30 May, 2016, Bologna, Italy – Siteco Informatica S.R.L has launched their new high performance Sky-Scanner LiDAR and image data collection system for UAV’s. In development since early 2015, the Sky-Scanner has already exceeded all performance expectations on the DJI-S1000 and DJI Matrice-600 airborne platforms.
The development project was spearheaded in collaboration with:
- LTS, a high-tech survey Company headquartered in Treviso, shareholder of UNISKY (spinoff of the Venice University),
- ASCO-DAITO Co. Ltd., Japanese leader of surveying, inspection and environmental engineering. Since early 2015, ASCO have been operating a Siteco Road-Scanner system throughout Japan for high accuracy 3D railway and roadway infrastructure capture.
Based on specific price/performance requirements of ASCO, Siteco worked with LTS to develop the Sky-Scanner. This high performance airborne data collection system fills the gap between the low-cost low-altitude photogrammetry approach of current UAV systems, and the more complex and expensive LiDAR systems typically deployed on manned fixed and rotary wing aircraft. The system is delivered as a compact and light configuration (only 3.5 kg, including batteries) with up to 5 hours data collection time.
The Sky-Scanner, equipped with a Velodyne VLP16 scanner, 16-20 Mpx high resolution camera for imagery and an Applanix AP15 inertial navigation system has succeeded in delivering verified accuracies of ±5 cm on regular surfaces (road, walls), and ±8 cm on natural ground with vegetation, capable of generating high quality orthophotos. The double return laser-scanner allows vegetation filtering.
ASCO-DAITO will present the system at the important new technology EE-Tohoku Engineering Exhibition, on next June 1st, 2016.
“We have seen many companies offering UAV solutions, but none have been able to deliver the data quality at a price required by our partners.” said Eng. Augusto Burchi, Siteco’s CEO. “The Sky-Scanner is the first such light, compact and cost effective system deployable on most commercially available UAVs”.
The Sky-Scanner UAV system is another highly flexible tool, bringing additional functionality to Siteco’s family of mobile mapping systems; the extremely flexible and scalable RoadScanner-4 and RoadScanner-Compact which employ existing LiDAR sensors from Faro, Leica, Velodyne, Z+F and other 3D scanners.
About Siteco Informatica
A unit of the Gavio Group, one of Italy’s top industrial groups, Siteco was established in 1995 as a civil engineering infrastructure, software and technical consulting firm. In 2005 they developed the first scalable, high performance fully integrated mobile mapping system and have since been delivering the most flexible roadway management mobile mappers in price, performance and software flexibility on the market.