Mobile lidar scanning is an evolution of lidar acquisition, filling the void created from aerial lidar collection and terrestrial static scanning methods. Mobile lidar utilizes the ground level perspective of terrestrial scanners with mobile capabilities used by aerial lidar. Mobile lidar can better serve demanding transportation design and engineering projects, as well as provide a solution to collecting lidar data when aerial methods aren’t possible or don’t meet the accuracy standards. It also offers faster acquisition and less personnel risk. Are you considering a mobile lidar project? Continental Mapping can help you conceptually plan and execute a project. Below are some key questions to think about when considering mobile lidar.

The United States Air Force Central Command (AFCENT) is the primary force provider of combat airpower to America’s warfighting commands. With many Air Force Bases around the world, it is important for AFCENT to have high accuracy mapping of all bases, including facilities and airports, for future planning, expansion or combat purposes. With many Air Force Bases and air fields being in dangerous fly-over countries, traditional fixed-wing or helicopter collection methods are not possible. Through a competitive process, the US Air Force chose Continental Mapping to provide ortho satellite mapping of 87 sites over the span of two years. The worldwide reach and sub-meter accuracy make mapping from satellites a viable solution for very large or international projects. DigitalGlobe’s WorldView satellite offers half meter resolution with both ortho and stereo collection on a single pass. This variety allows Continental Mapping to produce orthoimagery and other datasets. As project lead, Continental Mapping had to ensure the coverage of the

See “Satellite Mapping” on page 3…

In This Issue: • Tips for Planning a Mobile Lidar Project • Global Satellite Mapping Contract for Air Force • TDS Telecommunications Corporation and

Continental Mapping • Surveying for USACE Tulsa • Welcome New Employees • Upcoming Conferences

For further information or general inquiries, please contact: Continental Mapping Consultants, Inc. All Offices 888.815.3327 Headquarters 121 S. Bristol Street, Suite 201 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 Branch Offices Indianapolis, IN Kansas City, KS info@continentalmapping.com www.continentalmapping.com

See “Mobile Mapping” on page 3…

How dense of a point dataset do

you need?

What type of features are your

interested in?

How important is the system’s

image data to you and your project?

How quickly do you need the

data?

How do you get features from a

point cloud?

There are numerous systems on the market and Continental Mapping has access to almost all of them. We utilize the appropriate sensor for the job. Some have two cameras, others have six, while others have 360 degree panoramas. Camera units time-stamp their imagery so it can be easily associated with the lidar.

Point density is determined by application such as a highly accurate roadbed model or extracting features in an urban area. Density comes at a cost, sometimes requiring multiple passes or narrower field of view with slower collection. If you are interested in overhead structures like utility lines, then focus on systems with a 360 degree field of view. If you are interested in collecting ground features like ditches or curbs, then a directed configuration offers better collection.

Quick turnaround is feasible but timeline depends mostly upon the project workplan (e.g. acquisition at night, permissible weather conditions, project areas-of-interest, GPS coverage/IMU usage, plan for recapturing data voids and end deliveries). Typical features extracted include buildings, power lines, transportation features, and contours. Map features are collected using a combination of manual and automated methods to extract features from the point cloud.

US Air Force Chooses Continental Mapping for Global Satellite Mapping IDIQ

Tips for Planning a Mobile Lidar Project

Mapping from Earth, Sky, and Space

Newsletter from Continental Mapping Consultants, Inc. Issue 1 2012

Continental Mapping Provides Boundary Survey for USACE Tulsa District

Survey Department Continues To Grow As mentioned in last spring’s newsletter, Continental Mapping now offers land surveying out of our Kansas City Office. Managed by Steve Roberts, PLS, this department has proven to be a valuable capability that we are pleased to offer in-house. Throughout the last year we’ve completed numerous projects, trained survey crew members, and purchased new equipment to better serve our clients.

Mapping from Earth, Sky, and Space Mapping from Earth, Sky, and Space

Continental Mapping Consultants, Inc. Headings • Issue 1 2012

After experiencing shoreline erosion at Council Grove Lake in Kansas, the US Army Corps of Engineers Tulsa District needed more space to maintain the lake and initiated a land exchange with the White Memorial Church Camp. This exchange required Continental Mapping to establish boundary corner monuments for nine tracts which included new parcels deeded to the US Government and three tracts deeded to the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference of the United Church of Christ. This survey involved monumenting two segments of the lake and

Welcome New Employees!

Continental Mapping is pleased to welcome four new faces to our headquarters location in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Joining our team in late 2011 and early 2012, Jon Arndt, Benny Rockweiler, and Shannon Erb will be applying their skills and experience to our federal and commercial mapping production departments, and Todd Thies will be supporting our business development department.

