Leica Geosystems at ISPRS in Bejing: Workflow, Not Just Sensors!

(Heerbrugg, 7 July 2008) At the XXI Congress of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) in Beijing, Leica Geosystems announced new sensors to the market, superior to any other large-format digital airborne imaging and laser scanning technology available today: “We are pleased to announce a next generation of digital imaging and laser scanning sensors, completely upgrading our entire family of sensor solutions. With the Leica ADS80 Airborne Digital Sensor, we also introduce a whole new workflow, Leica XPro. Now our customers can benefit from the most productive digital airborne imaging solution”, says Juergen Dold, Leica Geosystems’ Sr. Vice President Imaging & Scanning.

Leica ADS80 Airborne Digital Sensor
Now in its third generation, Leica Geosystems’ state-of-the-art line sensor technology not only sets the standards, but keeps on raising the bar. From flight planning with Leica FPES and data acquisition with the Sensor Heads SH81/82 to data delivery with Leica XPro, the Leica ADS80 represents a complete digital airborne imaging solution that is easy to use and fast to implement. Since pan-sharpening and “virtual images” are not necessary, Leica Geosystems line sensor technology constitutes a viable and simple digital alternative to those familiar with the traditional analog workflow.

Depending on the desired product, two available configurations, SH81 and SH82, acquire perfectly co-registered image data with equal resolution in panchromatic, color and color-infrared. The improved data throughput of the Control Unit CU80 with Flash Memory facilitates simultaneous data acquisition of imagery for photogrammetry and remote sensing applications, offering you maximum flexibility.

Together with Leica XPro: The most complete large-format sensor solution available
When combined with the new Leica XPro ground processing software, also introduced at ISPRS, the Leica ADS80 becomes the most complete and productive large-format sensor solution available. It delivers increased flexibility, higher productivity and lower cost throughout the entire workflow.

Leica XPro line sensor workflow is straightforward to implement and easy to use for those familiar with traditional analog frame processing. Ground processing with Leica XPro covers the whole line sensor workflow – from data download to image generation. Quality control tools can indicate a successful data capture mission at the earliest stage of processing. Direct georeferencing from Leica IPAS Inertial Position & Attitude System is used and further improved by aerial triangulation, simplified to a “black box” level. Leica XPro generates stereo-viewable images or high resolution orthophotos and is designed to deliver extremely quickly with minimal user interaction. The products are ready for further handling by a wide range of digital photogrammetry software packages.

Leica ALS60: Now with 200 kHz “At-the-Ground” Pulse Rate
Leica Geosystems’ third-generation LIDAR system, the Leica ALS60, continues to break traditional paradigms such as having to choose between rapidly-acquired, high-density data and achieving outstanding accuracy – or having to choose between a compact system and one with high-altitude performance. The Leica ALS60 allows accurate data collection independent of pulse rate, depending instead only on flying height. And it‘s flying height envelope ranges from a helicopter-compatible 200 m AGL to 5000 m AGL for wide-area mapping. Now, more than ever, Leica ALS60 is redefining the power of LIDAR mapping.

Leica RCD105 medium format digital camera for LIDAR
At ISPRS, Leica Geosystems also introduced a new medium format digital aerial camera system. The new 39-megapixel camera system Leica RCD105 is designed for “plug and play” connection to Leica Geosystems’ airborne LIDAR systems.  It is completely integrated with the Leica ALS-series LIDAR products from mission planning to system operation to image processing.  Additionally, a single camera controller is capable of recording data from two camera heads, allowing simultaneous acquisition of natural color and false-color infrared images.

Leica Geosystems – when it has to be right
With close to 200 years of pioneering solutions to measure the world, Leica Geosystems products and services are trusted by professionals worldwide to help them capture, analyze, and present spatial information. Leica Geosystems is best known for its broad array of products that capture accurately, model quickly, analyze easily, and visualize and present spatial information. Those who use Leica Geosystems products every day trust them for their dependability, the value they deliver, and the superior customer support. Based in Heerbrugg, Switzerland, Leica Geosystems is a global company with tens of thousands of customers supported by more than 3’500 employees in 28 countries and hundreds of partners located in more than 120 countries around the world. Leica Geosystems is part of the Hexagon Group, Sweden.