NEWSBRIEFS –INDUSTRY

Scanning the Heritage

In a unique project aimed at preserving the country’s rich heritage, the 16th century Humayun’s Tomb in New Delhi, India will become the first monument in the country to be measured to sub centimeter accuracy. Each stone will be measured using a high-density laser scan, colour images and 3D visualisation. Leica Geosystems High-Defi nition Survey (HDS) technology will assist archaeologists and conservationists in getting near accurate data and records of the entire Humayun’s Tomb complex within weeks. The technology developed by Leica Geosystems has been widely used at heritage sites across the globe, including the Blue Mosque in Turkey and Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. This project is being undertaken by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture as part of the ongoing partnership project with Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
The process of HDS requires a 3D high defi nition laser scanner which scans the entire monument. While scanning depends on the size of the structure and takes only a few days’ time, documenting all the details can take a few weeks with 99% accuracy. This is a significant leap from the traditional method of using a measuring tape and other such tools which takes several months. According to offi cials, this technology will give the ASI an opportunity to document the 5,000 monuments in its charge in a short span of fi ve to six years. Following are the excerpts of the interview conducted with Mr. Faheem Khan, Regional Segment Manager, GIS and Scanning, ISAK Region, Leica Geosystem about the HDS technology.

1. What are key the points about the procedure for scanning and documentation that will be used on the Humayun’s Tomb?
Leica Geosystems’ (HDS) High-Defi nition Surveying technology presents a quantum leap in technology offering users the ability to document sites and facilities, from crime scenes to oil platforms, in speeds, accuracy and quality that is not possible using traditional methods. This technology will allow site managers at Humayun’s Tomb to use the automatic data collection capabilities offered by the ScanStation and capture complete and accurate data in minutes and stream the results over the internet using the free and easy-to-use Leica TruView webpublishing solution.

2. How does ScanStation manage to give such high accuracies?
As indicated in various independent studies carried out around the world the Leica ScanStation features some of the lowest data noise levels and ultra-fi ne laser spot size in the industry. This coupled with our heritage in optics and distance measurement technology and manufacturing quality allow our customers to enjoy unprecedented quality and accuracies in measurement results.

3. What all other kind of application can a Scan Station is useful for?
The ScanStation is actively used by the Forensic community for anti-terrorist and forensic mapping activities. In addition, various engineering users deploy ScanStation to carry out accurate plant as-builts to support the design, installation, operations and documentation process. Mining users are also taking full advantage of the speed and completeness in which the data is captured to calculate accurate volumes, monitoring excavation and support in engineering efforts. Higher education community are today educating students across the departments – Civil Engineering, Geomatics, Geography etc. to train them in HDS technology. One last example comes from the Survey fraternity where traditional topographic/civil survey is completed faster, cheaper and safer than traditional methods.

Fugro introduces high performance Satellite Navigation Service

Fugro introduced, G2. It combines the navigation satellites of both the American GPS constellation and the Russian GLONASS constellation, to produce a composite GPS/GLONASS position solution. The service utilises Fugro’s own network of dual system reference stations to calculate ‘orbit and clock’ errors on a satellite by satellite basis for all 50 satellites of the two GNSS. www.fugro.nl

Intuicom releases RTK Bridge-C

Intuicom®, Inc., has released the RTK Bridge-C™, which provides a crucial communications hub in precision GPS applications. Now, Network corrections are available to any GPS that previously relied upon a base station and a radio. www.intuicom.com.

On-board OmniSTAR XP corrections for its POS AV products by Applanix

Applanix announced that its POS™ AV products now support on-board OmniSTAR XP™ real-time differential GPS corrections using a purposebuilt GNSS+L Band aircraft antenna and an embedded BD960 GNSS receiver. www.applanix.com.

GMS-2 Pro by Topcon

Topcon has released GMS-2 Pro, the handheld GIS mapping solution with integrated auto-focus digital camera and laser distance meter. The laser distance meter that can be used in conjunction with the internal compass for offset measurements. The combination of distance measurement and image capture technology eliminates manual measurements www.topconpositioning.com

Magellan announces new PC software

Magellan announced a PC software called Real Time Data Server that offers land surveying companies the opportunity of using GNSS equipment to build their own direct IP RTK corrections server. It will collect corrections sent by a GNSS base station and act as a gateway to make correction data available to any rover that connects to the software. http://pro.magellangps.com

Cohga targets Asian software market

Cohga, an Australian development company is looking for partners in Asia to help market its product Weave, which is essentially a software development kit wrapped in a spatial display. www.cohga.com

BAE Systems releases SOCET GXP v3.0

BAE Systems has released SOCET GXP v3.0, which provides upgrades that allow users to reduce dependency on multiple tools to record and analyze ground features. It combines image analysis and geospatial production tools into a single application. www.baesystems.com

600m range Laser Digital Theodolite

Sokkia Topcon released the LDT520, a 5” digital theodolite equipped with a telescope with laser beam emission capability. The LDT520 boasts the world’s longest laser range, class-topping dust and water protection, and a continuous operation time over 2.5 times that of its predecessor. www.sokkiatopcon.com

Trimble acquires KOREC

Trimble has acquired the FastMap and GeoSite software assets from KOREC. It includes software development, professional services and business development teams, will allow Trimble to expand its Mapping and GIS solutions to provide optimized software and professional services in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. www.trimble.com

Autodesk completes acquisition of iLogic Technology

The acquisition supports Autodesk’s commitment to providing a comprehensive solution to manufacturers of all sizes, giving them the ability to design, visualize and simulate their products before they are built, reducing the reliance on constructing multiple physical prototypes. The iLogic technology will strengthen the Autodesk solution for Digital Prototyping. www.autodesk.com.