Reporter 64 by Antonis An

The Global Magazine of Leica Geosystems

Dear Readers, In June, for the first time ever, Leica Geosystems and all its Hexagon partner companies will be holding an international conference: “Hexagon 2011” will be held in Orlando, Florida, from 6. – 9. June. Customers and visitors will gain insights into projects, products, and solutions of Leica Geosystems and many other well-known brands such as Erdas, Intergraph, Z/I Imaging, and Hexagon Metrology. We expect more than 2,000 users to come see industry trends, learn about using our solutions, join training sessions, test new products, and grow their network under the motto “Building a smarter world”. This edition of Reporter highlights just how our customers already put this motto into practice and shape our world: the expansion of the Panama Canal, one of the greatest civil engineering projects ever undertaken, and scientific research on the Swiss Macun glacier are just two such examples. Our customers show us how they assist emergency management efforts in the articles about the red mud disaster in Hungary, the flooding in Australia, and the power station accident in Russia. On the other side are those more enjoyable applications that help preserve our cultural and historical heritage for coming generations, such as work at the Piusa caves, shown on the cover, and on “Mighty Mo”, the decommissioned battleship USS Missouri. As you can see, together with our customers – who continue to share their interesting projects with us and send in their contributions – we’ve once again put together a Reporter packed with fascinating applications and creative solutions. I hope you enjoy reading it and I look forward to seeing you in Orlando in June.

CONTENTS

Editorial

03 Mighty Mo's Last Journey 06 Virtual Caves 08 Corn Field Maze with GPS Accuracy 10 Winning Partnership with Leica SmartNet 13 A Tropical GNSS Network 14 Building the Canal of the 21st Century 16 Leica TS30 Measures Lifting Cranes 18 Scanning of Swiss Rock Glacier 20 Rapid Help for Flood Victims 22 Floating Masterpieces 24 Accident Investigation at Russian Power Station 26 The Red Flood 28 Precision for Space Tourists 31 Leica Geosystems Supports Mongolian Mining Research

Imprint Reporter: Leica Geosystems customer magazine Published by: Leica Geosystems AG, CH-9435 Heerbrugg Editorial office: Leica Geosystems AG, 9435 Heerbrugg, Switzerland, Phone +41 71 727 34 08, reporter@leica-geosystems.com Contents responsible: Alessandra Doëll (Director Communications) Editor: Agnes Zeiner, Konrad Saal Publication details: The Reporter is published in English, German, French, Spanish and Russian, twice a year. Reprints and translations, including excerpts, are subject to the editor’s prior permission in writing.

Juergen Dold CEO Leica Geosystems

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Mighty Mo's Last Journey by Mark Evangelista

When the USS Missouri was decommissioned on March 31st, 1992, the 887-foot-long Iowaclass battleship looked tired. Her worn and pitted teak deck had supported thousands of naval officers and their crews. The 1998 transfer of “Mighty Mo” to the nonprofit USS Missouri Memorial Association of Honolulu, Hawaii, spawned a new career for the historic battleship as a World War II museum next to the USS Arizona on Pearl Harbor’s Battleship Row. But the directors had an even bigger vision in mind – one that involved repairing and preserving the battleship for generations to come.

That vision was realized in October 2009, when the Missouri was moved to Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard’s largest dry-dock facility for a three-month preservation project. “Having the Battleship Missouri in dry dock provided a unique opportunity to completely scan the ship while it was out of the water,” said Michael A. Carr, president and CEO of the USS Missouri Memorial Association. “It was an opportunity we will not see again for decades and certainly one we did not want to miss.” A month before the preservation project began, Carr and other association directors met Richard Lasater, president of Smart GeoMetrics, a division of Houston-based Smart MultiMedia, at the Historic Naval

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Ships Association conference in Alabama. The laserscanning firm had captured portions of the interior of another historic battleship, the USS Texas BB-35, earlier in the year, and Lasater was eager to demonstrate the results. After seeing the photographic panoramas and video flythroughs, the association directors were impressed. The technology offered the potential to improve the overall visitor experience at the museum. If they didn’t act then, they probably wouldn’t have the chance in the future. “There is no way to complete an accurate scan of an entire ship while it is in the water,” Lasater said. “Not only is it impossible to image areas below the waterline, even on a calm day, the tiniest movements of the water and ship degrade scan accuracy.” The budget for the preservation project was already set, but the association directors decided they had to make the documentation project work. Through an extraordinary amount of teamwork, the project

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was funded at a level that was acceptable to all participants, and Smart GeoMetrics began honing its strategy.

