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A Publication for Geospatial Professionals Issue 2016-1 technology&more A New Look at Ancient Faces Aerial Imaging on Easter Island Energizing a Wind Farm Operation Data Rescue Scientists Save GNSS Data in Nepal GEDO Clears the Way Precision Track Measurement

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A Publication for Geospatial Professionals • Issue 2016-1

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A New Look at Ancient Faces Aerial Imaging on Easter Island

Energizing a Wind Farm

Operation Data Rescue Scientists Save GNSS Data in Nepal

GEDO Clears the Way Precision Track Measurement

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Dear Readers,

Whether performing a straightforward property survey or managing a complex business situation, solving a problem presents an opportunity to learn, adapt and apply resources in new ways. Today’s geospatial professionals work in this world of opportunity, where widespread use of geospatial information has created new clients and new challenges. As clients require new services and deliverables, today’s

advanced technologies and workflows will become tomorrow’s new normal. The ability of the geospatial professional to adapt, innovate and communicate is as important as his or her technical tools and knowledge.

In this issue of Technology&more, we share stories of innovation and adaptation from around the world. Our cover story takes place on Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean, where researchers combine imaging, positioning and analysis to develop new knowledge about some of the planet’s most intriguing artifacts. We then move to Nepal just days after a devastating earthquake, where teams provided humanitarian aid and worked to rescue GNSS data needed by scientists studying the quake. Then on to Australia, we see how integrated technologies provide efficiency and flexibility in the construction of a massive new wind farm. Also Down Under, we learn about a surveying company that used an array of geospatial solutions to handle various challenges during construction of the country’s largest single resource development.

In Europe, we visit a German company that has developed a new way to gather and analyze information essential for safe and efficient railway operations. And in the U.S., we learn how a digital record of important heritage sites dating back to the mid-19th century is being created. We also meet a surveying company using multiple solutions for positioning and communications to provide flexible and efficient services for its clients.

Rounding out these and other articles is our popular Photo Contest, with images submitted by Trimble users around the world. If you’d like to share your own innovative projects or creative photos with our readers, we’d be happy to hear about it. Send us an email at: [email protected]. We’ll even write the article for you!

Now, enjoy reading about the excitement and challenges of today’s geospatial professionals in this issue of Technology&more.

Ron BisioVice President Trimble Geospatial

Ron Bisio, Vice President, Geospatial

© 2016, Trimble Navigation Limited. All rights reserved. Trimble, the Globe & Triangle logo, eCognition, GeoExplorer, and RealWorks are trademarks of Trimble Navigation Limited or its subsidiaries, registered in United States Patent and Trademark Office. Access, FineLock, FX, HYDROpro, Maxwell, NetRS, NetR9, VRS and VX are trademarks of Trimble Navigation Limited or its subsidiaries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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Editor-in-Chief: Dave Britton Editorial Team: Lea Ann McNabb; Kelly Liberi; Cecelia Fresh; Jocelyn Delarosa; Cody Cooper;

Felicity Boag; Doug Long; Richard Hassler; Echo Wei; Maribel Aguinaldo; Stephanie Kirtland;

Survey Technical Marketing Team Art Director: Tom Pipinou

Welcome to Technology&more!technology&more

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• AUSTRALIA Pg. 5 Constructing a Wind Farm

• EASTER ISLAND Pg. 10 UAS Provides New Understanding

• GERMANY Pg. 16 Surveying for Railway Applications

• U.S. Pg. 18 Documenting the Slave Trade

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Following a major earthquake, scientists hurried to retrieve GNSS data that could explain the quake and help people prepare for the next one.

In a collision that began more than 180 million years ago, relentless movement of the Earth’s crustal plates has buckled the planet’s crust and pushed the rock up

to create one of the world’s great mountain ranges, the Himalaya. Each year, the Indian plate moves northward into the Eurasia plate by roughly 4 cm (1.6 in). Half of the motion is absorbed by the Himalaya, pushing the mountains up and squeezing the rock along the boundary, or fault, between the two plates. The rest of the motion is broadly distributed throughout Tibet and central Asia.

From time to time, the rock ruptures to release the accumulated strain, resulting in an earthquake. A major rupture occurred on April 25, 2015, when the fault broke in central Nepal, 15 km (9 mi) below the surface and roughly 80 km (50 mi) northwest of Kathmandu. The April event (known as the Gorkha earthquake) was not the first quake to strike Nepal, and it unfortunately won’t be the last. The behavior of the quake—and the ways in which it could be studied—opens the door for new understanding of future earthquakes in the region.

Studying Earth’s FaultsScientists rely on arrays of sensors to capture data on earthquakes and crustal motion. Since the 1990s, more than two dozen GPS continuously operating reference stations (CORS) have collected data on plate motion in Nepal. While GPS networks are common in earthquake-prone areas, Nepal provides unique advantages in measuring earthquakes along subduction faults. For example, recent strong quakes in Japan, Chile and Sumatra occurred along coastlines where it’s not possible to use GPS to measure motion on both sides of the fault. But in landlocked Nepal, with GPS sensors on each side of the tectonic plate boundary, scientists could precisely measure the motion of the quake.

The GPS receivers in Nepal operate at multiple recording rates. Data collected at 15-second intervals provides information on the normal, slow plate motion over months and years. The receivers also captured high-rate data 5 times per second (5 Hz), which could provide a detailed picture of the shaking during the quake itself. But when the Gorkha quake struck and the data was urgently

Operation Data Rescue

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needed, landslides and damage made retrieving the data nearly impossible. The person who could do it was on the other side of the planet.

Rapid ResponseEquipped with a bachelor’s degree in geosciences and four years’ experience as a U.S. Army Ranger, John Galetzka has set up GPS networks around the world. Over a 10-year period in Nepal, Galetzka had established 28 GPS stations for the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and a 29th station shared with a French research agency. (Roughly 20 additional GPS CORS in Nepal are managed by other agencies, all in collaboration with Nepal’s Department of Mines and Geology.)

In 2013, Galetzka had installed fresh batteries and modernized Caltech’s GPS stations in Nepal. (The GPS/GNSS equipment at

the stations consisted of Trimble NetRS™, NetR8 and NetR9™ reference station receivers.) He also installed cellular modems to push GPS data to FTP servers in the U.S. The 15-second data could be sent via cellular modem, but the 5-Hz data was simply too much for the limited cellular bandwidth. So Galetzka configured the built-in storage of the Trimble receivers to store several weeks’ of 5-Hz data. The remainder of the receiver’s memory would store the 15-second observations in case the cellular connection went down. “In the event of an earthquake, we could use the 15-second data to look at the motion over several weeks or months,” Galetzka explained. “But the 5-Hz data accumulates very rapidly. If not downloaded soon after an earthquake, the data captured during the quake can be overwritten by newer data and the really important data is lost.”

When the Gorkha earthquake struck, Galetzka was in Mexico on assignment from his current employer, UNAVCO, a non-profit consortium that facilitates geoscience research and education using geodesy. “I looked at my phone and saw all these small earthquakes in Nepal and then saw the big one,” Galetzka recalled. “After thinking about it for a few moments I said, “I’ve got to go to Nepal.” He arrived in Kathmandu four days later.

As Galetzka made his way to Nepal, nations around the world sent rescue crews, medical supplies, food and shelter to the stricken region. In addition to humanitarian needs, the scientific community organized efforts to secure important geophysical data. Trimble provided funding for helicopter time needed to access remote GPS stations and donated seven Trimble NetR9 GNSS reference station receivers to replace any damaged equipment. Trimble’s Mike O’Grady, who had extensive experience in Asia, hand-carried the equipment to Kathmandu and assisted in the effort.

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A map of GPS CORS sites in Nepal. The orange line shows the rupture zone for the Gorkha quake. GPS and seismic sensors enable detailed study of the quake. Data courtesy UNAVCO, background image via Google Earth.

In the days after the quake, science took a back seat to human needs. Private and military helicopters were kept busy on humanitarian missions. Early each day, Galetzka and his colleagues would go to the airport to check aircraft status. If a helicopter was not occupied with humanitarian work, they could use it to go out for a few hours to visit a station and download data. If they couldn’t get the receiver to respond, they simply replaced it and took it back to Kathmandu where O’Grady could recover the data and update the receiver to make it available for the next mission. The rest of the day would be spent planning for the next tasks, getting people lined up to do vehicle missions to download data or helping other projects.

The views from the helicopters were striking. “In the rural areas, the damage to the villages was incredible,” O’Grady said. “Clay and mud houses had collapsed. Most casualties occurred in the mountain villages.” Helicopter missions to GPS stations often included delivering food, medical supplies and tents. “The pilot knew the area and would land in places that needed help,” said O’Grady. “We would unload the supplies and then go on to the GPS points.”

When the teams reached a GPS site, they found differing degrees of damage, but the integrity of the GPS data was consistently good. “The receivers got knocked around a bit, but none went down due to the quake,” said Galetzka. “Overall, the network produced excellent results. There were stations directly over the fault rupture. We’ve never before seen or captured data like this.”

The Gorkha quake shattered thousands of homes, with the worst damage occurring in rural areas.

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North and east displacements of the Kathmandu valley captured by GPS at points KKN4 (black) and NAST (color, showing prolonged sediment resonance). 5-Hz GPS data processed by Dave Mencin (UNAVCO); circles are at 1-second intervals.

Roger Bilham stands next to a tension gash produced by the Gorkha quake. He found less damage than expected. Photo by John Galetzka.

