not be the equivalent of when  Magellan offered the first handheld GPS receiver for $100, but it has the potential to be a major influence on the price of scanners.

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Federal Aviation Administration Remote Sensing Advisory Circular

Posted on May 8, 2012 by lidar

The FAA published this Advisory Circular on the use of remote sensing for airport surveys in 2011. I am not quite sure why I have not referred to it before this as it includes an important discussion of LiDAR technology. The Circular contains a wealth of information on airborne, mobile and static laser scanning. It is an important reference document that has many applications beyond airport surveys.

The deliverables section is particularly valuable.

Posted in Government, remote sensing, Standards | Tagged | Leave a comment