(Norcross, Ga., 03 September 2009)  District Attorney Joe Mulholland of the South Georgia Judicial Circuit added yet another legal case reference to the growing number of U.S. court cases in which Leica Geosystems 3D laser scan data has been admitted into evidence when he successfully proffered and tendered to the jury a visually compelling Leica TruView.

During the murder trial of Antonio Jerome Greenlee in Decatur County Superior Court, witness and crime scene investigator, Andy Forte of the Thomas County Sheriff’s Department, used Leica TruView to virtually place the jury at the crime scene and to show them how the homicide could have occurred.  The case stems from the homicide of 21-year-old Ebony Clarke of Bainbridge, GA, who was shot and killed on August 12^th, 2008, during a street altercation between two men.

On Sepember 1, 2009, Leica Geosystems and Point of Beginning Magazine hosted a webinar titled The Business of Laser Scanning — hype or competitive advantage? Presenters Michael Harvey and Frank Hahnel along with Kristi Grahl discussed using laser scanning technology to:

• Submit more competitive bids — and win more jobs — for both high-end projects and routine surveys.
• Meet the requirements of customers who increasingly incorporate HDS into their project specifications.
• Lower your labor costs and increase profit margins on every job.
• Increase customer satisfaction with more accurate and detailed surveying reports.

During the webinar, the presenters also announced the availability of Leica’s new ScanStation C10 self-contained time-of-flight 3D laser scanner along with Cyclone 7, Cloudworx for SmartPlant3D and Forensic Map.

Some of the benefits of the new ScanStation C10:

• No cables
• On-board data storage
• USB Interface for data transfer

Leica ScanStation C10

The All-in-One Laser Scanner for Any Application

Today’s most popular class of laser scanner – ScanStation™ – is now in a compact, all-in-one ScanStation C10 platform. It includes scanner, tilt sensor, battery, controller, data storage, auto-adjusting video camera and laser plummet. ScanStation C10 also features major productivity advances, including a new Smart X-Mirror™ that lets users conduct full-dome scans in literally just minutes using a spinning mirror.

With outstanding performance for site, exterior, and interior applications, ScanStation C10 makes High-Definition Surveying™ (HDS™) profitable for even more as-built, topographic and monitoring surveys. The ScanStation C10 platform represents the most capabilities and best value packed into a single laser scanner instrument. Users can take advantage of surveyor-friendly, onboard total station-like control or use an external laptop for even more powerful, onsite viewing and data processing.

Technology is a wonderful thing… when it works. I am always fascinated by the rapid speed in which technology is advancing. Augmented reality, intelligent models, holographs, etc. are no longer things of the future, but technology of today. That said, I wanted to share this video showing what technology Microsoft Research expects to exist by the year 2019 – a miniscual ten years from now.

Toronto, Canada, August 19, 2009
Source: www.optech.ca

Optech Incorporated has assumed full ownership of certain patents directed to underground laser-based cavity scanning devices.

In the late 1980s, Noranda Incorporated’s Technology Center developed and then patented technologies for the remote, contact-less measurements of stopes, bore holes and other underground mine features. These technologies culminated in Optech’s development of its commercial product, the Cavity Monitoring System (CMS). The CMS was originally called the Mast Volumetric Laser by Noranda. Optech has been manufacturing, marketing and selling the CMS under license from Noranda since 1991. The technology has been a key driver in the long and enduring success of Optech’s rugged and field-proven CMS system, which is now in use in hundreds of mines worldwide on all inhabited continents.

PITTSBURGH – August 12, 2009

Michael Baker Jr., Inc. (Baker), an engineering unit of Michael Baker Corporation (NYSE Amex: BKR), has announced that it has purchased the Optech Lynx Mobile LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) system which expands Baker’s offerings of advanced geospatial technology solutions within its engineering business related to surveying and mapping services.

LiDAR is an optical technology that measures the properties of scattered light to determine range, elevations and other critical mapping data. The system will be used by Baker for engineering and asset management of bridges, transportation surfaces, levees and water control structures, buildings and other infrastructure. Baker’s purchase of the Optech system provides efficient and cost-effective delivery of surveying and mapping data in engineering quality detail. Additionally, Baker will collect survey-grade LiDAR and image data from a vehicle moving at highway speeds using the Optech solution.

See UPDATE: GSA Nationwide BIM/Laser Scanning Services Contract Awards

Beginning this week, the General Services Administration (GSA) began interviewing the 21 firms (not verified) shortlisted for the Nationwide Laser Scanning Services solicitation. Although this solicitation was advertised as a “nationwide” services contract, information announced in the interviews clarified that firms would be selected for up to three regions. This opens the door to the possibility of a greater number of awards and smaller contracts.

The GSA is looking at an aggressive schedule for the awards which will be announced the first or second week of September with hopes of having contracts in place before the end of their fiscal year – September 31st.

Good luck to all of the Shortlisted firms. Stay tuned for more info as it becomes available.

Company: ClearEdge3D
Software: EdgeWise™
Website: www.clearedge3d.com

Quick Pitch: Automatically extract vector planar surfaces from point cloud data.

Overview:
Having used just about every piece of software on the market related to processing and extracting vector information from point cloud data, I am always looking for the next best thing that will make my life and my team’s life easier. We have seen the hardware side of laser scanning come a long way in a very short period of time; however, the software side has not improved at the same blistering pace.

Three years ago today, Russell Williams was killed while working along FM 3005 in Galveston County when a vehicle went off the road and struck him as he stood by his company vehicle beyond the road’s shoulder. This video was created for his funeral and shows his remarkable spirit. We re-post this video here in remembrance of the mark he left on each of our lives.

Tonight an email went out from Paris Marshall’s office stating the following:

“The General Services Administration (GSA) has completed its review of initial proposals submitted in response to the subject solicitation for the National 3D Laser Scanning Services project.   This is to advise you that your proposal was evaluated as being one of the most highly rated, and your firm has been selected for an interview in connection with this procurement.”

Short-listed firms will be interviewed the week of August 10, 2009. Still no word on the number of firms on the short-list. If anyone knows, please post here.