Jeff Genrich (Caltech) and Mike Fend (UNAVCO) work with Ritu Valdya at a location provided by Valdya and her husband. Photo by John Galetzka.

Initial analyses showed the quake started in the north, where the fault slipped as much as 5 to 6 m (16 to 20 ft). As the rock released the accumulated strain, the quake ran out of steam. By the time it reached Kathmandu, the slip had decreased to centimeter levels. Galetzka used the information to refine his strategy for recovering the GPS data. Because the quake had minimal motion in the western part of the country, he could give those GPS stations a lower priority.

Unexpected Results One aspect of the Gorkha quake surprised the scientists. The high-frequency shaking in Kathmandu was not as violent as what would be expected based on the amount of strain released in the fault rupture; however, the low-frequency shaking (3-6 second period) was more typical. Given the low-frequency energy released in the quake and typical construction practices, damage to the many short buildings in the city was surprisingly light, but damage to tall structures was heavy. More work is needed to understand the surface motion associated with the quake and how the movement of smooth flat fault systems can translate to motions at the surface. It’s also important to know if the Gorkha quake put additional stress on other faults in the area, which could influence occurrence of future earthquakes.

Work by Galetzka and others will gather information to help answer these questions. Because the GPS equipment at existing stations was largely undamaged, teams could use the receivers donated by Trimble to establish several new monitoring sites. The GNSS-capable equipment allowed stations to be located in places previously difficult for GPS alone. “We couldn’t get

on mountain tops,” Galetzka explained. “So we needed to put stations in some very deep valleys. With GPS along with GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou, we can track as many satellites as possible while still being in a deep valley. It should increase the data quality coming out of those stations.”

Nepal’s GPS network continues to monitor tectonic motion, enabling researchers to model the strain accumulating along the plate boundaries and estimate the strength of upcoming quakes. Geophysicists can use information from the Gorkha quake to advise local authorities on the need for good building practices to mitigate future damage and loss of life. “There’s a lot of tectonic energy still remaining in that part of Nepal,” Galetzka said. “It wasn’t completely released in this earthquake. For me it was urgent to understand what the earth did and what this means for the future for the earthquake hazard in Nepal.”

See the original feature article in POB’s October 2015 issue:www.pobonline.com

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Gazing at the 64 grand white turbines at the Mount Mercer Wind Farm in southeast Australia, it’s easy to forget that building these big elements meant sweating

a lot of small elements—the foundation layouts, the precise orientation of the hardstands, the precise position of bolt sets, and the precise location of tons of steel and concrete foundations—none of which were set without precise survey measurements and control.

Into the WindSurvey Technology Helps Energize a Wind Farm

And all of that survey responsibility fell to TGM Group, an engineering, surveying and planning consultancy with an office in Ballarat, 30 km (19 mi) from Mt. Mercer, and several other locations in Victoria. From the outset, the scale of the Mt Mercer site presented a considerable challenge.

“With the complex nature of construction tasks and the size of the site, technological accuracy and mobility were key,” said Nathan Farrell, TGM’s senior surveyor and lead surveyor for the Mt. Mercer project. “Using an integrated survey technology approach gave us the efficiency and flexibility to provide data solutions in real time for any given challenge on site, without losing data integrity, accuracy or time.”

Indeed, such an approach enabled TGM to not only successfully provide the crucial survey detail upon which to build the Mt. Mercer Wind Farm, but also to cover 2,600 ha (6,425 acres) of challenges, surprises and resolutions with a survey crew of one.

Setting the StageTGM first blew into the wind-farm market in 2007 with a 128-turbine farm near Ballarat and have provided survey support for ten other wind farms in the Victoria region. Given its previous experience and its strategic location near the chosen Mt. Mercer site, Downer EDI, the engineering company responsible for the civil works, selected TGM in January 2013 to provide them with full survey support for

A Trimble S6 total station helps monitor the embed section for movement during main concrete pour at wind turbine 33.

Mt Mercer’s turbines are forecast to generate enough energy to power almost 100,000 homes.

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all the construction aspects of the project. By February 2013, Farrell was in the field.

After establishing the site control network using a Trimble SPS880 Smart GPS antenna as a base station and an R8 receiver as a rover, Farrell’s focus turned to providing detailed setouts for the turbine foundations and confirming the best orientation for each turbine’s hardstand—the temporary work area for assembling and erecting the turbine components.

Towering 125 m (410 ft) to the tip and weighing more than 200 metric tons (440,000 lbs), each turbine is comprised of three sections grounded by steel and concrete foundations 16 m (52.5-ft) across. The tower is topped by a 69-ton nacelle, containing the gear box and generator. Each of the turbine’s three blades is 45 m (148 ft) long, two-thirds the length of a 747’s wing. The hub and blades are assembled at ground level and then are lifted into place by a crane in one single lift. It takes 1.5 days and a 20-person crew to assemble and erect each turbine.

To accommodate the construction and erection of each wind turbine, each hardstand needed to be 45 m (148 ft) long and 25 m (82 ft) wide—the width of an Olympic-sized swimming pool—and maintain a crossfall gradient of exactly 0.4 percent

to ensure proper drainage and safe operating conditions for the 750-ton (1,650,000-lb) high-lift cranes. Excavated to a minimum of 300 mm (12 in) below existing surface levels, each hardstand was then back-filled with quarried stone and compacted to engineering specifications. To ensure the cranes could lift the turbine components into place, hardstands could never sit more than 2 m (7 ft) below the embed ring—the steel cylinder upon which the first turbine tower segment is bolted.

Based on pre-determined coordinates for each turbine foundation, Farrell used an R8 GNSS receiver and Trimble TSC3® data controller to collect a topographic survey of the area and place existing control points around the hardstand location. Based on those points, he used the controller’s computation abilities to determine a balance plane that would minimize earthworks volumes based on the orientation of the hardstand. That often meant Farrell had to recompute and amend the originally set hardstand orientations on the fly.

Once the orientations and heights were approved, Farrell would stake out the hardstand locations and provide the design files to the earthworks teams, who excavated the hardstand locations according to the Trimble-based cut-and-fill design files. After the temporary work site was back-filled and compacted, Farrell used the Trimble S6 total station to perform a quality assurance

Senior surveyor Nathan Farrell says the integrated survey technology enabled TGM to provide survey detail for the 2,600-hectare site with a one-person crew. Photo credit: Peter Kervarec

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survey on the hardstand to ensure the crossfall tolerances were in accordance with minimum/maximum clearances from the hardstand to the turbine embed.

Preparing for the TowersThe below-ground preparations of the turbine foundations were carried out in parallel with laying out and preparing the hardstands. Similar to determining hardstands, Farrell used the R8 and TSC3 to stake out the turbine foundation locations and then supplied that design data to guide the excavation process by the earthworks contractors.

Once the foundation had been excavated to the correct depth and shape, control grids needed to be established for the concrete crews to both accurately place a flat, stable base layer of concrete, known as blinding, and to guide the subsequent layers of support grid beams, 40 tons (88,185 lbs) of steel reinforcing, the embed tower section and the concrete formboard.

To create the control grid, Farrell had to accurately position the center point of each tower. With the R8 receiver, he first established control within the excavated pit, confirmed the center point and saved that to the data controller. He then placed the S6 over the center point and referenced a remote, existing reference point on Mt. Mercer to mark the grids to millimeter accuracy as required. To maintain the correct surface level as the blinding was poured, steel rods topped with yellow safety caps were placed as benchmarks.

From there, Farrell interchanged his GNSS and total-station technologies to provide reference marks and grid lines and spot checks as the crews added each foundational layer. And with each new layer came increased scrutiny, particularly when crews reached the embed tower. The embed ring had to be placed and remain within construction tolerances of 5 mm (0.2 in)

horizontal and 2 mm (0.08 in) vertical. That required four as-built surveys, which Farrell performed using the Trimble S8 total station and a precise optical level.

The foundation was then ready to be poured. About 330 m3 (10,600 ft3) of concrete is poured into the foundation—including the collar around the embed section—in a single, continuous pour. Because that much volume of material at one time could cause the ring to shift, crews set the S6 on previously set external grid reference marks to monitor the embed ring for any significant movement horizontally or vertically during the main concrete pour. After the pour, Farrell completed a survey of eight points around the top of the embed to confirm if any movement had altered its position.

Expanded ScopeTGM’s proven ability to deliver on its initial project scope gave Downer EDI the confidence to task it to provide support for other construction elements such as positioning over 100 bolt sets for an electrical substation.

To precisely set the bolts, Farrell used the S8 to set pins on grids to position the bolt lines, and once the steel was placed and the bolts were erected, he performed a check survey of all the bolt locations prior to the pour and adjusted any that were outside position tolerances. The slab was then poured and Farrell confirmed the final position of the bolts in the concrete formwork, enabling crews to complete the construction of the substation.

Having the enabling technology to set all of those small foundational elements, from the substation to the turbine towers, was a key element of successfully moving the Mt. Mercer Wind Farm from layout to the whirring turbines of today.

See feature in xyHt’s September 2015 issue: www.xyht.com

Senior surveyor Nathan Farrell tasks the Trimble S8 and TSC3 controller at the Mt. Mercer Wind Farm.

It takes 1.5 days and a 20-person crew to assemble and erect each turbine.

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Aaron Mages didn’t plan to become a surveyor. But he’s very happy that he did.