Fast-Tracked Documentation The documentation effort would be the last part of the preservation project before the Missouri was returned to her home on Battleship Row. Smart GeoMetrics and its team would have a four-day window to scan the vessel after scaffolding and protective covers were removed. The massive endeavor would require three scanning crews, each equipped with a Leica HDS laser scanner, to complete the project. A fourth additional crew was assigned to create and maintain the survey control network. “The Missouri is a very, very big ship, and we only had four days to complete an estimated 14 days worth of work among an army of shipyard workers,” Lasater said. “The ship’s location in Hawaii also made logistics a bit challenging.” However, Smart GeoMetrics was up for the task. The firm quickly assembled a team of HDS professionals

from Meridian Associates in Houston and As-Built Modeling Services Inc. in nearby Pearland, Texas, with Houston based Mustang Engineering Inc. providing special assistance. The team arrived on site and established a control network of more than 400 points. Crews then captured scans at 160 locations on and around the ship’s exterior and took thousands of photographs – 5,400 in all. “The documentation teams were really moving fast on this project, and not all of the ship was accessible at the same time,” said Jonathan White, a senior project manager for Meridian, who headed up one of the scan crews. “We were working in and around dockyard preparations to return the ship to sea.” The day before the USS Missouri was scheduled to leave dry dock the scanning and photography work was finished. The team then turned their attention to the value side of the project – turning data into deliverables.

A Lasting Legacy The battleship scans generated billions of data points that the team began processing into point clouds, CAD drawings, and 3D models immediately afterwards. The team also decided to take the deliverables one step further by adding holograms; a capability provided by Austin, Texas based Zebra Imaging. It was the first time holograms would comprise part of an archival record. The results of the entire documentation project will be used by the USS Missouri Memorial Association as a historical record and for ongoing maintenance and educational purposes. Find out more about Mighty Mo on the USS Missouri Association’s website at www.ussmissouri.com. About the author: Mark Evangelista is a freelance writer based in Houston, Texas.

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Virtual Caves by Lauri Põldre

The Piusa caves are a system of unique sandstone caves located in south-eastern Estonia only a few miles from the Russian border. The caves are the result of manual mining of glasssand during 1922 – 1966 and represent a system of underground galleries with sandstone columns and vaulted ceilings up to 10 m (30 ft) high. Since 2006 the caves have been closed to the public for safety reasons and only a small, secure part can be accessed today. 3D Technologies R&D scanned the caves and created the virtual caves provided at the visitor center using new interactive technology. The Piusa caves have become an important tourist attraction, so the local government decided to find a new way to preserve the caves. Furthermore, the caves are occupied by five species of hibernating bats. Since they became legally protected in Estonia, they have been counted there regularly. 3D Technologies R&D, a company based in Tallinn, Estonia,

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provides applications for presenting objects using interactive 3D technology. The company has created a solution to introduce a virtual cave system as a three-dimensional model on a touch screen kiosk. Before the caves were finally closed, the company was contracted to enter them for a one-off survey.

Scanning a 20 km (12.4 mi) Tunnel in three Days A laser scanner had to be used to create the most accurate three-dimensional model of the caves. Since the caves consist of pillars they had to be scanned one by one to reach every little corner. Compared to conventional surveying methods the scanning of the caves offered some unique challenges. What made the scanning process difficult was the complete darkness and low temperatures in the caves – it remains around 5 °C (40 °F) all year round. However, scanning with a Leica HDS3000 only took three days to complete. After on-site scanning the point clouds were georeferenced, processed, and converted to a mesh. The

point cloud was then used to create a 3D model of the Piusa caves. In addition to the scanning, high resolution photos were taken of the caves. The point cloud was cleaned, simplified, and triangulated before the data was imported into the modeling software. This tool transformed the photos so they could be draped onto the 3D model and textures could be added. The original and detailed 3D model was processed with Normal Map, which brings out inscriptions and roughness of the walls.

Interactive Real-Time 3D Model for Visitors The caves are presented as an interactive, real-time 3D model where visitors can move around in a virtual environment using a 32” touch screen. The walls of the caves, the sandstone colors, and even the minutest details, such as inscriptions on the sand walls made by past visitors, can be seen on the computer model. Visitors can read additional information about the caves and can take a virtual tour inside the caves. Some of the sculptures, which have become cult objects, are marked as points of interest with icons and visitors can read folk legends about them. The upper left side of the screen shows a map of the caves with the current location highlighted in the virtual tour. The tour helps the public understand the structure and nature of the underground chambers despite the fact that they are closed. It also illustrates the methods of glass-sand mining during the last century.

