September 13th, 2019
Michael Baker International Marks 10 Years of Mobile LiDAR

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PITTSBURGH – Michael Baker International, a global leader in engineering, planning and consulting services, is today celebrating the 10^th anniversary of mapping the nation’s infrastructure with the firm’s Mobile LiDAR data solutions. LiDAR, which stands for light detection and ranging, is advanced laser technology employed by Michael Baker’s collection systems that leverages dual, Class 1 (eye safe) lasers to capture more than 1.2 million topographical data points per second to engineering-grade accuracies, while progressive 360° spherical camera arrays capture digital images up to nine frames per second. Michael Baker’s flexible mounting design enables easy transfer between SUVs, boats, trains and all-terrain vehicles to document natural and as-built conditions along our nation’s critical infrastructure: roads, airfields, bridges, oil and gas pipelines, and aerial utilities.

“At Michael Baker, we are constantly looking for new ways to innovate and apply emerging technologies to our projects that benefit our clients. As an early adopter of Mobile LiDAR technology, we created one of the first offerings in the country,” said Aaron Morris, LiDAR Services Director at Michael Baker. “In the past decade, we have grown from owning a single system to our current fleet of four LiDAR systems, which doubles the data collection capacity of our closest competitor. We are proud to continue our position as the leader in Mobile LiDAR solutions and are excited about emerging opportunities for the next decade and beyond.”

Michael Baker’s Mobile LiDAR team brings together more than 30 experts who are committed to constantly improving and expanding upon the technology, including a professional surveyor, mathematician, IT specialists, and geomatic and geospatial specialists who interact with colleagues across every practice within the firm. In ten years, this team has guided more than twenty-five state departments of transportation and transportation agencies through their first use of Mobile LiDAR, helped establish industry standards and shaped the evolution of Mobile LiDAR technology and hardware.

The breadth and depth of Michael Baker’s capabilities in Mobile LiDAR is front and center in the firm’s signature projects:

• In 2011, the team partnered with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to perform data collection and processing along the Keystone Corridor, a 105-mile high-speed rail corridor between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, to support critical improvements to infrastructure through the Keystone Corridor Improvement Program. More than 220 linear miles of high-density LiDAR data was captured from a Hi-Rail equipped vehicle without impacting normal rail service.
• In 2016, Michael Baker completed a nearly $7-million project for PennDOT to collect data from more than 13,100 traffic signals across the Commonwealth. During the course of one year, the Michael Baker team, working with PennDOT’s Traffic Signal Asset Management System (TSAMS), collected nearly 18,000 miles of LiDAR data and 26.5 million data attributes, which populated a centralized database to support PennDOT’s future planning, design, maintenance and operational decision making.
• In 2018, the team performed asset data collections at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and completed a condition assessment of over 600 miles of tarmac data, as well as 120 miles of roadway along the Central Terminal Area roadway network and five terminals. This was achieved using a custom “One Van” solution that combined Mobile LiDAR and Laser Crack Measurement System (LCMS) technologies that streamlines collections to a single-pass, which dramatically reduced impact to airfield operations at the world’s largest airport and cut conventional project schedules by 40 percent.

For additional information, please visit: http://www.mobilelidar.com/.

About Michael Baker International
Michael Baker International is a leading provider of engineering and consulting services, including design, planning, architectural, environmental, construction and program management.  The company provides its comprehensive range of services and solutions to support U.S. federal, state, and municipal governments, foreign allied governments, and a wide range of commercial clients.  Michael Baker’s more than 3,000 employees across nearly 100 locations are committed to a culture of innovation, collaboration and technological advancement to help solve challenges for clients and communities throughout the country. To learn more, visit www.mbakerintl.com.