Growing up in a small Minnesota town, Mages always loved the outdoors. He studied civil engineering technology in college and worked during summer months on construction projects before being introduced to surveying. “I basically stumbled into it,” Mages recalled. “I took a summer job with a surveyor in the Minne-apolis/St. Paul area and really liked it.” He changed direction at school and earned a degree in land surveying and mapping with additional studies in GIS. The degree enabled him to become licensed as a land surveyor in Minnesota and paved the way for his new career.

During his early years on the job, Mages worked in a small town in southern Minnesota performing boundary surveys

in farmlands and rural areas. He gained important experience working on rural tracts, conducting the fieldwork and research required to survey the townships and sections defined by the U.S. Public Land Survey System (PLSS).

In 2011, Mages brought his expertise in boundary and residential development to Stonebrooke Engineering, a company strong in transportation engineering. Working as the surveying department manager, Mages supervises a staff of 8, including field crews, office technicians and one additional licensed surveyor. When he arrived at Stonebrooke, the surveying department was very small and focused almost exclusively on construction staking for the company’s projects. “The crew chief that was here when I arrived is one of the better crew chiefs that I’ve ever worked with,” Mages said. “He’s very strong in construction staking, so we chased that

type of work. As a company we needed to continue to grow, and in the summer there’s plenty of construction staking. The challenge in Minnesota is always the winter, just because of the heavy snowfall.”

Stonebrooke wanted to broaden its services and smooth out the workload throughout the year. They leveraged Mages’s experience to add boundary and cadastral work to its portfolio of surveying services. The results are beginning to show. The company recently completed a boundary survey for 1,100 acres (445 ha) of land destined for ownership by the Min-nesota Department of Natural Resources. Mages needed to break down seven different sections to establish the property lines, which required locating roughly 30 section corners. The crews used a combi-nation of Trimble technologies, including Trimble R8 and R10 GNSS receivers and Trimble S6 robotic total stations. One of

The Connected Surveyor

A Minnesota surveyor blends technology andmanagement skills to deliver high-quality service

As construction advances on the St. Croix River bridge. Stonebrooke surveyors provide layout and quality control.

Day in the Life

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Stonebrooke’s clients, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MND-OT) operates a real-time GNSS network based on Trimble VRS™ technology, and Stonebrooke crews took advantage of the statewide availability of GNSS correction data. “We could use GNSS for most of the section corners,” Mages explained. “If we couldn’t get at them with GNSS because of the trees, then we’d set control with GNSS and use a robotic total station to locate them. We used both total stations and GNSS for monumenting the property and tying in fence lines and other occupation lines.”

Even with the growth in cadastral and residential development, heavy con-struction staking remains the major focus. Stonebrooke’s surveyors divide their time roughly 50/50 between in-house projects and external clients, which include large national and multi-national construction companies. Mages is quick to credit the success to his staff, especially crew chiefs Tom Brake and Tyler Hanstad. “The job they’ve done for our major contractors has brought in a lot of new work,” he said. For example, Hanstad, at the request of the client, has been working on a major bridge project for over two years. The initial work started with the bridge approaches, but has since grown to surveying on the bridge itself.

Much of the crews’ success stems from the ability to quickly adapt to changes. Mages credits the flexibility to modern technology, especially communica-tions. Each crew chief is equipped with a laptop computer, Trimble GNSS receiver and robotic total station. They communicate with the office via cell-phone and wireless Internet connections running on Trimble TSC3 controllers and Trimble Tablet field computers. Stonebrooke uses Trimble AccessSync and the Trimble Connected Community (TCC) to handle its field data. “Survey crews sync their data and job files and we can grab it in the office,” Mages said.

There are many days when Stonebrooke’s tech-savvy crews never visit the office. The crew chiefs take their vehicles home each evening. In the morning, rather than coming to the office, they can receive assignments and data files via TCC and drive directly to the work site, saving time and cost for Stonebrooke and its clients. “We may go a couple of weeks without actually seeing Tyler,” Mages said. “But he can sync his data daily so that we can do an extra check on his work. It lets us get a second set of eyes on things and he appreciates that we can back him up.”

In addition to using TCC for construction projects, Mages explained how they use connectivity for boundary work. The survey crew can tie in all the property pins and then sync their data. While they’re shooting the topography on the lot, the office technicians use Trimble Business Center software to calculate the property boundary and location of the house corners and then sync the data back to the crew. When the crew finishes shooting topo they can stake the house and the lot corners. The approach saves a lot of drive time and cost. Mages added that in cases where the crews want the office team to check something, it often can be done while the crew is still on the jobsite.

As Mages looks a few years down the road, technology and connectivity remain important to him. He’s keeping an eye on scanning and unmanned aircraftsystems (UAS) as ways to further enhance Stonebrooke’s service to its clients. “It comes down to our experience and expertise,” he said. “We take the approach of doing whatever is needed to keep our clients satisfied.”

Aaron Mages at work in Stonebrooke’s office in Burnsville, MN. He supervises the firm’s field and office survey professionals.

Stonebrooke’s Trimble S6 measures to piers that will support a new bridge crossing the St. Croix river.

A Stonebrooke surveyor uses a Trimble VX™ spatial station on a bridge construction site. Many projects are handled with one-person crews.

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A New Look at Ancient Faces

UAS are providing new information aboutEaster Island’s iconic statues

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Cover Story

It’s one of the most isolated and intriguing places on the planet. Sitting alone in the South Pacific, Chile’s tiny Easter Island (traditionally known as “Rapa Nui”) has long been the source of fascination—and disagreement—for

historians and archaeologists. Researchers from around the world have studied Rapa Nui’s people, environment and famous statues. However, an important scientific tool has been missing: in spite of years of research, there is no comprehensive geospatial dataset for Rapa Nui. That is, until a team of California scientists set to work to solve the problem.

Formed by volcanic activity, Rapa Nui lies more than 3,500 km (2,200 mi) off of the South American coast. Rapa Nui’s original human residents arrived from Polynesia around AD 1200 and the first European explorers landed in 1722. Today, roughly 60 percent of the island’s 5,800 residents are direct descendants of the Polynesian settlers.

Rapa Nui’s most famous occupants are more than 900 stone statues (known as “moai”) located around the island. Sitting on massive stone platforms called “ahu,” the moai on average stand roughly 4m (13 ft) high and weigh 12,500 kg (13.8 tons). Some are almost 10 m (30 ft) high and weigh more than 74,000 kg (82 tons). The Chilean government in 1935 established Rapa Nui National Park, which covers about 40 percent of the island’s 160 km2 (62 mi2). In 1995, the park was designated as a United Nations World Heritage Site.

The significance of the moai, together with questions of how they were created and placed, attracts tourists and scientists from around the world. For many researchers, understanding the moai requires knowledge of the lives of Rapa Nui’s prehistoric residents. According to Carl Lipo, Professor of Anthropology at California State University Long Beach (CSULB), the entire island is a mystery. “Rapa Nui has very few natural resources,” Lipo said. “There are no streams, poor soils, few native species of birds and only a tiny reef to provide marine resources. When you look at it from a European perspective, it’s surprising that people lived there for any length of time.”

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Images: Carl Lippo

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Rapa Nui is dotted with evidence of its prehistoric inhabitants, including ruins of houses, ovens, gardens and cultivation features. Lipo’s current research focuses on freshwater resources and its relations to archaeological settlements. “The topography is the key to understanding the archaeological record,” he explained. “It helps you locate where the water and arable land were located.” Topographic data helps to spot ancient roads and building sites that are undetectable from the ground. “The entire island is an archaeological resource,” explained Suzanne Wechsler, an Associate Professor in Geography at CSULB. “Understanding the features and their spatial relationships requires a systematic landscape-scale survey.”

In most locations around the world, aerial imagery provides the topographic information that Wechsler describes. But isolation and limited budgets have thwarted effective aerial photography on Rapa Nui and the available satellite imagery lacks the needed resolution. To obtain suitable data, the researchers turned to a commercial unmanned aircraft system (UAS) designed to capture the systematic, georeferenced imagery needed to create accurate maps and terrain models.

With funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation, the team conducted a project to evaluate the performance of UAS in capturing aerial imagery and to integrate the resulting orthophotos with existing datasets. They selected a Trimble UX5 unmanned aircraft system to collect imagery along Rapa Nui’s southern coast. “In 9 days we flew more than 26 missions covering approximately 18.5 km2 (7.1 mi2),” Lipo said. “The UAS captured more than 20,000 individual images that produced 26 orthophotos.” Flying at approximately 100 m (330 ft) above ground level with 80 percent overlap, the images produced a ground sample distance of 2 to 3 cm.

As part of their planning, the team identified a minimum of five ground control points (GCP) for each flight. The stations were measured with Trimble GeoExplorer® 6000 GNSS handheld computers and post processed to decimeter accuracy using data from a GPS reference station originally established for NASA, the U.S. space agency.