Preserving Heritage 3D laser scanning made it possible to preserve this heritage site for tourism and future generations. The visitor center has received considerable attention for this innovative approach, which offers tourists a virtual walk through the caves without disturbing the bats. The solution also helped promote the visitor center because of its innovative approach to presenting this historical site. A short video and screen capture are available at: http://vimeo.com/16268850. About the author: Lauri Põldre is Sales Manager at 3D Technologies R&D.

Interactive Applications 3D Technologies R&D was established in 2006 by a group of skilled systems designers with the goal of developing a platform for rendering 3D objects in the web environment, and thereafter building a marketable set of end-user applications based on this platform. The most important project has been the design and development of 3DMLW (3D Markup Language for Web), an Open Source platform that allows rendering of 3D objects in real-time in a web browser or implementing 3D objects in custom applications. Based on 3DMLW, the company’s key products are interactive applications for real-time 3D visualization made for the web or touch-screen kiosks. These applications were born from actual customers‘ demands. Customers are museums, municipalities, companies, and kiosk manufacturers who all benefit from their interactive 3D solutions. More information on the project is available at http://www.3dtech-rd.com.

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Corn Field Maze with GPS Accuracy by Markus Prechtl

The Baumburg Summer of Culture opened in August 2010 with a special attraction: the largest cornfield maze in Bavaria. The local monastery brewery wished to offer its guests a rich and varied program in and around the labyrinth, including games, concerts, night walks, corn candlelight dinners, and helicopter tours. But how do you create a pattern in a 113,000 m² (28 acs) field of tall cornstalks? The event organizer, Muk Heigl, turned to the engineers at ing Traunreut GmbH; using positioning technology from Leica Geosystems, they mastered this farfrom-everyday task. First, the figures and the overall pattern were designed by a graphic artist. Using these sketches the surveying engineers then calculated the basic data for setting out the paths and clearings. All the designs were scaled up and adjusted to match the size of the cornfield and each of the paths in the future labyrinth was digitized. The result was a true-

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to-scale plan with the outlines of the proposed cornfield maze shown as 2D polylines. The motif shows the Baumburg coat-of-arms along with a beer glass, beer bottle, a plate of dumplings, a Merowinger pony, and the logo “Chiemgau – Bayerns Lächeln”. These elements would later reveal themselves to passengers on the helicopter tours.

Mower with Machine Control As the consulting engineers don’t use machine control in their day-to-day work, they called upon German company Scanlaser Vertriebsgesellschaft, Leica Geosystems’ sales partner for machine control, for help. The design would be mown into the cornfield using a GPS system from Leica Geosystems and the GeoROG machine control system from SBG (also part of the Hexagon Group). To do this, the polylines had to be converted into axes and the output prepared in the appropriate data format using the SBG GEO Construction software package. After loading the mowing data there was still another problem to be solved: the machine control com-

onto the small tractor and there was still room for the system's power supply – two 12-volt car batteries connected in series. They were fixed on top of the cutter bar to bring the center of gravity down and increase stability.

Track for Track to the Finished Maze With the hardware ready and the software loaded with all the data required for mowing the labyrinth, it was time to begin. First the mower cut the shapes of the various paths within the labyrinth. The person steering the two-wheeled walking mower found it was easy to mow his way precisely through the cornfield with the help of the machine control. He orientated himself on the axes shown in GeoROG and the designs were mown relatively quickly into the cornfield. Only the tractor's deep tire-tracks presented a problem, as the two-wheeled walking mower always tipped sharply to the side as soon as it crossed one. This caused the 2.8 m (9.2 ft) high GPS antenna to be displaced by up to a half meter, which the reliable machine control software would of course report to the user. To avoid distorting the contours of the motif, the tractor operator had to anticipate this and drive accordingly. After all the contours had been mowed, the remaining open areas were carved out with the mower. ponents had to be mounted on a small two-wheeled walking tiller-mower with a single cutter bar. Special brackets were constructed for this. The machine control required very little space: the Leica PowerBox, Leica PowerAntenna, and GeoROG fastened easily

The ing Traunreut GmbH engineers used a different approach to clear the islands. As they were isolated areas that could not be reached with the twowheeled walking tractor, the islands were set out using conventional GPS surveying. The polylines for the labyrinth were loaded as DXF data into a Leica GPS1200. The outlines of the individual islands were determined on site and the isolated areas mowed by hand. During the two mowing days about one quarter of the whole cornfield was cleared to form the paths and open areas of labyrinth. This project shows just how specialized machine control applications can be. Even for an “exotic” application such as setting out a cornfield maze, the GPS-controlled system proved to be an innovative solution and by far the quickest way of getting it done. About the author: Markus Prechtl is a surveying engineer at ing Traunreut GmbH.

