Earthquake Recovery Raising a Landmark Building

A Publication for Geospatial Professionals • Issue 2014-3 Earthquake Recovery Raising a Landmark Building Imaging Rovers Get Down to Work UAS on the Ice in Antarctica New Opportunities in Transportation technology&more technology&more Welcome to Technology&more! Deartechnology&more Readers, In traveling around the world I have the opportunity to meet people engaged in • ANTARCTICA pg. 2 many facets of the geospatial industry. Most are eager to share their experience UAS on the Frozen and insights about how geospatial solu- Continent tions can benefit the lives and businesses of people in their region. I’ve talked with professionals who gather and process geospatial data. They discussed the need for increased productivity in capturing and delivering information. Other users emphasized the value of new deliverables Chris Gibson: Vice President • NEW ZEALAND pg. 4 coming from geospatial information that Lifting a Building penetrate deep into their client’s work- flows and processes. Deliverables such as photorealistic 3D models, point clouds and panoramic images support planning, review and enterprise management. And I’ve met with educators and researchers who are driving the effort to expose new regions, and new professionals, to the value of geospatial solutions. They shared with me the need for customizable solutions—at both the local and global levels. • UNITED STATES pg. 10 Most of the stories I hear aren’t about technology. They are about Imaging a Florida Canal innovative people and organizations that create solutions to some very challenging situations. We’re pleased that they have selected Trimble® technologies and look forward to sharing their experiences. We will constantly seek the ideas and feedback that come from the people at work on their jobsites, in their offices and the offices of their clients. This issue of Technology&more brings stories that illustrate how people are using Trimble solutions to quickly develop information and put • GERMANY pg. 20 it to work. Our cover story describes the beautiful Christchurch Art A New Tool for Gallery, and the effort to raise and re-level it following earthquakes. By combining measurement systems with Trimble software, a New Agricultural Mapping Zealand company provided real-time information that was essential to the success of the effort. In Germany, a company used Trimble software to achieve new levels of speed and precision in mapping and classifying agricultural land. In a visit to Florida, we meet a company that uses imaging solutions Published by: to radically reduce the time and costs of collecting and delivering Trimble Engineering & Construction detailed field information. The story presents a good example of 10368 Westmoor Drive the increasing value of imaging—in both the field and office. This issue also highlights imaging of a different sort in Italy, where a Westminster, Colorado 80021 mobile system is helping cities catalog street lighting to comply with Phone: 720-887-6100 new standards for management and energy efficiency. Finally, as Fax: 720-887-6101 innovation and technologies continue to advance, the need grows Email: T&[email protected] for people skilled in acquiring, analyzing and utilizing geospatial www.trimble.com information. This is demonstrated in a story about universities in Uzbekistan working to provide training and experience for new Editor-in-Chief: Shelly Nooner generations of geospatial professionals. Editorial Team: Lea Ann McNabb; Ynez-Bernadette Belwan; Lee Ann Fleming; Jocelyn Delarosa; Grainne Woods; If you’d like to share information with Technology&more readers Anke Seiffert; Lindsay Renkel; Kelly Liberi; Jessica Sebold; about your own innovative project, we’d be happy to hear about it. Echo Wei; Maribel Aguinaldo; Stephanie Kirtland; Send us an email at: [email protected]. We’ll even write Survey Technical Marketing Team the article for you. Art Director: Tom Pipinou And now, enjoy a new look to the future with this issue of Technology&more. © 2014, Trimble Navigation Limited. All rights reserved. Trimble, the Globe & Triangle logo, DiNi, eCognition, GeoExplorer, Juno, Pathfinder, Quantm, RealWorks and Tekla are trademarks of Trimble Chris Gibson Navigation Limited or its subsidiaries, registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. 