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No INTERGEO expo would be complete without an avalanche of new and improved products. This year’s event in Berlin was no exception, and GeoConnexion was on hand to sample a selection of the innovations on offer from more than 570 exhibitors.
Among a slew of new products from Trimble (https://www.trimble.com) was the C5 mechanical Total Station with Trimble’s Access survey, mapping & GIS field software on board (pictured). As with its stablemate, the C3, it comes as standard with autofocus technology. With premium-quality Nikon optics, the new C-Series is claimed to reduce time in the field thanks to improved measuring speed and the longest electronic distance measuring (EDM) range of any Trimble conventional instrument. Availability through Trimble’s global distribution network is expected later this year (2017).
This innovative hybrid UAS from h-aero of Baden-Baden in Germany (http://www.hybrid-airplane.com) combines the speed and flexibility of fixed and rotary wing electric propulsion with the flight duration of balloons. The prototype H-Aero One, pictured here, has a span of three metres, sports twin motors, carries a payload of three kilos and a has flight duration of five hours. The energy supply is augmented by solar cells, boosting flight times to 10 hours. This makes the drone suitable for research as well as for reconnaissance and SAR applications. Larger versions are planned, including those for transporting people.
The new GS18T RTK Rover from Leica Geosystems of Heerbrugge, Switzerland (http://leica-geosystems.com) being demonstrated outside the exhibition halls. Claimed to be the world’s fastest and easiest-to-use RTK by dint of not needing to hold the pole vertical to level the bubble, the system combines GNSS and IMUs to be the first true tilt compensation solution that is calibration-free and immune to magnetic disturbances.
As part of its new product offering at INTERGEO 2017, Topcon Positioning Systems Inc. (https://www.topconpositioning.com) announced MAGNET Collage Web. This new web-based service is designed to simplify collaboration and sharing of 3D point cloud data and is integrated with the MAGNET® Collage desktop mass data processing software. As such, it offers a “single environment” solution for professionals that process and publish data from laser scanners, mobile mapping devices, modern paving scanners, and traditional surveying instruments.
Yellowscan of Montferrier sur Lez, France (www.yellowscan.fr) announced a collaboration that will see its Surveyor airborne LiDAR scanner integrated into the TRON VTOL platform from Quantum Systems of Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany (https://www.quantum-systems.com). The combination will, it is claimed, allow for extraordinary efficiency and accuracy to support the asset management needs of numerous industries. Pictured here, Pierre d’Hauteville, Head of Sales & Marketing for Yellowscan (left) and Martin Herkommer, Head of Sales/CSO for Quantum Systems, shake on the deal.
The VMX-2HA dual scanner mobile mapping system was just one of a flurry of new and improved products from Riegl of Horn, Austria (http://www.riegl.com). An evolution of the proven VMX engineering-grade mobile mapping suite, it can acquire two million measurements and 500 scan lines per second at highway speeds. A streamlined carbon fibre form factor, flexible camera options, and extremely high-speed data transfer and storage are just some of the key features of this latest high performance mobile mapper.
Miki Lin, Marketing Director for Shanghai-based Tersus-GNSS (https://www.tersus-gnss.com), with the company’s latest solution, the Tersus David RTK box. This proprietary RTK solution plugs into a smartphone via USB cable and turns it into an RTK rover, GIS collector and/or RTK base for centimetre-level accuracy. Support is provided for GPS L1/L2, BeiDou B1/B2, and GLONASS G1/G2 and the rugged design makes it an ideal instrument for use in harsh environments.
Making its debut at INTERGEO 2017 was the Crescent Vector H220 OEM board from US-based Hemisphere GNSS, Inc. (https://hemispheregnss.com). The single-frequency, multi-GNSS board provides added benefits over the prior generation H200 with a more robust positioning and heading solution and integrates the Atlas® GNSS Global Correction Service. Measuring 109 mm x 71 mm, the 34-pin header module is a drop-in upgrade for existing designs using the H200 and enables simultaneous tracking of all L1 constellations including GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, and QZSS.
A feast of multi-rotor drones from Longyi Aviation Technology Co. of Shandong, China (www.longyi-uav.com) included the LY - M8 octocopter (pictured foreground). The 1.4m diameter carbon fibre platform can be assembled in five minutes, has a maximum take-off payload of 6kg, can remain airborne for more than an hour, and has a flight ceiling of 5,000 meters.
James Murphy, Senior Sales Executive with Swift Navigation of San Francisco, USA (https://www.swiftnav.com), with the Duro™ a ruggedised version of the company’s Piksi® Multi RTK GNSS receiver. As its name suggests, the sensor is protected against weather, moisture, vibration, dust, water immersion and the unexpected that can occur in long-term outdoor deployments. The Duro is designed for integration into a customer’s existing equipment and said to be ideal for agricultural, robotics, maritime and outdoor industrial applications.
John Allen, VP Sales & Marketing for UK-based 3D mobile mapping business GeoSLAM (https://geoslam.com) with the ZEB-REVO RT, the next generation of the hugely popular ZEB-REVO handheld scanner. It is claimed that this newcomer will cut survey times in half, by collecting and processing scan data simultaneously while on the move. The 3D scan is displayed in real time on either a mobile phone or tablet, connected wirelessly to the scanner, allowing for immediate visual feedback on coverage and data quality.
Grey Matter (www.greymatter.com), the UK-based distributor for Microsoft Bing Maps (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/maps/) in the EMEA and APAC regions, was showcasing the use of the HoloLens to visualize and explore complex business data (80% of which has a geospatial component) in the professional browser-based mapping.