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Winning Partnership with Leica SmartNet by Daniel C. Brown

In recent years the cellular telephone network in southern Ontario, Canada, has improved greatly. Data can be streamed at a half-second or better through a cellular connection, giving surveyors the opportunity to take advantage of cell phone technology to further utilize the capabilities of GPS receivers. Similar to reference station networks developing in the United States, Leica Geosystems has set up Leica SmartNet Southern Ontario, a network that now covers nearly the entire southern portion of the province.

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Since 2006, this RTK GPS network has grown from five base stations to 51, with an additional 10 to 12 more stations planned for deployment this year. Leica Geosystems manages and maintains the network and provides corrections to users, but it was setup as a joint venture between users and Leica Geosystems. For somewhat more than half the stations, the cost of the receiver, the cabling, the antenna, the high-speed Internet line, and the antenna masts have been covered by Leica Geosystems. Private companies within the industry have funded the hardware and the high-speed Internet connections for the other half of the stations. Leica SmartNet

will provide real-time positioning to more than 100 users by the end of this year, says Amar Kalsi, Leica SmartNet administrator for Southern Ontario. Users employ the network for cadastral surveying, construction layout, topographical work, and more. With a cellular modem users can connect to a specific IP address on the Internet, which correlates to the Leica SmartNet server in Toronto. “Once they hit that IP address, we authenticate them with a user name and password,” says Kalsi. “Based on this and the coarse position of the rover unit in the field, we can supply the most appropriate RTK correction for that specific user now able to work at a range of up to 15, 20, 40, or even 50 km (9, 12, 25, or even 31 mi) because of the cellular network.” Today, most of the base station receivers are Leica GRX1200 Pro GNSS, so Leica Geosystems can manage and run the data remotely through its Leica SpiderNet software. A GRX1200 Pro is designed as a network device with Ethernet connectivity. “We essentially connect directly to it like a router,” says Kalsi.

An Open-World Format In fact, Leica Geosystems has designed the system so that most receivers on the market that are designed for RTK applications will work with SmartNet. Leica Geosystems has adopted an open-world type message called RTCM3. “We put our RTCM3 out there for anyone to take,” says Kalsi. “That being said, we can broadcast our data in a few different ways. We have a Leica proprietary format along with a few other ones that we use. However, Leica Geosystems itself has chosen RTCM3 as its standard message type for network connectivity.” A second reason to use RTCM3 is that it is a very complete message type. Leica SmartNet’s use of RTCM3 does not cut off or truncate any data that is streamed through the network connection, thus providing full and complete corrections to the rover unit in the field. “With the network technology we have in place, many of our users are pushing the limits well beyond 20 or even 30 km (12 or even 19 mi) while still maintaining excellent results within or below RTK tolerances,” says Kalsi.

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in some cases it is the only time they have access to roads. “It is now understood by many customers that Leica SmartNet is needed to get the job done,” says Kalsi.

Excellent Repeatability When asked what sets Leica SmartNet apart from others, Kalsi said it is the network’s ability to repeat points in the field. “You can go out today, work a specific area, set your coordinates, and have full confidence knowing that those coordinates will be the same tomorrow, a week, or a year from now – well within typical GPS tolerances. Our ability to repeat measurements within Leica SmartNet is unsurpassed.”

Leica SmartNet Southern Ontario covers nearly

Leica Geosystems has upgraded nearly all the stations in SmartNet Southern Ontario to full GNSS capability, which includes GPS and GLONASS satellites as well as other constellations that will become available in the future.

all the southern portion of the province.

SmartNet is available 24/7 and is seeing a high rate of usage, including on weekends. Especially highway construction users use the system then, since

About the author: Daniel C. Brown is the owner of TechniComm, a communications business based in Des Plaines, Illinois/ USA.

Surveying for Wind Turbines Total Tech Surveying Inc. mainly does construction layouts with some legal surveying and pre-engineering surveys added in. The firm hosts a reference station within SmartNet, and recently used SmartNet to lay out the sites for 24 wind turbines located in southwest Ontario. “As soon as you get out of your vehicle, you are off and surveying within about five minutes,” says Bloss J. Sutherland, OLS, treasurer of Total Tech Survey Inc., Essex, Ontario. “With the old system, you had to set up a base station and radio transmitter and then use your Leica

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GPS unit as a rover. Just to set up the base station, then set up your rover and start the survey, would add anywhere from half an hour to an hour to the job.” Sutherland said the wind turbine survey took just four weeks, and would have taken eight weeks if the firm had needed to set up a temporary base station for every turbine. The work included a topographic map survey of a main 5 km (3 mi) road, staking access roads for each turbine, and establishing the centerline of each of the 24 turbines.

