In the Scan

Remote Sensors CTO on Adding Drone Lidar

Posted on July 15, 2020 by lidar

Eric Harkins, Remote Sensors CTO

From an interview with Eric Harkins, Remote Sensors CTO that was published in the GeoCue Q3 2020 eNewsletter.

Tell Us About Your Company

Remote Sensors Inc. is a relatively new organization; however, our experienced team has been working in the industry for many years. Our company is primarily a drone services provider located in the Southeast, with an expansive network of pilots covering the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, and more. We use LIDAR and photogrammetry for creating highly accurate data and derivatives. Project requests include DOTs, stormwater, land development, civil engineering and survey firms, government pilot programs, and company R&D. Continue reading →

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Waymo Will License Their Lidar Sensor Via Non-Compete

Posted on July 14, 2020 by lidar

The Waymo Lidar Sensor

Many autonomous vehicle (AV) developers, including Waymo have been in hot pursuit of lidar technologies, which are important because of their ability to build 3D models of the environment around a car, an essential feature in the race for self-driving cars.

From an article in EE Times by Junko Yoshida.

Leading AV companies — Waymo, GM Cruise and Argo AI — have either already acquired lidar technology companies or have developed lidars internally. Even Mobileye, an Intel company, is crafting its own lidar tech, Amnon Shashua, Mobileye’s CEO acknowledged, in a recent interview with EE Times. Continue reading →

Posted in 3D Modeling, AI, artifical perception, artificial intelligence, Autonomous vehicles, Business Development, computer vision, Deep Learning, driverless vehicles, Flash LiDAR, Government, Laser Scanning, Lidar, machine learning, point clouds, Research, Sensors, solid state lidar | Tagged field of view, GM Cruise, Laser Bear Honeycomb, mechanical, Mobileye AV, Waymo | Leave a comment

Optical Phased Array May Be the Future of Lidar

Posted on July 13, 2020 by lidar

Optical Phased Array

Researchers at the University of Colorado describe a new optical phased array, silicon chip that has the potential to move beyond the bulky, complex Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) systems that are hindering the systems’ widespread adaptation.

From an article in All About Circuits by Gary Elinoff.

Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) systems are based on electronically measuring the time it takes a laser pulse to reach its target, and then return, thereby establishing its range. It will be a fundamental component of any self-driving car. Continue reading →

Posted in Hardware, Lidar, point clouds, Research, Sensors, solid state, solid state lidar | Tagged Boston University, electrical communication, optical phased arrays, optics, silicon chip, silicon photonics, University of Colorado, wavelength steering | Leave a comment

Blockchain Technology May Be the Holy Grail for Geospatial

Posted on July 12, 2020 by lidar

Blockchain technology May Be the Holy Grail

General Motors has filed a patent application for a system that continuously updates a vehicle’s on-board maps and navigation guidance using blockchain technology.

From an article in The Detroit Bureau by Joseph Szczesny. Thanks to good friend Joe Betit for his critical insight on this important geospatial development.

GM said its patent application covers, “A system for updating a distributed navigation map for a motor vehicle includes one or more sensors that evaluates and characterizes a surrounding around the motor vehicle and a discrepancy detector that identifies differences in the surrounding compared to a known navigation map based on information received from the one or more sensors.”

“The differences are transmitted to a blockchain map network,” the application said.

Continue reading →

Posted in 3D Modeling, AI, artifical perception, artificial intelligence, Autonomous vehicles, Business Development, computer vision, Consumer, driverless vehicles, Geomatics, Government, GPS, Laser Scanning, Lidar, Mapping, point clouds, Research, Safety, Sensors, Technology, The Industry, Young Geospatial Professional | Tagged Autonomous Navigation, blockchain, discrepancy detector, General Motors, GM, patent, Super Cruise, Ushr | Leave a comment

Joe Wolf – “Spotlight on a Younger Geospatial Professional”

Posted on July 11, 2020 by lidar

This interview with Joe Wolf is the fifth Lidar News Younger Geospatial Spotlight Interview. Congratulations to Joe for what he has accomplished in a short time and please think about sharing your story with us.

This article is being re-published.

Joe Wolf

Please provide a recap of your post high school education and training. Do you have any licenses or certifications? Are you a member of any organizations?

After high school I completed my college General Education courses. I am pursuing my part 107 for drones and have been toying with the idea of getting my PLS in Idaho. I was a member of the California Land Surveyors Association.

Continue reading →

Posted in 3D Modeling, Feature Extraction, Laser Scanning, Mapping, point clouds, Research, Surveying, Technology, The Industry, UAS, UAVs, Young Geospatial Professional | Tagged AutoCAD, Joe Wolf, Nexus 3D, Younger Geospatial Professionals | Leave a comment

Frequency Modulated Lidar Provides Velocity and Range.

Posted on July 10, 2020 by lidar

Frequency Modulated Lidar Provides Velocity and Range

Self-driving technology startup Aurora announced today its new in-house developed frequency modulated lidar system for its driverless vehicles. The lidar sensor is called “FirstLight” and it can see and track objects more quickly and from further away than other lidar sensors, Aurora claims.

From an article in FutureCar by Eric Walz.