Working with his CSULB colleagues, Lipo operated the UAS, completing three or four flights each day. They used the Trimble Access™ Aerial Imaging application to define polygonal coverage areas for each flight. The polygons allowed them to optimize the flights to cover the near-shore areas and collect some inland data as well. The researchers said the planning helped achieve the best coverage in the face of constant winds, irregular coastline and rocky terrain that limited the selection of landing sites. In several cases, they launched multiple missions from the same location, with the aircraft flying a kilometer or more to the target area before beginning photo passes. Between flights, the team downloaded images and installed a fresh battery into the aircraft. In some cases, they switched cameras, replacing the

Christopher Lee and Eliza Pearce prepare the Trimble UX5, conducting multiple flights from a single launch/landing site. Credit: S. Wechsler, CSULB. Credit: Carl Lipo

Satellite view of Rapa Nui shows the orthophotos produced. It only took nine days to collect high-resolution georeferenced imagery on more than ten percent of the island’s surface. Credit: S. Wechsler

Orthophoto of the south coast produced from UX5 images. Credit: S. Wechsler

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high-resolution color camera with a near-infrared sensor. “It’s a fast change,” Lipo said, “and you can reuse the previous flight plan. So you can easily match the two flights for lighting and weather.”

Working to manage the large datasets—the system produced 60 Gb of imagery—they developed orthophotos from which they derived digital elevation models (DEM) for topographic analysis. Then their students used Trimble eCognition® software to classify archaeological features. The software uses object-based analysis to identify the remains of houses, stone platforms and circular structures for gardens.

The performance of the Trimble solution convinced the researchers of the value of using commercial solutions to extend the aerial imaging over the entire island. The team is planning new projects that will use the Trimble system to blanket all of Rapa Nui with high-resolution imagery.

In addition to archaeology, aerial images can support other activities on the island. The information can assist the island Ministry of Public Works by documenting modern infrastructure and providing information for planning and

development to handle the island’s growing business in eco-tourism. For example, the Ministry can use the detailed data to plan a series of bike paths to enable visitors to access historic features without damaging the archaeological record. Because the imagery can be repeated at low cost, it enables researchers and government officials to see changes in the features and topography over time to gauge the impact of visitors and development.

For Lipo, the payoff lies in the science. By combining topographic information with hydrological data, he has gained new insights into Rapa Nui’s history. He points out that the sites of the moai and ahu were apparently based on the location of water rather than for visibility as previously believed. “The data are astounding,” Lipo said. “You see things that you could never see before, even though the island has been studied for hundreds of years. The UAS provides a complete record of what is on the ground. It’s the way archaeology should be done.”

See feature article in POB’s January issue: www.pobonline.com

Compared to images captured using a kite-mounted camera (left), the coverage by the Trimble UAS (right) produced systematic coverage needed for photogrammetry and qualitative analyses. Credit: S. Wechsler

Orthoimage (left) and DEM (right) of moai at 1:125 scale. Consistent data enabled scientists to integrate images taken on different days or with other sensors and datasets. Credit: S. Wechsler, CSULB

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The soon-to-be-complete Gorgon Project is Australia’s largest ever single-resource development. A local survey firm was responsible for surveying the Gorgon Jetty, an

undertaking that demanded ambitious surveying techniques and a full toolbox of technology solutions.

The Gorgon Project is a natural gas project developing the Gorgon and Jansz-Io gas fields located between 130 to 220 km (81 to 137 mi) off the northwest coast of Western Australia. The project includes a three-train, 15.6 million tonnes per annum liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility on nearby Barrow Island, and a domestic gas plant with the capacity to supply 300 terajoules of gas per day to Western Australia.

The Gorgon Project is operated by an Australian subsidiary of Chevron and is a joint venture of the Australian subsidiaries of Chevron (47.3%), ExxonMobil (25%), Shell (25%), Osaka Gas (1.25%), Tokyo Gas (1%) and Chubu Electric Power (0.417%). Images courtesy of Chevron Australia.

Subsea infrastructure will transport natural gas from the gas fields to the LNG plant on Barrow Island. From there, LNG destined for domestic use will be piped to the mainland; LNG for international markets will be off-loaded from the Gorgon Jetty.

Western Australian firm CADS Survey was contracted to survey the 2.1 km (1.3 mi) Gorgon Jetty, including structural, mechanical and hydrographic surveys. They also developed and managed the necessary automated module guidance systems.

With 40 surveyors performing conventional, laser scanning, UAS, and hydrographic surveys, CADS Survey was well equipped to meet the tasks and challenges of the project. Simon Bush, co-owner of CADS Survey, was the Survey Manager of the Gorgon Jetty project.

Caisson Placement and StabilizingSurveying work began with the placement of caissons on the sea floor, which were then filled with heavy gravel.

Screed formed a level base for the caissons. During the screeding process, the Trimble SPS855 GNSS Modular Receiver and Trimble SPS555H Modular Add-On GNSS Receiver were attached to the crane hook, barge and screed frame to provide guidance. The crew used Trimble HYDROpro™ marine construction software to visualize the accurate positioning and leveling of screed frames. Dips and ridges in the seabed detected by the survey vessel used by CADS Survey were postprocessed and the results were reported back before the screed frame’s positioning was signed off.

Surveying for the Gorgon Jetty in Western Australia

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The survey vessel also helped verify that gravel bed extents and elevations were satisfactory after the survey.

For accurate caisson placement, the upper beam of each caisson was mounted with three or four Trimble GNSS receivers (Trimble SPS855 and SPS555H), which wirelessly transmitted position data to the HYDROpro software. In the control room on the caisson floating barge, an operator viewed the position and tilt of the caisson in relation to the design location. A team that included engineers to determine how much water to pump into the caisson to keep it level, a hydrographic surveyor and a winch operator watched the visualization on three large screens. HYDROpro displayed winch lines to help the operator determine which one to use to move the caisson, plus information such as vertical-distance-to-touchdown and caisson center location. The latter screen was used when the caisson was close to design location.

Static GNSS Enhances Total Station TraverseTo solve the problem of poor network geometry for total station observations, CADS Survey observed primary control points with static GNSS—these tied back to the high-order network on Barrow Island. The baselines were observed for 12 hours or more to negate any subtle movements caused by environmental factors. Said Bush, “Caissons sway, so you can wander off with your traverses. The static GNSS tied everything back to the Barrow island network. It was an insurance against angular drift in the total station traverse.”

Caissons were placed 80 m (260 ft) apart. At approximately every 500 m (1,600 ft) survey pillars were installed on a caisson. Further static GNSS baselines were observed to each one.

How to Meet in the Middle?To ensure both ends of the jetty met in the middle, CADS Survey employed long-range reciprocal trigonometric heighting using Trimble S8 Total Stations with Long Range FineLock™ technology. These instruments can detect targets without interference from surrounding prisms to 2,500 m (8,200 ft), achieving 1 cm accuracy.

The team set up the total stations to face each other from neighboring caissons and observed from both ends of the line. They measured at exactly the same time to derive mean elevation differences while minimizing the effects of refractive turbulence. “The Trimble S8 instruments didn’t skip a beat,” said Bush. “They were completely reliable, with repeatable results even on our longest observation.”

Solving Access Problems with 3D ScanningWhen pipe modules were installed, they came with straight lengths of pipes already installed. CADS

The Trimble S8 with Long Range FineLock technology provided 1 cm accuracy when measuring from caisson to caisson.

The Trimble FX scanner was frequently installed by rope access climbers.

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SIDEBAR

CADS Survey’sHydro Vessel

For hydrographic surveying CADS Survey used a survey vessel equipped with echo sounders, a motion reference unit, a gyro, and an RTK GNSS system. The R2Sonic multibeam echo sounder suited the shallow water; the Ceestar single beam provided quality control for the multibeam system. The TSS DMS-05 motion reference unit measured onboard rotations and accelerations to give correction values for heave, pitch and roll. The Trimble RTK GNSS system, a Trimble SPS852, used CADS Survey’s GNSS base station setup at the LNG plant construction site to deliver centimeter-accurate 3D positions.

All of these navigational aids enabled the vessel to return results accurate to approximately 50 mm (2 in) in calm or moderate seas.

Survey’s next task was to deliver accurate pipe end measurements.

After careful testing, CADS Survey purchased a Trimble FX™ 3D scanner. Rope access climbers, with the sea beneath them, bolted the instrument in place close to pipe racks. The survey team positioned themselves nearby with the scanning PC running Trimble RealWorks® software. The high-precision Trimble FX instrument provided a clean representation of pipe ends that they could model with certainty.

Gorgon Jetty Project CompletionOn the Gorgon Jetty the CADS Survey team greatly enlarged its swag of surveying capabilities. Bush concludes, “The construction sequence was not a traditional land-to-jetty-end build, so it provided a great surveying challenge. To maintain the highest accuracy we really had to use the latest surveying technology available.”

See feature in xyHt’s December 2015 issue: www.xyht.com

Caissons being floated off a semi-submersible barge.

The GNSS guidance system, with devices attached to crane hook, barge and screed frame, accurately positioned and leveled the screed frame to design location.

This Trimble HYDROpro screen depicts a caisson’s actual position in black and its required design position in red.

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IBH general manager Frank Herzbruch says that 3D scanning provides speed and accuracy in rail surveying.

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With more than 33,000 km (20,500 mi) of track, Deutsche Bahn AG (widely known as “DB”) handles nearly 25,000 passenger trains and 5,000 freight

trains daily. Working with partners and contractors, DB uses carefully-defined processes to provide safe, comfortable transportation.

Adequate clearance along the tracks is critical for safe passage for locomotives and railcars. DB uses the concept of “clearance envelopes” to define the space that a railcar can safely occupy as it passes any given location. The fact that some cars may carry loads exceeding normal railcar parameters—and the trend to larger cars and higher speeds—place additional demands on DB infrastructure.

