Austin, Texas – Surveying And
Mapping (SAM, Inc.), a provider of geospatial data solutions, entered into an
agreement with Corporate Aircraft Solutions, also known as Oasis Services, for
the exclusive use of a rotary wing aircraft as a platform for airborne LiDAR
deployment.
The aircraft, a Bell 206L-1
helicopter, is based near SAM, Inc. headquarters in Austin and will allow the
company to more efficiently cover a wider geographic range. The exclusive use
of the helicopter under its agreement with Oasis now gives SAM, Inc. complete
flexibility for tasking an aircraft to perform airborne LiDAR scanning
services.
According to SAM, Inc. founder and
president, Sam Hanna, RPLS, "We're really excited by having the exclusive
use of this helicopter. In addition to having more control over our scheduling,
the central location will help reduce mobilization costs within the region. We
think this will open up a whole new set of options for some of our
clients."
Features of the Bell aircraft include
the ability to mount the LiDAR scanning system internally, rather than
suspended below the aircraft, for enhanced airworthiness. The seven-seat
aircraft will be licensed for air passenger service, adding another option for
clients.
For airborne work, SAM, Inc. uses the
Trimble Harrier 68i scanner, with a very high rate of data capture, extremely
dense data capture, a wide field-of-view and an integrated 60-megapixel digital
frame camera. In addition to the scanning hardware, the firm has also recently
invested $2 million in network improvements, tripling storage capacity,
increasing network bandwidth tenfold, enhancing offsite data recovery services
and implementing new data hosting options for clients.
SAM, Inc. Adds Helicopter for Airborne LiDAR
September 12, 2012
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