4D Control, Access, GeoXH, POSPac, TerraSync, and VRS Now are trademarks of Trimble Navigation Limited or its subsidiaries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. technology&more technology&more technology&more Protecting Canada’s Largest Bridge estled on Canada’s west coast in one of the world’s most Planning for the bridge included requirements for monitoring beautiful settings, the city of Vancouver, British Columbia the complex structure. Working closely with the Ministry Nlies in a seismically active area. The region is predisposed and University, REF TEK, a Trimble Division, was selected to earthquakes not only due to movement along the nearby to supply and commission a strong motion seismic instru- Cascadia subduction zone, but also crustal and subcrustal seismic mentation network. In addition to detecting seismic motion, events. Because of the risk that earthquakes pose to British Colum- the system provides a constant flow of information on the bia’s communities and infrastructure, the Geologic Survey of Canada Port Mann Bridge’s behavior and state of health. The REF has placed a high priority on monitoring earthquake activity. TEK system consists of an array of sensors installed on and around the bridge structure. By using cable and structure One of the key components of the effort is monitoring the re- accelerometers, displacement transducers, extensometers gion’s transportation infrastructure. In 2008, the British Columbia and piezometers, the system can detect ground motion and Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, in collaboration structural responses that may result from seismic activity, with the University of British Columbia, updated and expanded traffic activity or other extreme loading conditions. its program of monitoring instrumentation on bridges and other key transportation structures. The new program, named the Brit- In addition to the structure sensors, a series of wind, tem- ish Columbia Smart Infrastructure Monitoring System (BCSIMS), perature and humidity gauges supply data on environmental is designed to provide rapid damage assessment of key struc- conditions. The system is controlled by specialized real-time tures following a seismic event. A new bridge near Vancouver is monitoring software developed as part of the BCSIMS project. illustrating how well the program can work. The software provides post-processed analytical tools to help engineers better understand the bridge’s structural behavior The Port Mann Bridge crosses the Fraser River and connects under different loading conditions such as seasonal tempera- Vancouver’s neighboring communities of Surry and Coquitlam. ture changes and daily traffic loads on the bridge. Opened to traffic in 2012, the bridge replaces a smaller structure that opened more than 50 years ago. With a total length of 2,020 The bridge data is combined with data from more than 130 meters (6,630 feet), the bridge includes a cable-stayed main span ground monitoring stations in the Natural Resources Canada of 850 meters (2,800 feet). The bridge provides 10 lanes of traffic (NRCan) Provincial Strong Motion network. In the event of an as well as a multi-use pathway for pedestrians and cyclists. The earthquake or other event, engineers can quickly implement bridge provides 42 meters (140 feet) of navigational clearance, emergency response measures. which ensures ample space for ships on the Fraser River. -1- Technology&more technology&more technology&more technology&more Aerial Imaging in Antarctica It was quite an adventure: an all-or-nothing mission to map a research station in Antarctica. ike numerous countries around the world, Ecuador’s geology, glaciology and microbiology, among other dis- mapping agency, Instituto Geografico Militar (National ciplines. The Maldonado Base began operations in 1990. LMilitary Geographic Institute of Ecuador, or IGM) is a Currently it operates for three to four months during the technical institution within the country’s military establish- Antarctic summer and is scheduled to begin year-round ment. The IGM is responsible for developing the national operation in 2016. Faced with the tight timeframe and mapping and the geographic and cartographic files of the unpredictable conditions, IGM wanted to know if a small, country. The Institute also provides services in the scientific lightweight unmanned aircraft could provide a suitable fields of earth sciences orthomosaic of the Ecuadorian research base and the surrounding area. In 2013, the IGM was actively looking for an unmanned aerial mapping solution to anchor an aggressive cam- Ivan Pazmiño, the owner of Instrumental & Optica, a Trimble paign to update Ecuador’s official cartography. The work geospatial distribution partner in Ecuador, agreed to supply provided IGM with an opportunity to put an unmanned a Trimble UX5 Aerial Imaging Rover, Trimble Business Center aerial solution (UAS) to the ultimate test: to map the area sur- software (TBC) and a technician to assist in the month-long rounding the country’s scientific research base in Antarctica. mapping operation at the Maldonado Base. One of the key It would be one of the first times that a UAS had been capabilities of the UX5 is its ability to

Load more