Advanced Surveying and Mapping Technologies: Systems Overview & Applications

Federal Highway Administration2008PDFTech ReportHelmer, Gregory A.United States. Federal Highway Administration. Central Federal Lands Highway DivisionBlair, AlanUnited States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway AdministrationUnited StatesLaser radarMappingSurveyingScannersSurveying instrumentsInertial navigation systemsRoute surveyingLaser scanningLiDARMappingPoint cloudSurveyingFHWA-CFL/TD-08-002DTFH68-00-D-00002Blair, AlanCOTR: Alan Blair, FHWA-CFLHD. Advisory Panel Members: Roger Surdahl, FHWA-CFLHD. This projectwas funded under the Federal Lands Highway Technology Deployment Initiatives and Partnership Program (TDIPP).This report presents a study, with resulting conclusions, to investigate emerging surveying and mapping technologies, and their applicability to typical assignments of the Office of Federal Lands Highway (FLH) of the Federal Highways Administration (FHWA). This study, conducted in 2002 and 2003 included a review of professional publications, interviews with internal and external consumers and providers of surveying and mapping data, together with field evaluations of certain specific systems. While the study was open to the broad spectrum of emerging technologies at the time, particular focus was directed toward ground based laser scanning and airborne positioning and mapping systems. Field evaluations of different laser scanner systems, over a previously mapped project, details the advantages and limitations of the instruments and software, and highlights specific conditions most favorable to ground based laser scanning methods. Testing of airborne positioning and attitude determination using global navigation satellite system (GNSS) surveying combined with an inertial guidance system (INS) was shown to provide significant efficiencies for route surveying, particularly where ground control surveys are restricted due to terrain or environmental constraints.96