Friday, May 31, 2013

Picture of the Week

Earlier this month, Jackson, MS was supposed to play host to the Navy's Blue Angels at the 50th Anniversary Airshow. However, the show was cancelled due to sequestration cuts.  I was really looking forward to it as a good friend of mine is a local Navy recruiter and promised I could sit in the cockpit - I would play Maverick to his Goose.

Continuing with a Navy theme for the second week in a row, I submit our Pictures of the Week. Cue the Kenny Loggins music...

Posing with a retired Blue Angel.
A point cloud displayed by intensity values.
A point cloud colorized from on-board cameras.
Cheers!
Stephen

Friday, May 24, 2013

Picture of the Week

The picture of the week kicks off the Memorial Day weekend with a unique perspective of our men and women in uniform.  Often people in our scans are moving, which causes distorted profiles when viewing data collected from both sensors.  These sailors were standing patiently, waiting to enter the mess hall.  It's easy to see which sailors were standing motionless.



Have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day!

Cheers!
Stephen

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Best Practices

While mounting our Mobile LiDAR spring offensive, I didn't have much time to prepare articles for LiDAR News, much less update and maintain the blog.  Therefore, my colleague Dr. Srinivasan Dharmapuri stepped up and prepared an article on Best Practices for Mobile Mapping System Data collection and Processing.  Dr. Srini, Baker's resident LiDAR Scientist, has served on the ASPRS Mobile Mapping Committee since it's inauguration and is an integral part of our LiDAR organization.

Should you have recommendations for what you would like to see on the blog, in a more detailed article, or just a question to "Ask the Doctor," please leave a comment.

Cheers!
Stephen

Friday, May 17, 2013

Picture of the Week

About three years ago, we held a Name that Car Contest.  The objective was to identify the make and model of vehicles captured by our Mobile LiDAR unit utilizing only the point cloud colored by intensity.  Now, we have a point cloud of our system courtesy of a few static scans.  There is no mistaking this vehicle.


I have linked to the results of the Name that Car Contest for your convenience.

Cheers!
Stephen

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Hello World!

In the animal kingdom, whales are the mammals that can hold their breath the longest. I believe that after a tremendous spring, we are finally coming up for a short breath of fresh air. Our collection team has kicked off a record year with projects spanning from the plains of Texas, to the bayous of Louisiana, to the icy upper Mid-west, to the hills of the Blue Ridge, and the mid-Atlantic coast. Projects have ranged from small transportation corridors, to complete regions or metropolitan areas. We have collected on highways, in residential neighborhoods, off-road, and on the water – with the christening of a hydrographic survey vessel.

The collections have generated thousands of hours of processing for our team of technicians and analysts. We are simultaneously developing engineering/survey quality data for numerous clients, and supporting a myriad of product platforms employed by our clients including MicroStation design files and InRoads DTM’s; servicing others that require AutoCAD Civil3D products;, not to mention the generation of GIS deliverables in a host of Geodatabase models or schemas.

Over the years, we have developed the capacity to simultaneously manage multiple, challenging projects across geographies. After all, the act of a whale porpoising for air is only temporary. Before long, it’s back under the surface.

Cheers!
Stephen