742
October 2016
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
INDUSTRY
NEWS
To have your press release published in
PE&RS
, contact Rae Kelley,
ANNOUNCEMENTS
s
OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter (OLA) was
launched successfully from Cape Canaveral, USA on Thurs-
day, September 8. OLA was designed by scientists and engi-
neers from Teledyne Optech and built by MacDonald, Dett-
wiler and Associates (MDA). It had been installed and tested
aboard the OSIRIS-REx
spacecraft.
OSIRIS-REx will reach the asteroid Bennu by 2018.
Upon reaching Bennu, OLA will scan the surface to create a
high-resolution 3D map of the entire asteroid, which will help
scientists understand its morphology and select the best spot
for OSIRIS-REx to collect a sample of its surface material.
This sample will be collected in 2020 and returned to Earth
in 2023. Because Bennu is a carbonaceous asteroid that has
likely changed very little since the birth of the solar system,
scientists hope that this mission will shed light on how the
solar system developed.
OLA is equipped with a rapid scanning mirror and two sepa-
rate lasers. While many earlier space missions have used sim-
ple laser rangefinders to measure the distance to their targets,
OLA will use its scanning technology to spread its measure-
ments over the entire asteroid, creating a 3D map of Bennu.
The two lasers give OLA extra flexibility for long- and short-
range operation: The long-range laser makes measurements
from up to 7 km away as OSIRIS-REx approaches Bennu,
while the short-range laser fires up to 10,000 times per second
to create detailed maps quickly once OSIRIS-REx is in close
orbit.
OLA is not the first Teledyne Optech lidar to travel into
space. Teledyne Optech designed the atmospheric lidar aboard
NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander, which returned a trove of infor-
mation about Martian weather, including proof that it actual-
ly snows on the red planet. In an application similar to that
of OSIRIS-REx, Teledyne Optech also created the rendezvous
lidar for the U.S. Air Force Research Lab satellite XSS-11,
which successfully tracked other satellites in orbit to assess
the possibility of satellite docking and servicing. Find out more
at
.
Dynamic UAV Solutions, LLC.
, a new distributor of
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and services to the Mapping,
Construction, Survey, Agricultural, Inspection, Mining, Public
Safety and Landfill industries, has been appointed the exclusive
North American distributor for LockheedMartin’s Indago family
of quadrotor UAV platforms and Sentera’s precision payloads
and Phoenix Fixed Wing UAV solution. For more information,
visit
or
CORRECTION
In the September issue of
PE&RS,
the press release for
DAT/EM contained an incorrect link. The corect link is
PRODUCTS
Cardinal Systems
, the producer of the Vr Mapping software,
introduces VrUAS to the Vr Mapping Software. Cardinal Sys-
tems provides mapping software solutions for the handling of
digital spatial data and is the developer and provider of the Vr
Mapping software suite. Vr Mapping supports the use of UAS
imagery and while much of this falls within the parameters
of existing, time-tested photogrammetric applications, other
newer applications assist with the process. These include ap-
plications such camera calibration and Digital Surface Model
(DSM) generation.
Included in the full Vr Mapping VrUAS bundle is the ability
to perform aerial triangulation (automatic tie point and bun-
dle adjustment), create Digital Surface Models, and produce
orthomosaics. The VrTwo and VrThree Modules allow for true
3D viewing, vector collection and editing from stereo images
and point clouds. The modular design of the software allows
for compatibility with other processing packages. This allows
Vr Mapping to continue a project that was started using an-
other solution.
For more information, visit
or
come to our booth at the Commercial UAV Expo October 31
st
to November 2
nd
in Las Vegas.
EVENTS
GEO Business 2017
, May 23-24, 2017, Business Design Cen-
tre, London, UK. The geospatial event for everyone involved
in the gathering, storing, processing and delivery of geospatial
information. Launched in 2014, the annual geospatial show
has grown year on year. For more information , visit
.
USIBD’s 2016 Symposium: “Discovering the Built
Environment”
October 16 – 17, at the Hyatt Regency in
Atlanta, Georgia.
Join USIBD at their annual Symposium, where they bring
together professionals from all corners of the Building Docu-
mentation industry in a day of QUICK FIRE sessions from fel-
low professionals working in the BD trenches.
Keynote speaker, Errol Plata, LEED AP + BD&C, NASA’s
Langley Research Center’s (LaRC) BIM Facilities Manager.
Mr. Plata works the Center Operations Directorate’s (COD)
GIS Team where he manages the Center’s Revit Building Mod-
el inventory. He was hired to develop and implement a Stra-
tegic BIM Plan for NASA LaRC. The Plan involves intuitive
web based 3D viewers so everyone at LaRC from Engineers
to Maintenance technicians can easily view the 3D building
models, and easily find the assets that need maintenance. Mr.
Plata will discuss using USIBD’s LOA in his team’s projects.
Mr. Plata’s presentation will be a part of the Arrival Net-
working reception on Sunday evening, October 16
th
. Monday,
October 17
th
will have a full day of presentations, Q&A, and
networking.
