Over the past few years we have witnessedadvances in sensor technology as neverbefore. So what is likely to become the new‘norm’ in the surveyor’s toolbox?Chris Harris looks at likely candidates

WHAT’S INTHE BOX?Regional SalesManager atKOREC Group

ChrisHarris

The technology In which you investas a business undoubtedly has animpact on the projects you canhandle and how your business isviewed from the outside. For many,Total Stations and GNSS are alreadyregarded as ‘standard equipment’,but what about laser scanners, dronesand mobile mapping systems – arethese now becoming the norm?

Sensor fusionIn terms of unit numbers, we see moreinvestment in Total Stations and GNSS

- along with the datacollector of choice - thanin any other area. This hasbeen so for a number ofyears, but the ‘scanning’ TotalStation is not now far behind andcatching up fast. The reason why is nothard to fathom, for it allows the user todo all the normal things they may wishto do with either a Total Station and/ora laser scanner. This is the true ‘sensorfusion’ I mentioned in a previous column.

Tomorrow’s well-equipped surveyor?

76 September/October 2018 // www.GEOconnexion.com

MODERN SURVEYING

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We are now starting to seesurveyors adopting the hybridsystem as a replacement for a TotalStation or a dedicated laser scannersimply because they can do so manymore different tasks with just oneinstrument. Additionally, it is asingle investment, and with so manydifferent technologies available,people are rightfully keen to makea product pay for itself quickly.

“If you can take on more tasksthen you will become more valuable”is something a previous manager toldme on many occasions! This is nowheremore true than in the choice ofequipment a surveyor employs. It helpsexplain why, in less than two yearssince its launch, the SX10 scanningTotal Station is now not just one ofTrimble’s most desirable geospatialproducts but one of its best-selling, out-performing all dedicated laser scannersand the majority of Total Stations.

Drones: on the riseLet’s also take a look at drones which,while increasing in use, aren’t yetan everyday item. I have workedwith several different systems over

the last seven years and their usagehas gone up dramatically both interms of the number of companiesbuying them and the type of jobsto which they are applied.

The technology has improvedsignificantly over this time butthe processing times still leavea bit to be desired. They aretherefore less commonly foundin the surveyors’ toolbox, withmany practices outsourcing thistype of survey to companiesspecialising in aerial mapping.

Out of a nicheThen we have mobile mappingsystems. Certainly not for everygeospatial business, but very niche?I wouldn’t say so, not anymore.

Two reasons. Price is the first,and here we have seen significantprice reductions. A mobile systemdoes not necessarily need to includeLiDAR, so this can influence howmuch you will pay, and here, it’sworth noting that our ‘imaging only’system significantly outsells theLiDAR systems. Taking measurementsdirectly off a photograph may not

be quite as accurate but it is highlyintuitive, making it quick and easyfor a data analyst to master.

The second reason is the requirementto handle large datasets of up-to-date,accurate geospatial data from manydifferent stakeholders. The data thata surveyor measures is a valuablecommodity, with each point measuredon-site specific to a feature. But massgeospatial data can be given to anyoneto view, measure and draw from.Everything from precision surveys to GISdatabases can be collected and managedin the same way, at least in theory.

People say the mobile mappingsystem is being used because it’s so muchfaster, but only sometimes is this true.For many, it’s all about cost. Deployingthe people to capture the same volumeof data that a mobile system can capturein an hour would be incredibly expensive,so speed doesn’t normally come into it.

Let’s see if, in the next yearor two, the drone and the mobilemapping system attain the samelevel usage as today’s scanning TotalStation. Will this technology be inyour equipment stores in 2020 … orare you already offering it today?

www.GEOconnexion.com // September/October 2018 77

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