2 3

Continental Mapping Builds Nationwide Geospatial Data for TDS Telecommunications

TDS Telecommunications Corp (TDS), located in Madison, WI, is the seventh largest telecom provider in America. TDS has grown extensively and now serves customers across 30 states. Continental Mapping is assisting TDS in the automation and migration of primary geospatial data for rural exchanges throughout the United States. Over the last 40 years TDS has embraced existing and developing technologies to better manage their infrastructure and service their customers. This mindset presents some challenges to TDS, including the collection of a great deal of geospatial data in various formats, accuracies, lineage, quality, and currency. Diverse geospatial datasets makes proactive management difficult for individual phone exchanges as well as the overall infrastructure holdings of TDS. To assist in addressing this issue, TDS enlisted the aid of Continental Mapping Continental Mapping is providing a variety of geospatial data development efforts including CAD to GIS data migrations, paper to digital data automation, and a broad review of mapping

technologies and capabilities. All Continental Mapping efforts and deliverables are done in the context of a fast paced, cutting edge enterprise GIS deployment, including their recent deployment of a modified version of Esri’s telecom geodatabase model. Migration of existing CAD data to TDS’s GIS is a critical initiative. One such example includes over line miles of infrastructure spanning several counties in Wisconsin. Continental Mapping’s technicians moved and scaled existing digital CAD drawings and checked the location of overhead lines and poles using what imagery and data was available. At the end of the project, Continental Mapping delivered an Esri’s geodatabase with phone lines, conduits, poles, and miscellaneous utilities tied to a georeferenced base map. Data automation for rural exchanges is also critical to TDS as they own many rural phone exchanges. This project involved strict adherence to their customized data model and converting hand drawn light and utility field notes into a digital format that could be loaded into their geodatabase. Our cooperation is allowing TDS to better manage their service areas, expand product offerings, and improve overall network management. By using photogrammetric methods and creating consistent GIS data, TDS can perform key business functions such as trace route analysis for outage management, network strategy planning for line expansion, and utilize enterprise data models to house all geospatial data in one environment. With the telecommunications industry continuing to grow through web based TV, advanced mobile devices, and high speed internet, these changes lead to the consumer getting better services and faster solutions. TDS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. a Fortune 500 company providing wireless, local, and long-distance telephone and broadband services to approximately 7 million customers.

included resetting all destroyed or missing corner monuments.

Pictured above from left to right; Jon Arndt, Todd Thies, Shannon Erb, and Benny Rockweiler.

Mobile Mapping continued… Mobile lidar is a staple data collection tool in the geospatial data development industry. Many of our clients have worked with lidar data directly or finished products that came from processed lidar data. Applications range widely across numerous industries from 3D modeling, contour mapping, change detection, and volumetric studies, all of which Continental Mapping has experience providing for our clients. The methods of collecting lidar data continue to evolve to address higher accuracy requirements and multiple collection methods. By mounting a mobile lidar sensor to the top of a vehicle, lidar data can be acquired along roads and railroads at fast speeds during the day or night. This data is tied to GPS control, allowing lidar specialists to then create an accurate 3D model of the area, displaying data that is usually not visible from aerial derived lidar data such as undersides of bridges or the sides of overpasses and ditches. Mobile lidar is also valuable for high accuracy urban mapping, allowing detailed collection of buildings, alleys, power lines, and other features. As the geospatial industry continues to evolve, Continental Mapping is eager to explore how mobile lidar collection methods can save our clients time and money in the planning and execution of future projects.

SAME Joint Engineer Training Conference & Expo May 22-25, St. Louis, Missouri MAPPS Summer Conference July 10-14, Aspen, Colorado

ASPRS Annual Conference March 19-23, Sacramento, California MAPPS Federal Programs Conference March 27-28, Washington, DC

TNGIC Conference March 28-29, Burns, Tennessee MAGIC Symposium April 22-26, Kansas City, Missouri Indiana GIS Conference May 8-9, Bloomington, Indiana

Upcoming Conferences Continental Mapping will be attending several conferences in the

coming months, look for us at the following:

Satellite Mapping for AFCENT continued...

Example orthophoto with mapping features collected for TDS Telecom project

imagery was extensive enough to drape on the DTM for orthoproduction. Additionally, proper control, often difficult across large areas, was paramount. The delivered imagery also presents AFCENT with the option to acquire feature data at a later date if this becomes needed. As demand for satellite imagery services has increased, Continental Mapping provides worldwide stereo and mono imagery services including orthophotography and photogrammetrically derived elevations datasets to both public and private sector clients. Continental Mapping is pleased to add AFCENT to our growing list of clients.

