Geospatial Holdings, Inc. recently announced that the company has entered into a Strategic Alliance with Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc. The purpose of the alliance is to jointly market Geospatial’s Smart Probe Pipeline Mapping Technologies with Topcon’s IP-S2, 3D aboveground Mobile Mapping System. With the combined technologies, municipalities, engineers, pipeline operators and utilities are capable of gathering and managing 3D geo-referenced surface features along with 3D underground pipeline data.
Topcon’s IP-S2 3D Mobile Mapping System travels the pipeline or utility corridor aboveground at speeds up to 65 miles per hour. The cost savings over traditional ground-based data collection methodologies is exponential. Safety is greatly improved by removing personnel from vehicular traffic areas.
The IP-S2’s three laser scanners and a digital video camera system capture high-accuracy x,y,z point clouds and 360-degree spherical imagery. Topcon’s software enables the simultaneous viewing of images and point clouds, enabling the system operator to accurately visualize and assess all terrestrial features along the corridor.
Existing GIS feature and attribute sets can be imported, used to position collected features and then exported back to the system’s geodatabase.
By combining underground pipe data from Geospatial’s Smart Probes with the aboveground mapping from Topcon’s IP-S2 system, operators now have a complete 3D, geospatially referenced view of all essential information.
“The combination of these revolutionary technologies, the GeoUnderground Portal and Topcon’s global distribution and marketing network position this alliance to create a substantial impact on the municipal and energy infrastructure markets worldwide,” said Mark Smith, CEO of Geospatial Holding, Inc.
“The Strategic Alliance between our two companies was created to solve many of the problems that plague underground distribution today,” Richard Rybka, Topcon’s IP-S2 product specialist, said. “Using our technologies, system owners and operators can quickly and cost-effectively acquire the accurate data they need. The result is more efficient operations, safety and precise planning.”
Source: Geospatial Holdings, Inc.
