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This Vol 2 No 3 newsletter will be archived at:
www.LiDARnews.com/newsletterVol2No3.htm
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Welcome to a special "magazine issue" of LiDAR News. In this issue we highlight the articles from our recently published LiDAR Magazine. As many of you know not only did we publish a digital edition of the third issue of the magazine, but for the first time we published a print edition, which was distributed and well received by those attending ILMF 2012. If you would like to receive a print version please use this form to subscribe.
For those who were not able to attend I wanted to take this opportunity to do a brief recap of some of the highlights of IMLF 2012. The conference unofficially opened with the ASPRS - American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Hot Topics session. Lewis Graham from GeoCue, the LiDAR Division chair discussed the recently approved LAS 1.4 data format and the work that is being done in the Mobile Mapping committee on a best practices manual.
Of note was the fact that none of the vendors are shipping software that supports 1.4 - yet, and perhaps as importantly there is no file validator software available or planned. In fact, the ASPRS has not offered reference implementations of any of the LAS formats.
The other unresolved issue that came up during the ASPRS session was the fact that there is no standard or accepted method for checking the horizontal accuracy of an airborne LiDAR data collection. Based on a few informal discussions, I think both of these items will be receiving follow on attention.
An extensive market research study was one of the plenary session topics. It was conducted on behalf of the USGS by Dewberry to analyze the benefit/cost ratios of establishing a National Enhanced Elevation program for the U.S. At levels of 1 to 2 LiDAR points per square meter or greater density and virtually any reasonable revisit schedule the benefits outweighed the costs typically by a factor of 4 in most cases. The problem is where to get the upfront money to fund this national LiDAR program.
As an alternative, the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries - DOGAMI LiDAR program, the other plenary presentation, is demonstrating that innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in state government as they slowly, but surely obtain LiDAR for the state. Data distribution has been their one challenge. Anyone interested in helping them?
There were a number of excellent presentations updating attendees regarding ongoing research into bathymetric LiDAR, better methods for creating digital surface models, full waveform analysis, breaklines, single-photon detection and more. Dr. Habib presented a very encouraging set of results indicating that a much less rigorous mathematical approach to LiDAR system calibration holds promise.
Perhaps the least well kept secret at ILMF 2012 was the rumor that a major breakthrough in flash LiDAR might be around the corner. Dr. Charles Toth referred to this in his single-photon research presentation. I have a sense this may be coming from DOD research that might now become public.
A couple of impressive workflow automation sessions involving the production of bridge clearance reports by Allpoint Systems and sign extraction by Earth Eye demonstrated that automated feature extraction, at least on a limited basis is making real progress.
In general ILMF has its roots in airborne LiDAR, but like SPAR it is also pushing into mobile. One of the more interesting sessions came from the researchers at CSIRO in Australia who are working on a new indoor mobile mapping system that leverages SLAM - simultaneous location and mapping technology borrowed from the robotics world. This video will provide some insight. Indoor mapping is the next hot market - just ask Google.
The ILMF 2012 proceedings will be available for free if you attended and for a nominal charge if you did not.
In summary, although the airborne LiDAR industry has been making significant advances over the past 15+ years much of the theoretical foundation remains to be established and more importantly put into practice as standard operating procedure. This would also apply to mobile LiDAR which has less of a track record, but similar theoretical issues. The issue of course is money, but it would seem that the various stakeholders would all benefit from a more coordinated, strategic approach.
One other note, given the overlap in membership I would hope that in the future that ILMF and MAPPS would work together to avoid scheduling their events for the same week. That really does not make sense.
The Spotlight in this issue goes to Bill Gutelius for his insights on the use of airborne LiDAR to map airport obstructions. The Video of the Week goes to Jody Lounsbury for his review of EdgeWise Plant 2.0.
With January closing our focus turns to 2 February events the Faro and Riegl user conferences - both new events in the show schedule. LiDAR News will be at both of these events working hard to keep you informed. We hope to see you there.
We are approaching 250 listings in the Resource Directory. Please take advantage of this opportunity to promote your firm to readers and organizations around the world: list your firm. And don't forget to send us your white papers and product videos as well. We want to help you to be noticed.
It is going to be an exciting year in many respects. Please let us know how LiDAR News can create more value for you, and encourage your colleagues to sign up for the newsletter here. We thank you for ongoing support in building this professional community.
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| Sponsored by Exelis
E3De™ is an interactive software environment for professionals who want to utilize raw LiDAR point cloud data to enhance their geospatial products. With E3De, you can easily create realistic 3D visualizations, extract 3D features from a scene, or produce 3D products and layers that you can fuse with 2D data for further analysis.
Learn more about 3D image analysis now.
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LiDAR News is updated 24/7 with the latest news and announcements affecting the business..
LiDAR for Obstruction Mapping: Enabling Flight Safety
As laser scanning has evolved and matured, it has increasingly become a new and eventually necessary tool in many industries. One area that has benefitted from the application of laser scanning is aviation safety. Airborne LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) is used to detect and map obstacles that intrude into the airspace through which aircraft fly. Ground-based LiDAR (mobile and static scanning systems) technology has also been used recently ...