Land Survey Licenses Photogrammetric Survey Licenses

Office Locations

Continental Mapping Provides Boundary Survey for USACE Tulsa District

Survey Department Continues To Grow As mentioned in last spring’s newsletter, Continental Mapping now offers land surveying out of our Kansas City Office. Managed by Steve Roberts, PLS, this department has proven to be a valuable capability that we are pleased to offer in-house. Throughout the last year we’ve completed numerous projects, trained survey crew members, and purchased new equipment to better serve our clients.

Mapping from Earth, Sky, and Space Mapping from Earth, Sky, and Space

Continental Mapping Consultants, Inc. Headings • Issue 1 2012

After experiencing shoreline erosion at Council Grove Lake in Kansas, the US Army Corps of Engineers Tulsa District needed more space to maintain the lake and initiated a land exchange with the White Memorial Church Camp. This exchange required Continental Mapping to establish boundary corner monuments for nine tracts which included new parcels deeded to the US Government and three tracts deeded to the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference of the United Church of Christ. This survey involved monumenting two segments of the lake and

Welcome New Employees!

Continental Mapping is pleased to welcome four new faces to our headquarters location in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Joining our team in late 2011 and early 2012, Jon Arndt, Benny Rockweiler, and Shannon Erb will be applying their skills and experience to our federal and commercial mapping production departments, and Todd Thies will be supporting our business development department.

2 3

Continental Mapping Builds Nationwide Geospatial Data for TDS Telecommunications

TDS Telecommunications Corp (TDS), located in Madison, WI, is the seventh largest telecom provider in America. TDS has grown extensively and now serves customers across 30 states. Continental Mapping is assisting TDS in the automation and migration of primary geospatial data for rural exchanges throughout the United States. Over the last 40 years TDS has embraced existing and developing technologies to better manage their infrastructure and service their customers. This mindset presents some challenges to TDS, including the collection of a great deal of geospatial data in various formats, accuracies, lineage, quality, and currency. Diverse geospatial datasets makes proactive management difficult for individual phone exchanges as well as the overall infrastructure holdings of TDS. To assist in addressing this issue, TDS enlisted the aid of Continental Mapping Continental Mapping is providing a variety of geospatial data development efforts including CAD to GIS data migrations, paper to digital data automation, and a broad review of mapping

technologies and capabilities. All Continental Mapping efforts and deliverables are done in the context of a fast paced, cutting edge enterprise GIS deployment, including their recent deployment of a modified version of Esri’s telecom geodatabase model. Migration of existing CAD data to TDS’s GIS is a critical initiative. One such example includes over line miles of infrastructure spanning several counties in Wisconsin. Continental Mapping’s technicians moved and scaled existing digital CAD drawings and checked the location of overhead lines and poles using what imagery and data was available. At the end of the project, Continental Mapping delivered an Esri’s geodatabase with phone lines, conduits, poles, and miscellaneous utilities tied to a georeferenced base map. Data automation for rural exchanges is also critical to TDS as they own many rural phone exchanges. This project involved strict adherence to their customized data model and converting hand drawn light and utility field notes into a digital format that could be loaded into their geodatabase. Our cooperation is allowing TDS to better manage their service areas, expand product offerings, and improve overall network management. By using photogrammetric methods and creating consistent GIS data, TDS can perform key business functions such as trace route analysis for outage management, network strategy planning for line expansion, and utilize enterprise data models to house all geospatial data in one environment. With the telecommunications industry continuing to grow through web based TV, advanced mobile devices, and high speed internet, these changes lead to the consumer getting better services and faster solutions. TDS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. a Fortune 500 company providing wireless, local, and long-distance telephone and broadband services to approximately 7 million customers.

included resetting all destroyed or missing corner monuments.

Pictured above from left to right; Jon Arndt, Todd Thies, Shannon Erb, and Benny Rockweiler.

Mobile Mapping continued… Mobile lidar is a staple data collection tool in the geospatial data development industry. Many of our clients have worked with lidar data directly or finished products that came from processed lidar data. Applications range widely across numerous industries from 3D modeling, contour mapping, change detection, and volumetric studies, all of which Continental Mapping has experience providing for our clients. The methods of collecting lidar data continue to evolve to address higher accuracy requirements and multiple collection methods. By mounting a mobile lidar sensor to the top of a vehicle, lidar data can be acquired along roads and railroads at fast speeds during the day or night. This data is tied to GPS control, allowing lidar specialists to then create an accurate 3D model of the area, displaying data that is usually not visible from aerial derived lidar data such as undersides of bridges or the sides of overpasses and ditches. Mobile lidar is also valuable for high accuracy urban mapping, allowing detailed collection of buildings, alleys, power lines, and other features. As the geospatial industry continues to evolve, Continental Mapping is eager to explore how mobile lidar collection methods can save our clients time and money in the planning and execution of future projects.