A German Surveying Company Focuses on Safety and Productivity

DB and its contractors conduct clearance surveys to locate and document constrictions, which occur when objects are close to the clearance envelope. Constrictions can occur at signs and signals, stations, bridges, retaining structures or walls, tunnels and underpasses as well as congested areas in cities and industrial areas. DB also requires clearance surveys to be performed for all construction and modification work in track areas.

Traditional clearance surveys employ a large frame that is placed on the track to act as a reference for local coordinates. Static photographs and photogrammetric methods provide measurements of the constriction related to the track centerline. The approach produces suitable results, but working with the frame can be slow and require additional staffing for measurement and safety. Frank Herzbruch, owner and general manager of Ingenieurbüro Herzbruch GmbH (IBH), recognized the opportunity to provide rapid, accurate clearance surveys without need for the frame.

Herzbruch’s company specializes in surveying for railway applications. One of IBH’s most flexible tools is the Trimble GEDO® solution for precise track measurement and data collection. The GEDO solution is based on a track-mounted trolley equipped with sensors to measure odometry, cant, and track width (gauge). Additional sensors, such as Trimble GNSS receivers, 3D scanners or prism targets for Trimble S-series total stations can be mounted on the trolley, which is pushed along the track by one person. In the office, GEDO software provides data processing, analysis and exchange. Based on its success in using the GEDO system for 3D data for track location and profiles, IBH decided to put the GEDO Scan solution to work in clearance surveys.

Clearing the Way

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GEDO Scan consists of a Trimble TX5 3D scanner mounted on the GEDO trolley. The scanner’s vertical axis is locked so that the scanner measures in a single plane. As the operator pushes the trolley along the track, the scanner captures a 3D point cloud tied to the track centerline. The forward motion of the trolley and rotating scan beam produce a helical scan along the direction of the rail axis. In normal operation the trolley produces point intervals of roughly 10 mm (0.4 inch) along the track axis. Data for cant, gauge and distance along the track are also recorded.

IBH tested the system on a pilot project at a DB rail station at Leverkusen. They used the scanner to measure new and existing features along 900 m (2,900 ft) of newly constructed tracks. Potential constrictions included signals, a building, masts for signs and power as well as the station platform and its roof. Operated by one person, the GEDO system completed the scan in less than one hour.

Data from the scanner was loaded into Trimble GEDO Scan software, which combined it with measured values from the trolley and track geometry to produce a 3D point cloud. Then the software applied the clearance envelope to automatically detect any potential encroachments. When a constriction was found, the software collected the scanning data onto a plane orthogonal to the track at the location of the constriction and generated a vector representation of the encroachment for export to DB’s database.

For final confirmation, IBH compared results from the GEDO solution with results from optical surveys. The stationing of constrictions determined by the scanner agreed to within 10 cm (4 in) of the optical surveys. Horizontal and vertical offsets from the track axis were within 5 mm (0.2 in) of the optical measurements. The results showed that the GEDO Scan system performs well within DB specifications and can replace the optical methods.

In addition to providing required accuracy and eliminating the need for a physical frame, the GEDO system reduces time and costs in collecting the high-accuracy data. Herzbruch said that when using the solution for constrictions as well as documentation or pre-tamping measurements, the system cuts costs associated with track downtime and safety precautions during the measurement process.

The system also can be configured to collect absolute position data based on local 3D coordinates or a georeferenced coordinate system. In these cases, Trimble R10 GNSS receivers or Trimble S-Series robotic total stations determine the location of the trolley along the track. During processing, each point captured by the scanner receives 3D coordinates in the local or global system.

The GEDO Scan solution can provide high-precision information on track and surrounding structures. Measurements of complex or confined spaces such as tunnels and underpasses are completed quickly and the resulting 3D point clouds can be used in planning new alignments or modified structures. Clearance envelopes can pass through the point cloud to conduct virtual collision tests against new designs. Because the scanner captures even small details in a single pass, it reduces the need to revisit a site to collect additional data needed for design or analysis.

Herzbruch believes that the Trimble system gives him a strong competitive advantage. “The GEDO Scan system provides very high accuracy and is an effective, economical solution for clearance surveys,” he said. As railways adapt to increasing demands for speed and capacity, engineers and managers rely on accurate, timely data on their assets and surrounding environment. The GEDO solution plays a key role in providing information to support informed decisions and safe, economical operations.

See feature in European Railway Review’s June special issue: www.europeanrailwayreview.com

In the Leverkusen project, Trimble GEDO Scan software automatically detects a signal that touches the clearance envelope.

Trimble GEDO Scan Office software uses data from GEDO Scan to check for encroachments into clearance envelopes.

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In the fall of 2014, Trimble embarked on a joint program with CyArk to digitally preserve 10 cultural heritage sites across western Africa and the Americas that were associated with

the extensive and exploitative Trans-Atlantic slave trade prior to the American Civil War.

CyArk is a California-based nonprofit dedicated to the digital preservation of the world’s cultural heritage sites; the name comes from the combination of the words “cyber” and “archive.” Its mission is to create a free, 3D online library of the world’s cultural heritage sites to ensure that they are available to future generations, while making them uniquely accessible today. CyArk offers a publicly accessible Web archive for its documented archaeological sites: http://cyark.org.

The First Site: Natchez National Historical ParkCyArk and Trimble kicked off the Atlantic Slave Trade Project with the digital preservation of Natchez National Historical Park in Natchez, Mississippi. Resting along the Mississippi River, the city of Natchez played a significant role in the

landscape of slavery in America. Prior to the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863—which changed the federal legal status of more than 3 million enslaved persons in designated areas of the South from “slave” to “free”—Natchez was home to the second-largest slave auction site in the country, with traders transporting tens of thousands of enslaved people from Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas and Kentucky to the markets and auction sites of New Orleans and Natchez.

The Natchez National Historical Park includes two prominent historical residences: the William Johnson House, an iconic brick house that provides valuable insight into the less-documented experiences of the free black community living in Natchez in the early 1800s; and the Melrose House, a Greek Revival estate home that allows for a closer understanding of the daily life of those enslaved.

Onsite at Natchez, Trimble TX8 and TX5 3D laser scanners were used to document the Johnson and Melrose Houses, as well as four slave quarters on the Melrose Estate property.

The AtlanticSlave TradeProject An interactive map showing some of the Atlantic Slave Trade routes and sites

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Documenting the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Using 3D Technologies

Left: Robert, with the NEI team, captures data of the slave quarters at Melrose. Right: A 3D model of the Melrose slave quarters, created using Trimble V10 imagery and Trimble SketchUp.

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In addition to 3D laser scanning, GIS and survey data with photo panoramas were collected using the Trimble V10 imaging rover. Professionals from geospatial solution provider Navigation Electronics, Inc. (NEI) helped capture the data.

In just three days, the field capture team scanned and surveyed the interior and exterior of both houses, as well as their surroundings. During this time, the field team also captured high-resolution photography and conducted interviews with the park superintendent, as well as park managers, volunteers, Natchez experts, and prominent figures at the Natchez Museum of African Art and Heritage.

While the data field capture provides a baseline for documentation of the Natchez National Historical Park site, derivatives from the data make it possible for the public to interact with the site in new ways. Online visitors can take a virtual tour of both the Johnson and Melrose houses and explore them through panoramic photography. A detailed 3D model, created from the panoramic imagery using Trimble’s

SketchUp 3D modeling software, is also available on the website to introduce virtual tourists to the style, structure and geographic location of the slave quarters at the Melrose House.

In March and April of 2015, two other significant sites—the Annaberg Sugar Plantation on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Cidade Velha on Cabo (Cape) Verde, an island republic off the coast of Western Africa—were also documented.

The Second Site: Annaberg Sugar PlantationDenmark took control of St. John in 1754, establishing and operating sugar plantations all over the island through 1848, when slavery ended in the region. The Annaberg Sugar Plantation ruins are one of the finest remaining examples of Dutch Colonial Era industrial agriculture on the island. A modest holding in 1722, the plantation was enlarged and modernized in 1796 when James Murphy purchased and consolidated several plantations, adding one of the largest windmills on the island, plus the sugar factory. The ruins

The back facade of the Melrose mansion and the side buildings that contained the kitchen and dairy processing rooms on the lower levels, and slave quarters above.

Left: An interior room of the William Johnson House, captured with the TX8 scanner, and displayed here as a 3D color point cloud.Right: A color 3D point cloud model of the William Johnson House, captured by Trimble TX8 scanners and processed in Trimble RealWorks software.

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of Annaberg encompass the slave quarters, windmill and processing factory, a guard house, and the owner’s mansion.

Situated in the eastern Caribbean, St. John was one of the worst places a person captured and transported across the Atlantic Ocean could disembark. Working brutal 18- to 20-hour days during the sugar harvest, enslaved workers suffered the relentless heat of the Caribbean sun and boiling-house furnaces, along with exposure to dangerous machinery and scalding liquids. The Annaberg slaves farmed 1,300 acres of sugarcane and produced 100,000 tons of sugar a year.

In 1917, the U.S. purchased St. John from Denmark for $25M in order to establish a naval base, making the island an unincorporated U.S. territory. Since 1956, approximately 60 percent of St. John has been protected as Virgin Islands National Park, administered by the U.S. National Park Service. CyArk and Trimble worked closely with the Virgin Islands National Park archaeologist, Ken Wilde, to identify key areas of interest and to better understand how to document them. It took a team of nine people five days to completely capture the Annaberg site. Digital surface models, high-resolution orthorectified imagery, detailed point clouds of the structures, SketchUp 3D models of the site and panoramic terrestrial imagery of specific features paint a comprehensive picture of the entire area. Several Trimble technologies were used to document the Annaberg Sugar Plantation, including TX8 scanning, UX5 unmanned aircraft system aerial photogrammetry and the V10 imaging rover with GNSS. The scale, variety and quality of captured data is one of the most complete and comprehensive site documentation efforts on record for a project of this type.