Lidar is an acronym for “light detecting and ranging” and works by bouncing pulses of lasers off objects and measuring the time the light takes to reflect back to the sensor. From this, a 3D image can be rendered of the object, whether its a tree, person or another vehicle. Continue reading →

Posted in 3D Modeling, AI, artificial intelligence, Autonomous vehicles, Business Development, computer vision, driverless vehicles, Government, Laser Scanning, Lidar, point clouds, Research, Safety, Sensors, solid state, solid state lidar, Young Geospatial Professional | Tagged Amazon, Aurora, Blackmore Sensors and Analytics, BMW i Ventures, Fiat Chrysler, FirstLight, FMCW, Toyota Research Institute, velocity | Leave a comment

UAV Lidar or Photogrammetry? Which Should You Use?

Posted on July 9, 2020 by lidar

UAV Lidar or Photogrammetry?

Choosing a relevant surveying/mapping system involves technologies created more than 100 years apart. Each was built on inventions that changed the world—and in one case, even affected outer space. Each is enabling precise and efficient measurement, safety and cost-saving. So which should it be UAV lidar or photogrammetry? It’s not a simple answer, but the team at Microdrones has provided a lot to think about in this article.

The first permanent photography was “developed” over several years starting in 1822. By 1840, a French surveyor was proposing the use of photos to create topographic maps. In 1867, the term “photogrammetry” was coined. Continue reading →

Posted in 3D Modeling, airborne LiDAR, Business Development, Construction, Data, Drones, GIS, GNSS, GPS, Hardware, Laser Scanning, Lidar, Mapping, Photogrammetry, point clouds, remote sensing, Sensors, Software, Structure from motion, UAS, UAVs, Visualization, Young Geospatial Professional | Tagged Microdrones, tool | Leave a comment

Scanning a Piece of Puget Sound History

Posted on July 8, 2020 by lidar

Scanning the Parthia at Puget Sound

Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) is using today’s scanning technology to help in the restoration of one of Puget Sound’s oldest surviving wooden tugs, the Parthia. Built in 1906 by James Hall, the tugboat had a long-life servicing ships that called at Washington State’s capital city, Olympia. A true icon of the city’s waterfront, she is also a five-time winner of the Olympia Harbor Days vintage tugboat races.

From an article in MarineLog by Nick Blenkey.

Unfortunately, in the summer of 2017 the tugboat sank in Hood Canal while under private ownership. Thanks to several members of the Puget Sound Maritime and Olympia’s South Sound Maritime Heritage Association (SSMHA), the Parthia was salvaged and is now being restored to her original glory. After restoration, she will be permanently located on Olympia’s waterfront as a historical maritime exhibit. Continue reading →

Posted in 3D Modeling, cultural heritage, Education, Inspection, Laser Scanning, Surveying, Uncategorized, Visualization | Tagged EBDG, Elliott Bay Design Group, FARO, Foss Maritime, Olympia WA., Parthia, Puget Sound, South Sound Maritime heritage Assoc, tug boat | Leave a comment

Autonomous Trucks Finding Some New Traction

Posted on July 7, 2020 by lidar

image of Autonomous Trucks Being Tested in Southwest

Waymo’s Autonomous Trucks Being Tested in Southwest

Today during a briefing with members of the media, Waymo head of commercialization for autonomous trucks Charlie Jatt outlined the company’s go-to-market plans for Waymo Via, its self-driving delivery division. In the future, Waymo will partner with OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers to equip cloud-based trucks manufactured and sold to the market with its autonomous systems. In addition, Waymo will work with fleets to provide its software services and offer support for things like mapping and remote fleet assistance.

From an article in Venture Beat by Kyle L. Wiggers.

As Waymo transitions to this model, Jatt said that Waymo intends to own and offer its own fleet of trucks — at least in the short term. One of the delivery solutions it’s exploring is a transfer-hub model where, rather than an automated truck covering an entire journey, there will be a mix of an automated portion and a portion involving manually driven, human-manned trucks. Automated vehicle transfer hubs close to highways would handle the switch-off and minimize surface street driving. Continue reading →

Posted in 3D Modeling, AI, Autonomous vehicles, Business Development, Cloud, Covid-19, Deep Learning, driverless vehicles, Government, Lidar, machine learning, point clouds, Radar, Research, Safety | Tagged American Trucking Assoc., Aurora, Google, TuSimple, USDOT, Waymo | Leave a comment

US House Passes $1.5 Trillion for Infrastructure

Posted on July 6, 2020 by lidar

US House Passes $1.5 Trillion Moving Forward Act

The following is a statement by K.N. Gunalan “Guna,” Ph.D., P.E., President, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in response to the US House passage of H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act:

Today, the House of Representatives prioritized modern, resilient, and sustainable infrastructure as part of America’s recovery. We commend the House for making infrastructure investment a priority by passing the $1.5 trillion Moving Forward Act (H.R. 2). This comprehensive legislation takes a holistic approach to investing in and modernizing all infrastructure sectors from roads and bridges, to ports, rail networks, inland waterways, and airports- all which drive our economy – in addition to the drinking water and wastewater systems that keep Americans safe and the schools and parks on which our children rely. H.R. 2 is a first step toward making investments in these sectors a priority. Continue reading →

Posted in Autonomous vehicles, Civil Engineering, Construction, Government, Infrastructure, Orgs, The Industry, Young Geospatial Professional | Tagged Congress, legislation, Moving Forward Act, parks, ports, rail, Safety, schools, U.S. House, U.S. Senate | Leave a comment