SAME Joint Engineer Training Conference & Expo May 22-25, St. Louis, Missouri MAPPS Summer Conference July 10-14, Aspen, Colorado

ASPRS Annual Conference March 19-23, Sacramento, California MAPPS Federal Programs Conference March 27-28, Washington, DC

TNGIC Conference March 28-29, Burns, Tennessee MAGIC Symposium April 22-26, Kansas City, Missouri Indiana GIS Conference May 8-9, Bloomington, Indiana

Upcoming Conferences Continental Mapping will be attending several conferences in the

coming months, look for us at the following:

Satellite Mapping for AFCENT continued...

Example orthophoto with mapping features collected for TDS Telecom project

imagery was extensive enough to drape on the DTM for orthoproduction. Additionally, proper control, often difficult across large areas, was paramount. The delivered imagery also presents AFCENT with the option to acquire feature data at a later date if this becomes needed. As demand for satellite imagery services has increased, Continental Mapping provides worldwide stereo and mono imagery services including orthophotography and photogrammetrically derived elevations datasets to both public and private sector clients. Continental Mapping is pleased to add AFCENT to our growing list of clients.

Land Survey Licenses Photogrammetric Survey Licenses

Office Locations

Mobile lidar scanning is an evolution of lidar acquisition, filling the void created from aerial lidar collection and terrestrial static scanning methods. Mobile lidar utilizes the ground level perspective of terrestrial scanners with mobile capabilities used by aerial lidar. Mobile lidar can better serve demanding transportation design and engineering projects, as well as provide a solution to collecting lidar data when aerial methods aren’t possible or don’t meet the accuracy standards. It also offers faster acquisition and less personnel risk. Are you considering a mobile lidar project? Continental Mapping can help you conceptually plan and execute a project. Below are some key questions to think about when considering mobile lidar.

The United States Air Force Central Command (AFCENT) is the primary force provider of combat airpower to America’s warfighting commands. With many Air Force Bases around the world, it is important for AFCENT to have high accuracy mapping of all bases, including facilities and airports, for future planning, expansion or combat purposes. With many Air Force Bases and air fields being in dangerous fly-over countries, traditional fixed-wing or helicopter collection methods are not possible. Through a competitive process, the US Air Force chose Continental Mapping to provide ortho satellite mapping of 87 sites over the span of two years. The worldwide reach and sub-meter accuracy make mapping from satellites a viable solution for very large or international projects. DigitalGlobe’s WorldView satellite offers half meter resolution with both ortho and stereo collection on a single pass. This variety allows Continental Mapping to produce orthoimagery and other datasets. As project lead, Continental Mapping had to ensure the coverage of the

See “Satellite Mapping” on page 3…

In This Issue: • Tips for Planning a Mobile Lidar Project • Global Satellite Mapping Contract for Air Force • TDS Telecommunications Corporation and

Continental Mapping • Surveying for USACE Tulsa • Welcome New Employees • Upcoming Conferences

For further information or general inquiries, please contact: Continental Mapping Consultants, Inc. All Offices 888.815.3327 Headquarters 121 S. Bristol Street, Suite 201 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 Branch Offices Indianapolis, IN Kansas City, KS info@continentalmapping.com www.continentalmapping.com

See “Mobile Mapping” on page 3…

How dense of a point dataset do

you need?

What type of features are your

interested in?

How important is the system’s

image data to you and your project?

How quickly do you need the

data?

How do you get features from a

point cloud?

There are numerous systems on the market and Continental Mapping has access to almost all of them. We utilize the appropriate sensor for the job. Some have two cameras, others have six, while others have 360 degree panoramas. Camera units time-stamp their imagery so it can be easily associated with the lidar.

Point density is determined by application such as a highly accurate roadbed model or extracting features in an urban area. Density comes at a cost, sometimes requiring multiple passes or narrower field of view with slower collection. If you are interested in overhead structures like utility lines, then focus on systems with a 360 degree field of view. If you are interested in collecting ground features like ditches or curbs, then a directed configuration offers better collection.

Quick turnaround is feasible but timeline depends mostly upon the project workplan (e.g. acquisition at night, permissible weather conditions, project areas-of-interest, GPS coverage/IMU usage, plan for recapturing data voids and end deliveries). Typical features extracted include buildings, power lines, transportation features, and contours. Map features are collected using a combination of manual and automated methods to extract features from the point cloud.

US Air Force Chooses Continental Mapping for Global Satellite Mapping IDIQ

Tips for Planning a Mobile Lidar Project

Mapping from Earth, Sky, and Space

Newsletter from Continental Mapping Consultants, Inc. Issue 1 2012