View the Annaberg site; find in-depth information; and see the full media gallery.

The Third Site: Cidade VelhaThe Cidade Velha site capture has been completed, with data processing still underway. Expect live datasets in the coming months, which can be viewed online.

In addition to contributing to a greater understanding of the complex Trans-Atlantic slave trade system, these digital preservation projects will enable free public access and standards-based curriculum around individual sites and the global slave trade at large. Documentation and inclusion in the digital preservation of the Atlantic slave trade theme will greatly enhance the visibility of these sites, while bringing cutting-edge technologies to assist in site conservation and interpretation.

Read more about these preservation projects in Lidar magazine and SketchUp blog.

3D point cloud of Annaberg Plantation.

A Trimble UX5 view of the Annaberg Sugar Plantation factory site, from one of the many aerial images collected for the project.

Trimble TX8 scanning the Annaberg Sugar Plantation windmill and factory processing site.

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PHOTO CONTEST

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After our editors picked the top four photos submitted for the photo contest and posted them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/Trimble Geospatial), our fans chose the winner. First place—and a Trimble 3-in-1 all-weather jacket—go to “Double Island Point Lighthouse,” which received the most Facebook fan votes. Second place—and an iPod

Shuffle—go to “A Lovely Day in Antarctica.” “Vøringsfossen, Norway” also received quite a few votes and wins a Trimble prize as well.

Double Island Point LighthouseSurveyor Dave Barfoot and assistant Kevin Schulz embarked before sunrise on a two-hour trek to their worksite at the Double Island Point Lighthouse, located within the Great Sandy National Park, Queensland, Australia. Packed in the back of their truck was a Trimble S6 total station along with Dave’s surfboard for a lunch surf break.

Double Island Point was named and mapped by Captain James Cook in 1770. According to Cook’s journals and maps, dated 1773, he named the place “on account of its figure… the point itself is of such an unequal Height that it looks like two small islands laying under the land.”

The task of the team from Murray & Associates Surveyors & Town Planners was to locate and identify part of the Lease Boundaries of the Double Island Point Observation Park on behalf of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. MAS&TP has been doing business in the national park since the 1950’s, so we assume the job was completed successfully. We have no information on the success of the surfing.

A Lovely Day in AntarcticaThis photo, submitted by climber and author Damien Gildea, shows Chilean mountaineer Rodrigo Fica climbing the upper slopes of Mount Shinn (4660 m/15,230 ft), Antarctica’s third-highest mountain, with the continent’s highest, Mount Vinson (4892 m/16,050 ft), in the background. This expedition was part of a seven-year, privately funded program to climb and measure the highest summits of the Sentinel Range, home to Antarctica’s highest peaks. On this occasion Fica and Gildea spent eight hours camped on the summit of Mount Shinn running Gildea’s Trimble 5700 GPS receiver, which he uses on his numerous Antarctic GPS expeditions. Data from the 5700 was transmitted by Iridium satellite phone direct to the Australian government AUSPOS GPS processing service. The work resulted in new, more-accurate heights for several of Antarctica’s highest mountains and a new color topographical map of the Sentinel Range that was distributed to schools, universities, libraries, polar programs and government agencies around the world.

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Vøringsfossen, NorwayVøringsfossen, with a total drop of 182 m (597 ft), is perhaps the most famous waterfall in Norway and is a major tourist attraction on the highway between Oslo and Bergen. This photo, submitted by Lars Gulbrandsen, shows a Trimble S6 total station near the top of Vøringsfossen. Surveyor Eirik Ruden, working for the Geoplan 3D company, used the S6 to collect survey data from the area to be used in the design and construction of a footbridge over the outflow stream at the base of the falls. Norwegian DOT is the end customer.

Get Involved!Be part of the action next time: check out Trimble Geospatial on Facebook for the next issue’s photo contest winners and vote for your choice. Better yet, enter the contest yourself. Send your photo at 300-dpi resolution (10 x 15 cm or 4 x 6 in) to [email protected]. Be sure to include your name, title and contact information.

Technology&moreReader Survey

Please take our brief survey – and gain the chance to win a prize!

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Bob Vollmer’s favorite television character is the Energizer Bunny.

“Every time I see that ad, I say, ‘That’s the way it should be,’” explains Vollmer in a subtle southern lilt. “You go until you drop. That’s the way you do it.”

The Energizer battery bunny, with its “keep going” motto, is a fitting choice for Vollmer. At 98-years-old, he is still working full time as a surveyor for Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR). As Indiana’s oldest state employee—and possibly the country’s—Vollmer’s longevity has piqued the interest of the surveying community and the media: the local TV station profiled him; and, along with this article, other stories about his life are being written. The attention has left him a bit perplexed.

“I just figured this is an everyday thing,” he says, from his home in rural Indiana. “But when I stopped to think about it, it is kind of unusual.”

Unusual, indeed. And commendable. Setting his Surveying TrajectoryBorn in May 1917, Vollmer was a perpetually curious child, especially about how things worked. His childhood passion for electronics led him to pursue work in manufacturing and selling burglar alarms. And then came Pearl Harbor—and at the age of 24, Vollmer

was enlisted into the U.S. Navy and was assigned to an engineering battalion.

Two events during World War II set his trajectory into surveying.

The first was navigating the Pacific Ocean, when he saw an officer with a sextant and a wristwatch. “With just a wristwatch he could tell us in a few minutes exactly where we were in the middle of the ocean,” he exclaims. “I’ll never forget that.” The second was when he was asked by surveyors to hold their Philadelphia rod while determining elevations. “They’d say, ‘Put your gun down and grab that Philadelphia rod.’ I’ll never forget that.”

After the war, Vollmer enrolled at the University of California-Berkeley and took his first surveying course while studying metallurgical engineering.

He finished his studies at Purdue University and graduated in 1952 with an agricultural engineering degree. He started his career working on flood control and dam con-struction projects, later getting experience with surveying tools on public-land encroachment projects. In 1973 he made it official and became a licensed land surveyor.

A Surveying LifeIn 50 years of surveying, Vollmer has accumulated

I’ll Never Forget ThatRecollections from 50 Years in the Field

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enough “field stories” to more than fill the two-inch-thick book he used to carry around to look up trigonometry data. He reckons there isn’t any part of Indiana he hasn’t worked in; he’s surveyed nearly every inch of the 3,000-acre O’Bannon Woods State Park.

Vollmer can still recall his first day on the job as if it was yesterday.

It was a dam construction project in southern Indiana, and it gave him a front row seat to the ugly side of human nature. “A lot of property had to be condemned so citizens weren’t too friendly naturally,” he says. “I had my jeep at the construction site, and one of the people upset about having the dam built put some roofing nails under all four tires so no matter which way I went, I would get four flats. I’ll never forget that.”

Much of his work has involved verifying possible encroachment violations in what he calls the “boondocks”—the forests, parks and riverbanks of the State. It’s in the wilderness, Vollmer says, where surveying can be really exciting and gratifying—he once dug up an original survey stake from 1806—and sometimes, a bit scary.

He’s lost count of the number of times property owners have pointed guns at him, or had close encounters with copperhead snakes, or been attacked by dogs. “It’s all part of surveying,” he says.

He also survived a potentially messy dispute with Al Capone’s lieutenant regarding access to a lake. Vollmer says he talked to him about a fence that had been erected around a lake in the middle of Indiana with “City of Chicago Property” signs on it. “Everything worked out nicely, ” he says. “For a gangster, he was a real gentleman.”

However, his strongest memory of surveying was the time he had to be a first responder. It was in the desert near Riverside, Ca. and he heard crying. He followed a narrow path and found a baby, abandoned and screaming.

“It was a little girl and her diaper was full of red ants,” he says. “It made you sick.”

Vollmer and his crew cleaned the baby and turned her over to the authorities. He often wonders what happened to her.

The “Pow” of TechnologyTo Vollmer, surveying is surveying no matter what the job or where you are. The tools, however, are another story. Vollmer couldn’t fathom his surveying life without today’s modern technology.

“I was trained on the old stuff,” he says. “So there is no comparison.”

Indeed, Vollmer’s early tools of the trade are collectors’ items today. Brass 30-second transits for measuring horizontal and

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Bob Vollmer works with his Trimble S6 robotic total station. In his 50-year career, he has witnessed amazing changes in surveying technology. Photo credits: (Left) Tom Campbell/Purdue University; (Right and top of pg 23) Indiana State Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).

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vertical angles, dumpy levels for elevations, dip needles for locating sub-surface points and 100-ft metal-ribbon chains for measurements. For calculations, Vollmer used a noisy, mechanical, hand-crank Monroe Calculator, which provided 16 place values.

“Depending on the job, you could spend a week just calculating one curve,” Vollmer says. “Establishing an elevation point on a construction site could take two days because you had to work it out with levels. Today, you take your GPS or total station out there and, ‘Pow!’, you have your answer in seconds. You can’t ask for anything better.”

As the surveying tools have advanced, Vollmer has advanced along with them.

