COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Dec. 4, 2015 — The Sanborn Map Company, Inc. (Sanborn) has completed mobile LiDAR data collection for two corridors in Glacier National Park and one corridor in Yellowstone National Park totaling approximately 40 linear miles.
Sanborn was selected for the project to provide data that could be used to determine the level of effort and cost to resurface the roads, which are in dire need of repair. In Yellowstone alone, about 185 miles of main roads are in a structurally deficient state, with poor quality road bases failing under the weight, speed and volume of modern traffic, for which they were not designed. Harsh winter weather and short construction seasons in both parks provide additional challenges.
During the 2015 fall season, Sanborn acquired the LiDAR point clouds, which were particularly dense with 300-500 points per square meter, along with accompanying georeferenced imagery. The firm’s post-acquisition approach involved auto-filtering the point clouds in the ground and non-ground classes. The points in the ground class were used to derive road centerlines and edges of pavement, and the non-ground points were used to derive guardrails in vector format.
“This project was particularly rewarding because both of these parks truly are national treasures,” notes Arjan Mooij, Sanborn program manager. “There’s no doubt that the quality data we provided will help streamline the process for their much-needed road repairs.”
Sanborn is a mobile-mapping technology pioneer, with solid experience dating back to 2001. The firm’s advanced mobile mapping system combines LiDAR with high-resolution video to meet the accuracy required for modern engineering-grade applications and solutions. With a system delivering better than 5-centimeter accuracy and image resolution as fine as 1 centimeter, Sanborn’s mobile mapping products and services provide unprecedented 3-D detail, while offering the efficiency of data capture at vehicle speeds of up to 60 mph.
About The Sanborn Map Company, Inc.
Sanborn (www.sanborn.com) is a preeminent leader in the exploding geospatial industry, delivering state-of-the-art mapping, visualization and 3-D solutions to customers worldwide. The firm currently operates a fleet of 14 aircraft located strategically across the United States. Embracing cutting-edge technology, Sanborn specializes in oblique aerial imagery, aerial and mobile light detection and ranging (LiDAR) mapping, aerial orthophotography, 3-D modeling and visualization software and services, indoor mapping with its proprietary SPIN robot, unmanned aircraft system (UAS) sales, services and image processing, and a host of geospatial software development.
