Better Late....

I've been seriously behind on blog posts.  2014 has been a crazy year of many new opportunities with little time for blogging.  Hopefully I'll be able to keep the blog updated more regularly in 2015 and share details about some of the exciting projects that we have been fortunate enough to be a part of. Below are some graphics from a recent project we completed.  Stay tuned....we have some amazing projects lined up for 2015, like an entire Division 1A University campus, a prominent military installation, several municipal wide asset collection projects and various transportation design projects.

Another Successful Sub 2cm Design Survey!

When Accuracy Matters:

We just completed another successful sub 2cm design survey on a 6 mile section of 6 lane divided freeway including 3 interchanges.  Crews placed 415 control targets that were precisely digital leveled. 125 of those targets were used for trajectory control and the remaining 290 were independent validation targets.  All 415 targets were within the DOT standard of 2cm (0.06') maximum deviation in X,Y and Z.

Below are some screen shots of the final RGB point cloud that will be used to produce full 3D planimetric mapping deliverables to DOT specifications, including detailed DTM surface modeling.

RGB Point Cloud of One of 3 Interchanges

RGB Point Cloud of One of 3 Interchanges

RGB Point Cloud of One of 3 Interchanges

When you have the most portable survey grade mobile mapping solution...

Well, like the title says.  When you have the most portable survey grade mobile mapping solution in the world, you tend to get requests to survey areas no other system can survey.  A few weeks ago we were scanning 5 miles of a shallow trout stream for a bank stabilization project in Virginia; from our 14 foot Jon boat.  Today, the team is performing an inland lake shoreline survey to support the design of new forcemain on the lake side of a lake in the Detroit area; from our 18 ft boat.  Tomorrow it's back on the truck for an engineering grade design survey of a freeway corridor.  Within the next 2 weeks it's back on the boat to perform bank scanning along a 22 mile river corridor...this is true versatility!

Check out our podcast with Leica Geosystems!

Check out our podcast on mobile mapping with the Leica Pegasus: One, with Leica Geosystems.

Leica Podcast with Spicer Group Inc.

Mobile Mapping Services Video LIVE!

Check out our mobile mapping services video....it just went live.

Here it is on Vimeo and Youtube....Vimeo quality is much better, although both degrade the full HD version.
Hope you enjoy!

Mobile Mapping Services | Spicer Group Inc. (Vimeo)

Mobile Mapping Services | Spicer Group Inc. (Youtube)

Made it to North Carolina!

The team made it through winter storm Hercules yesterday and made it to sunny North Carolina for 50 miles of collect.  Here's a nice mountain backdrop.

Here are a Couple LiDAR Datasets

Here are a couple point cloud flythrough's from our Pegasus: One system.  Vimeo seems to retain the original .avi quality better than youtube. Check out the links below.

https://vimeo.com/81807848

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H7eJpRKsRg

Spicer Group's Mobile Mapping Team is Already Putting on the Miles

Spicer Group's mobile mapping team has already completed more than 250 miles of Mobile LiDAR collections!  The team just got back from collecting on I-64 in Richmond Virginia and will be heading out to New Jersey in the coming weeks.  If you are interested in seeing our system in action please get in touch and we will try to schedule a visit the next time the team is in your area.  You can reach me through my Google profile or my email address is on our web page at the following link.  We are excited to show off our system's capabilities so don't hesitate to get in touch!
http://www.spicergroup.com/index.php/the-company/shareholders

Pegasus One Photo Shoot Today

Ready for on or off road scanning!

The Official Press Release

http://www.leica-geosystems.us/en/News_56320.htm?id=4720

Spicer Group | First North American Leica Mobile Lidar Provider

Our team at Spicer Group is very proud to announce today that we will be the first North American provider of Mobile Mapping/LiDAR services using the latest in Mobile Mapping technology from Leica Geosystems...the Pegasus: One mobile mapping solution which incorporates the Z+F 9012 profiler.

After years of terrestrial static scanning with the latest Leica scanners and our experience over the last 2 years in processing and extraction from mobile LiDAR datasets, our team felt it was the right time to pursue our own mobile mapping solution.

Today begins a new challenge full of new opportunities for our world class Geospatial Services Group.  We have a dedicated team of motivated professionals excited to pursue nationwide mobile mapping services.

Below are a few highlights of our system and what sets our team apart:

• 200 Hz laser created dense LiDAR datasets
• High grade positioning and navigation system coupled with the 2mm precision of the Z+F Laser, produces incredibly accurate datasets.  The most accurate mobile mapping solution available.
• 6 cameras for full 360 degree image coverage
• Direct integration with downstream CAD/extraction packages, specifically TopoDOT with full image integration.
• The Leica software solution runs on ESRI's ArcGIS, allowing direct mapping of assets to be completed in the ESRI ArcGIS environment, building the geodatabase dynamically.
• Entire image and LiDAR datset can be delivered with a free viewer for use at all levels, allowing simple navigation of the LiDAR and imagery as well as horizontal and vertical measurements.
• Entire image and LiDAR dataset can be delivered with the software interface allowing clients to mine the dataset at any point in the future.  Inventory additional assets from the same dataset without ever collecting more data....all in the ESRI ArcGIS environment. (screen capture of interface below)
• Entire system fits in two pelican cases, providing the ability to mobilize anywhere in the world.
• System is extremely portable and able to be mounted on any platform.  A few that we have planned are:
• All Terrain Vehicles
• Survey Crew Trucks
• Hydrographic Survey Boat
• Rental Vehicles

Below are a few screen captures of LiDAR datasets we collected with the Leica Pegasus: One system.

Lidar Dataset Colored by Intensity and Elevation

Lidar Dataset Colored by Intensity and Elevation

Lidar Dataset Colored by Intensity and Elevation

ArcGDS Interface Allowing Asset Mapping Within ArcGIS

Another Lidar and Sonar Flythrough

Here's another video of the same as below.  I've colored the river bottom data in an elevation banding mode making it clearer to see the river bottom data.  We are doing full 3D mapping extraction for all features and DTM breaklines from the point cloud as well.  Once that's wrapped up, I'll share some shots showing the extracted data along with the point cloud data.

Sneak Peak Lidar and Sonar Datasets

Here's the first dataset showing the lidar data merged with the sonar data.  I threw this together quickly....will work on additional editing and visualization options to try and "fine tune" the animation a bit.  In the meantime, enjoy the sneak peak.  (Point cloud was reduced by 80% to be manageable)

3D Feature Mapping From Mobile Lidar Point Clouds

Here's a video of a 7 mile freeway project we recently completed.  Full 3D survey grade feature extraction from a mobile lidar dataset.  6 lanes of barrier divided freeway surveyed without closing lanes or placing surveyors in the roadway. 

Another Flythrough Along I-75

Another flythrough:  Truck Mounted Mobile Lidar Data

Truck Mounted Mobile Lidar Data at Highway Speeds

Here's a video of a 1.5 mile stretch of I-75 Northbound in Detroit.

Large Area Coverage with Terrestrial Lidar

With the release of Leica Geosystems' latest terrestrial scanner, static terrestrial scanning can actually be done in a highly productive manner.  By mounting the Leica P20 on a Yamaha Rhino UTV we were able to do stop and go scanning at a rate not previously possible.  The P20 scans at a rate of 1 Million pts per second....so we were performing full 360 degree scans in less than four minutes at a resolution far exceeding the realm of reasonable for most feature extraction software packages.  The P20 is a game changer in the static terrestrial market......I just cannot wait to go full mobile with one of these...or maybe even two