Historically, Vollmer had a four-person crew, but budget cuts reduced him to a crew of one. He credits the technology with enabling him to work on his own, and the instruments ensure he stays sharp and productive and is able to deliver quality work—his wife has also helped him stay sharp and productive by sticking gentle reminders in his car such as, “Dummy, get the battery.”

In the past, 80 percent of his time was often spent removing vegetation to create clear lines. Now his only physical labor is carrying his tripod and instrument.

He stores his Trimble instruments in his survey car: two Trimble

4000 GPS units, and one Trimble S6 total station. His S6, he says, is his “prized” instrument.

“I keep it in the front passenger seat and I put a seatbelt around it to make sure it doesn’t get damaged,” he says. “I can do dang near anything with that S6.”

He likes to show it off as well. Recently he demonstrated the S6’s robotic and direct reflex capabilities to a reporter. Standing in a park, Vollmer saw a basketball hoop about 400 ft away and asked him to pick a point on the hoop to shoot. The reporter chose the half-inch-thick rim attached to the backboard. Vollmer sited the point and shot it with the S6 with no rodman. “He was amazed,” he says.

“Trimble works better than anything else,” he says. “I appreciate quality: that’s why I use Trimble.”

In thinking about turning 99 in May 2016, Vollmer did admit that he is starting to feel his age both mentally and physically. He isn’t sure how much longer he can continue his surveying career. But he is absolutely sure that he will not retreat.

“I don’t believe in retiring,” he concludes. “I don’t believe in letting grass grow under your feet. When you retreat, that’s when you get in trouble.”

“Energizer Bunny” indeed.

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Bob Vollmer keeps his “prized” Trimble S6 belted in for safety in transit; still going strong at 98, he’s Indiana’s own “Energizer Bunny.” Photo credits: (Left) Dale Gick/IDNR; (Right) WTHR TV.

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For the past five years, the leadership at the US Army Europe’s (USAREUR) Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC) in Germany has been trying to effectively manage the

advancement of the Blackthorn bush across its Hohenfels Training Area (HTA). And it has been one of their toughest challenges.

“The early growth stage of Blackthorn is rather slow, but if left unchecked, it can reach a height of 4 meters (13 feet),” said Dr. Albert Boehm, the Directorate of Public Works, in the Environmental Branch of USAG Bavaria-Hohenfels. “It becomes incredibly dense and, with its extensive root systems, it can cover large areas really quickly. Its thickness and sharp thorns make it impenetrable, which reduces the available training areas and greatly affects the soldiers’ ability to move around safely.”

Compounding the encroachment issue is the fact that approximately 92 percent of the 160- km2 (61-mi2) training area has been designated a flora-fauna and bird habitat protection area under the European Union’s directive known as Natura 2000 FFH. That has presented USAREUR with a challenge—how to balance the military’s training needs with an elevated responsibility to protect threatened species and habitats.

In response, the JMRC launched a first-of-its-kind project to bring the Blackthorn under control, while staying true to the protected nature of the site. Using a combination of high-resolution 3D Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data, satellite and aerial imagery and Trimble’s eCognition image analysis technology, the JMRC was able to not only identify and map the Blackthorn’s movements, it also gathered the needed intelligence to develop strategies to proactively manage the invasive bush.

A Thorn in Their SideAs the second-largest active training facility in Germany, the HTA has served as fertile grounds for military exercises since 1938. Training

Battling Blackthornrotations have fluctuated over the years, but after 9/11, troop numbers training at HTA dropped dramatically as they were deployed for battle, creating a significant downturn in high-impact training. Fewer and smaller rotations created the perfect breeding ground for vegetation growth, particularly Blackthorn. By 2010, the Blackthorn’s encroachment on the HTA’s open space was so significant, USAREUR had to activate a plan to resolve the problem.

Familiar with LiDAR data for land-management applications, in 2012 USAREUR tasked IABG, a geospatial technology company based in Ottobrunn, Germany, to acquire an updated LiDAR dataset of the HTA. Paired with other datasets, IABG would use eCognition to directly identify Blackthorn and map its encroachment patterns and extent.

Change analysis map of HTA vegetation and infrastructure growth, 2007-2012. Red areas display Blackthorn’s encroachment growth. eCognition shows Blackthorn is highly impacting one-third of the HTA’s 160 km2 (61 mi2).

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Finding BlackthornElke Kraetzschmar and Sylvia Guenther, remote sensing and image analysis specialists with IABG, used a 1-m-resolution, LiDAR-derived digital elevation map (DEM) from 2007 and the 0.5-m-resolution LiDAR-derived DEM from the 2012 flight. They also acquired 8-band, 1-m-resolution optical imagery from the Worldview-2 satellite, existing aerial photos, and ancillary vector datasets. That data was integrated into the eCognition object-based image analysis software to build a customized rule set, an if-then processing tree that the software follows to determine specific vegetative types.

To verify the validity of the classification approach, the team chose four test sites, each measuring 2 x 2 km2 (0.8 x 0.8 mi2). After pre-processing and validating the raster data quality, Kraetzsch-mar and Guenther used Esri’s ArcGIS to calculate a Normalized Vegetation Index and texture layers to separate vegetation from non-vegetation areas—detail that would be integrated into the classification process—and then wrote rules to instruct the software to distinguish Blackthorn from other vegetative types based on height, spectral qualities and textural features.

In two months they had developed a classification rule set to distinguish four class types: forest, medium-high Blackthorn shrub, low Blackthorn shrub and open grassland. With the rule set created, it only took eCognition 15 hours to run the workflow and produce land-use maps for 2007 and 2012, as well as land-use change maps indicating the bush’s growth in each test site between those two years.

They presented the preliminary results to the JMRC to validate the data on the ground and to show the leadership how the data could be used for building vegetation-management strategies. For the field verification, they chose 40 different Blackthorn bushes in each site and measured them using a yardstick, comparing their real-world height and shape with their classified counterpart on the map. There was not a single mismatch between what eCognition classified as Blackthorn (including its varying heights) and what was on the

ground. Based on the quality of the test sites classifications, the classification methodology was extended across the entire site.

In September 2013, IABG delivered the classification results to the Center’s leadership, showing that Blackthorn was highly impacting one-third, or about 50 km2 (19 mi2), of the training area.

Changing the Tide of BattleWith an accurate inventory and map of the Blackthorn’s growth stages and extent, JMRC environmental and training planners can better create cost-effective and efficient removal and control strategies.

Traditionally, the military has controlled the invasive Blackthorn species with a mix of efforts to impede the bush’s growth—spot burning, mowing and a herd of nearly 10,000 sheep, who feed on the early Blackthorn growth. That costs about $30,000 US per km2. From there, the costs and management efforts rise as quickly as the Blackthorn grows.

Using the classification maps, the JMRC leadership have begun developing smart eradication plans. They have identified a number of target areas throughout the training area and determined the best, cost-effective and efficient methods to either remove the Blackthorn or greatly reduce it.

To date, approximately 200 hectares (494 acres) of Blackthorn have been treated. And because the classification datasets show them Blackthorn’s extent and current heights, the military has the ability to accurately forecast the bush’s growth pattern for the next five years and develop sufficient control measures to properly manage its spread.

Using this high-tech strategy, USAREUR’s JMRC may have found a way to manage Blackthorn, rather than Blackthorn managing them.

See feature in Lidar Magazine’s October 2015 issue: www.lidarmag.com

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It seems like imaging is on everyone’s mind these days. Every month we see more articles in magazines, technical journals, blogs and newsletters. The flow is increasing and with

good reason: The use of imaging in its many forms is quickly becoming a key component of geospatial information.

Modern imaging technology offers several different approaches for geospatial professionals to choose from when capturing, analyzing and delivering information based on visual data. As in past decades, when selecting among various types of positioning solutions—GPS, GNSS, robotic and manual total stations—the decisions are based on the application, operating conditions and required accuracy. Thanks to newly available technical solutions, the decision process is expanding due to requests for deliverables that can provide strong visual context for downstream users. The process must also consider who will receive the information and how it will be used. This flexibility enables geospatial professionals to tailor their processes for acquiring and processing data. They can then use graphical and empirical information to create an immersive environment built specifically for their clients.

Today’s imaging solutions encompass platforms and capabilities that operate on the ground or in flight. Terrestrial systems consist of digital cameras in handheld computers and tablets, calibrated cameras in total stations and panoramic imaging rovers as well as stationary and mobile scanners. Airborne imaging solutions include photography, LiDAR and remote sensing. These systems can collect mass data and produce large volumes of georeferenced imagery. Along with unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), the new imaging solutions are rapidly transforming the process of surveying, mapping and asset management.

The field systems are supported by office or cloud-based software that provides increasingly sophisticated processing and analyses. Until recently, the work to process and combine multiple images into a single model or dataset, required highly trained technicians using specialized software on dedicated workstations. Now, geospatial office software suites such as Trimble Business Center have automated the task while expanding the capabilities to integrate various types of imaging data. Today it’s possible to combine aerial imagery with photos from ground-based cameras, as well as 3D points captured, using GNSS and total stations. The solutions continue beyond photogrammetry. Advanced change detection and object-based image analysis systems such as the eCognition suite provide capabilities to automatically identify and characterize features and conditions such as urban tree canopy or flood corrosion in images collected by aerial or terrestrial cameras and LiDAR.