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Check out our video of the week, hand-picked by our editorial team:
EdgeWise Plant 2.0 Overview
EdgeWise Plant (EWP) 2.0 is software that automates the extraction of complex CAD pipe geometry from 3D laser scan data, dramatically reducing time ...
Please drop a line if you have any questions or requests: editor@lidarnews.com.
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New Articles from the LiDAR News team...
From The Editor: Remember Gutenberg?
Welcome to the first edition of the LiDAR Magazine for 2012. Hopefully everyone had a chance to "unplug" and enjoy some quality time with your family over the holidays. As you may have already noticed we have BIG news for the New Year: LiDAR Magazine is now in print and we ....
Read the Article |
Digitally Preserving the Icons of Rani ki Vav
CyArk is a nonprofit with the mission of "digitally preserving cultural heritage sites through collecting, archiving and providing open access to data created by laser scanning, digital modeling, and other state-of-the-art technologies." In response to the Taliban's destruction of the ....
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An Inside Look at IPLER
The Information Products Laboratory for Emergency Response (IPLER) is a major activity housed within the Rochester Institute of Technology's (RIT) Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science that seeks to cultivate the application of remote sensing technology and data products within ....
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EdgeWise Plant 2.0 Review
Having been an early adopter of 3D Laser Scanning (3DLS), it comes as a great relief when I see the increasing software options that are available today. In 2003 when I started performing laser scans with a Leica HDS 2500, the software options were minimal and the design industry was ....
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D4AR—4 Dimensional Augmented Reality
Imagine you are sitting at your office and would like to conduct a walk-through on your job site, but you are hundreds of miles away. Using a new D4AR--4 dimensional augmented reality--modeling technology, you can make a phone call to your construction site and ask your super....
Read the Article |
Beyond The Point Cloud: SPAR-Europe and ELMF 2011
"This is a death trap" answered Edwin Galea when questioned about the escape route from where he stood in case of a sudden fire. His answer was the opposite of a surprise in view of the excellent and enlightening presentation he had just delivered, titled "Burning Questions ....
Read the Article |
Airborne LiDAR for Obstruction Mapping: Enabling Flight Safety
As laser scanning has evolved and matured, it has increasingly become a new and eventually necessary tool in many industries. One area that has benefitted from the application of laser scanning is aviation safety. Airborne LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) is used to detect and map ....
Read the Article |
IP-S2 Makes Short Work of Queensland Flood Mapping
In early September 2011, Global Infrastructure Surveys (GIS), in conjunction with Rapid Survey Solutions (RSS), used Topcon's IP-S2 mobile mapping system to rapidly and efficiently map flood-affected areas in central Queensland for riskassessment purposes. Much of the state of ....
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Innovative Strategy for Facility Upgrading
How do you check the soundness of the roofs and utility system for 1,300 buildings--spread over more than 10 miles--in a comprehensive and cost-effective manner? Hill Air Force Base (AFB) used ArcGIS and thermal infrared radiation (IR) imagery to identify failing roofing and ....
Read the Article |
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| LiDAR Data Meets the MrSID Format
LizardTech® LiDAR Compressor™ software enables you to turn giant point cloud datasets into efficient MrSID® files that retain 100 percent of the raw data at just 25 percent or less of the original file size (lossless compression). If storage requirements are critical, you can reduce your LiDAR file sizes by 90 percent or more by choosing a higher compression ratio and letting LiDAR Compressor select the best way to reach a desired file size (lossy compression). Unlike raw LAS or ASCII data, LiDAR files compressed to MrSID are easily managed resources you can extract derivatives from again and again.
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| 3D Documentation Conference: Feb 21-22, Orlando
The 3D Documentation Conference was established as a forum for learning and the exchange of ideas between professionals who engage in the capture of three-dimensional data. We welcome laser scanning professionals from all industries to join us in a two-day meeting filled with informative presentations and application-specific training workshops. Education sessions are tailored to specific user segments and led by renowned experts in their field. Click here for more information.
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This section is an update about LiDAR conferences, training, seminars, webinars and other relevant events. Feel free to make a suggestion for future consideration.
 3D Documentation Conference – Orlando, FL: February 21 and 22
Riegl LiDAR 2012 – Orlando, FL: February 28 - March 1
ASPRS 2012 Annual Conference – Sacramento, CA: March 19 - March 23
Rapidform Success Conference 2012 – Denver, CO: April 2 - April 5
SPAR International 2012 – Houston, TX: April 15 - April 18
Send your event info to editor[at]LidarNews.com
<< Events >>
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| Sponsored by VirtualGrid
VRMesh is an advanced 3D point cloud and mesh processing software tool. Our innovative technologies are aimed to provide powerful, easy, and affordable solutions for engineering industries. The entire family of VRMesh consists of four packages, including VRMesh Survey, VRMesh Reverse, VRMesh Design & VRMesh Studio.
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Blog Archives: Catch up on the last three years of " In the Scan" archives.
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