Imaging solutions demonstrate their value on work sites where terrain and conditions can rapidly change. For example, to optimize its airspace utilization, a landfill needs frequent measurement to determine volumes and locations of material. Aerial photography can provide the needed information, but the cost and time constraints of piloted aircraft limit their effectiveness. In contrast, an unmanned solution such as the fixed-wing Trimble UX5 UAS can provide precise aerial data at frequent intervals and low cost. Similar opportunities exist in open-pit mining and quarries, where engineers, geologists and production staff can utilize the image-based information for applications including planning, safety, quantity payments and production control.

Ground-based imaging provides similar benefits. Consider a detail survey conducted as part of the planning for

A Clear Image of ValueAerial and terrestrial imaging solutions provide added

value for geospatial professionals and their clients

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rehabilitation of civil infrastructure such as a bridge or roadway. Rather than measuring hundreds of individual points in the field, a survey crew can use a Trimble V10 Imaging Rover to capture a few panoramic images of the site, completing the fieldwork in minutes rather than hours. (In tests and real-world projects, crews using the Trimble V10 have increased in-field efficiency by 30 percent and more.) In addition to the direct cost savings, imaging solutions deliver benefits in safety and convenience. For example, field crews can avoid working in difficult or hazardous areas. Imaging can also reduce downtime for measurement, a costly component for mines, railways and industrial applications. On highways or bridges, measurements and scans can be conducted from safe locations, cutting or eliminating the need for lane closures or working late at night.

Imaging solutions provide benefits beyond worksite efficiency. Powerful office processing software can merge data from multiple sources and produce visual deliverables such as 3D models, point clouds, terrain models and photorealistic 3D representations of sites, buildings and facilities. This information, vital to engineers and designers, effectively engages a wider range of stakeholders in a project’s planning, progress and outcome. A picture is worth a thousand words and more, especially when visualization helps decision makers, financing sources and the general public to understand a complex project.

The benefits of imaging technologies stem from the combination of speed, flexibility and thorough data collection and analysis. Images contain far more information than a

line drawing or list of points and can be gathered in far less time. Deliverables can be transferred directly to clients who require specialized design and analysis. Even data delivery can be streamlined. For example, objects captured from an aerial photo are identified using a library of descriptions and attributes. This sharable library provides a consistent record of description, independent of how an object was collected. Data collected using ground or aerial photos, survey crews and GIS mapping teams can be quickly combined, checked and prepared for delivery.

We can summarize the benefits of imaging into two simple parts. First, it provides significant gains in efficiency and throughput in the process of collecting, analyzing and delivering highly visual information. Second, it creates an additional value stream (i.e. new deliverables to produce new revenue) at minimal additional cost.

Certainly, there will be times when a total station or GNSS surveying system is needed to achieve required accuracy for control and precise stakeout. But numerous situations exist where imaging technology can either replace these sensors or add visual and spatial context to their data. In many cases, imaging can replace the other sensors’ data or even outperform them in certain environments and applications. The bottom line is that imaging is yet another—exceptionally powerful and flexible—tool to help geospatial professionals get their job done in the best way possible.

See feature at www.geodatapoint.com

Mobile mapping solutions quickly capture LiDAR and image data over large areas.

Images and LiDAR data can be combined for visualization, analysis and sharing.

Georeferenced images reduce the need to work in hazardous or difficult-to-access areas.

Operating at low flight levels and in difficultweather conditions, the Trimble UX5 UAS provides a flexible, reliable solution for aerial imagery.

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Lightweight unmanned aircraft are finding their way into a wide variety of industries. New applications continue to emerge in disciplines such as academic and scientific

work, commercial and industrial settings, agriculture, mining, utilities and environmental and natural resource management. These seemingly disparate applications share two important requirements for geospatial information: They need to acquire detailed information over large areas, and they need a systematic approach to produce consistent data that can be tested and updated.

Conventional airborne sensing has long provided the needed information, but piloted aircraft often carry a big price in terms of long lead time and high operating expenses. By comparison, the low cost and flexibility of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) make them an attractive alternative to piloted aircraft for many applications. UAS can operate at low altitude, reducing the impact of weather on flight schedules. Because unmanned systems need little time for mission planning and deployment, they can produce timely data at low costs. One of the best opportunities is the collection of geospatial data, including aerial imagery and LiDAR.

A core component of aerial imaging is the ability to combine multiple images into a single georeferenced dataset that relates objects to a defined reference framework. This can be accomplished by placing visible targets on the ground or structure that is imaged. Processing software then uses the known coordinates of the targets to compute the position of the sensor at the time each image was captured. From there, the images can be combined and analyzed. It’s a proven method, but can add significant time and costs in placing and measuring the targets. In many cases the areas of interest may be remote or hazardous for human entry, adding even more time and cost to the job.

A Small Solutionfor a Big

ChallengeThe Applanix APX-15 UAV is a low-power, single board solution for integration into UAS.

This challenge can be solved using integrated airborne technologies. High-precision GNSS receivers and inertial measurement units (IMU) are installed in the aircraft and connected to the camera. The sensors capture the position and orientation (roll, pitch and yaw) of the airborne camera at the time of each image. The fused data provides the basis for combining multiple images to produce georeferenced orthoimages, point clouds and 3D models.

This approach works well. Piloted, fixed- or rotary-wing aircraft can be equipped with sensors including scanners, high-resolution color cameras or near-infrared sensors together with GNSS and inertial measurement units (IMU). While integrated airborne technologies provide good results, efforts to put the technologies into small unmanned aircraft have encountered challenges in size, weight and power. To take advantage of the benefits of small UAS, developers needed to create new tools for positioning and measurement.

RIEGL’s VUX-1UAV laser scanner can produce survey-grade results from small UAS. The 3.6 kg (8.1 lb) scanner can make up to 500,000 measurements per second.

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A RIEGL RiCOPTER with VUX-SYS integrates scanning and georeferencing technologies into a small UAS platform. The high-performance system can capture simultaneous point cloud and digital image data.

Part of the solution came from Applanix, a Trimble Company that focuses on mobile mapping and positioning solutions. Drawing on its experience in positioning for high-dynamic platforms, Applanix developed its Direct Mapping Solution for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (DMS-UAV) to provide a framework for direct georeferencing of UAV payloads such as cameras and scanners. The Applanix APX-15 UAV is a single-board solution that provides direct georeferencing for small UAS. The APX-15 UAV combines Trimble Maxwell™ survey-grade, multi-frequency GNSS technology with state-of-the-art, low-noise microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) inertial sensors. Compact and lightweight, the APX-15 UAV is well suited for use on small, electric-powered UAS.

Applanix designed the APX-15 UAV for easy integration with other sensors. A world leader in airborne scanning, RIEGL Laser Measurement Systems, was among the first to put the new board to work.

RIEGL has more than 30 years’ experience in producing scanners and sensors based on laser distance measurement (LiDAR), including airborne and terrestrial scanners. As technologies for UAS evolved, RIEGL recognized the need for scanners that provide high-accuracy LiDAR while meeting the physical constraints of small UAS.

“Our customers asked about using UAS for scanning,” said RIEGL CEO Dr. Johannes Riegl. After investigating the market, RIEGL identified an array of civil applications that were a good fit for small UAS. Small UAS are an ideal platform for data acquisition in areas that are difficult, impossible or very time-consuming and costly to access by established methods of ground-based or airborne laser scanning. “We came to view UAS-based laser scanning (ULS) as a new, very promising and innovative application,” Riegl said.

The company leveraged its existing technologies to create a new generation of products for ULS. In 2014 RIEGL introduced

the VUX-1UAV, the first survey-grade laser scanner optimized for use in UAS. The company’s objective was to provide an extremely small and lightweight survey-grade LiDAR instrument for professional purposes. The scanner is designed to collect high-resolution data at altitudes and speeds commonly flown by small fixed-wing and multi-rotor aircraft.

To provide positioning and orientation for the LiDAR data, RIEGL selected the Applanix solution, integrating the board into the LiDAR system and physically contained in the scanner housing. The result is an aerial laser scanner that delivers reliable, high-resolution georeferenced data. Because the LiDAR measurements are fused with GNSS positions and IMU orientation data, office software for processing and analysis can streamline the work to produce point clouds, surface models and other sophisticated deliverables. The RIEGL scanner and Applanix technology demonstrated good results and RIEGL has since integrated the system into its new RiCOPTER, an electrically powered octocopter UAS for aerial laser scanning.

The integrated scanning/positioning solution delivers strong performance in a variety of UAS settings. In dangerous or difficult environments such as industrial sites, accidents and natural disasters, a UAS can deploy quickly and remove the risk and expense of piloted aircraft and human access to the site. Automated UAS missions introduce high levels of efficiency and consistency for routine inspection and monitoring tasks including corridor inspection, precision agriculture and earthwork.

These examples are only the beginning. As geospatial applications for UAS continue to grow, integrators and end users will demand precise, reliable positioning data. By providing a positioning and orientation solution specifically for small unmanned aircraft, Applanix has opened the door to new waves of innovation.

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A DAY IN THE LIFE Wants You!

Whether you survey in the big city or the back country, whether you work alone or as part of a crew, on spectacular construction projects or setting up cadastre in developing countries, tell us about your day—and we may share it with others.

If you’d like to be profiled in A Day in the Life, please send a brief paragraph highlighting what your day looks like with your name, contact info and a photo or two to [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you and potentially spotlighting your “Day in the Life.”

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SAVE THE DATENovember 7–9, 2016

www.trimbledimensions.com Email: [email protected] Twitter: @DimensionsUC

The Venetian | Las Vegas, Nevada

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