A Tropical GNSS Network by Xavier Robert

Creating high-precision GNSS coverage of Réunion, a French territory in the Indian Ocean, was an interesting challenge which led to a network with short inter-station distances. The tropical location of the island is unfavorable in terms of ionospheric activity and a wide range of meteorological conditions can cause tropospheric variations that are challenging to manage. In April 2006, Réseau LéL@ came to life with 6 stations and a single real-time GPS product (automatic nearest-site method). Today, there are 8 stations, multiple real-time GNSS products (Network RTK MAX and nearest-single-site methods) and all Leica SpiderWeb services are available at www.reseaulela.com. Administrated by Précision Topo, the local Leica Geosystems distributor, Réseau LéL@ is used by chartered surveyors; topographical design offices; civil engineering and bathymetry firms; and local authorities.

A Versatile Network With an average distance of 18 km (11 mi) between stations, LéL@ is a convenient and reliable network: data redundancy leads to very accurate real-time GNSS results. Real-time positioning is possible in areas covered by mobile phone operators without having to worry about tropospheric or ionospheric conditions. The rest of the island is the playground of the SpiderWeb coordinate generation service: it is

easy to send an online post-processing computation request to www.reseau-lela.com. To make life easier for users, additional services are available on the website: training videos, ready-touse configuration sets for Leica Geosystems GNSS receivers, RINEX converters for Leica Geosystems GNSS raw data, etc. The coordinates of the stations in the network and the geoid model of La Réunion are computed on a regular basis by the National Geographic Institute (IGN), thereby guaranteeing the reliability of the results.

Example Application For the past year, Réseau LéL@ has been used by the French national geological service (BRGM) to monitor landslides in the Cirque de Salazie (an unstable zone in the center of the island) where annual movement can reach up to 2 m (6.5 ft). Seven GNSS sensors provide daily observations, automatically postprocessed by Leica Spider. BRGM can download the results to perform their own analyses using Leica SpiderQC. Note: Look forward to a detailed article about this spectacular case in a future issue of Reporter. More information at www.precision-topo.com. About the author: Xavier Robert is a support engineer at Précision Topo, Leica Geosystems’ partner in Réunion.

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Building the Canal st of the 21 Century by Maribel Pros

The Panama Canal revolutionized sea transport from the outset: it linked the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans for the first time, permitting significant time-savings, as ships no longer had to go around South America and face the rough waters of Cape Horn. With a set of new locks it is currently being expanded to meet the needs of modern ship traffic. Leica Geosystems is supplying surveying instruments to the project awardee at one of the greatest civil engineering works ever undertaken. The current Panama Canal design dates from 1904 and allows the passage of ships 267 m (875 ft) long with a beam of 28 m (92 ft). The appearance of ships known as Post Panamax, which surpass all these measurements, rendered it small. This is why its expansion, by construction of a new set of locks, became necessary some time ago.

Double the Passage Capacity Giving the canal a third set of locks is one of the greatest civil engineering works ever undertaken. With it, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a local

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organization that administers the water route since it was handed over by the United States in the year 2000 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; aims to double its passage capacity, currently calculated at 5 % of world trade. The new locks, one set in the Atlantic and another in the Pacific, will have three levels, 427 m (1,400 ft) long by 55 m (180 ft) wide and 18.3 m (60 ft) deep, with reutilization basins that will almost halve the water used, since the whole system is supplied by rain from the canal basin. The work will also require building three dams. The contracting companies have been commissioned to design the system for a service life of at least another one hundred years. Expansion work began on August 25, 2009, following signing of the award agreement and having obtained the best technical and economic rating by the Panama Canal Authority.

Big Challenges Require Best Resources and Instruments The Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC) consortium, the awardee of the great canal expansion project, is led by the prestigious Spanish building company Sacyr Vallehermoso, the Italian Impregilo concern,

Jan de Nul from Belgium, and Constructora Urbana from Panama. Knowing that successfully rising to great technological challenges requires allies of the highest technical, technological, and professional capacity, GUPC chose Leica Geosystems products and solutions to supply the surveying instrumentation necessary to carry out the project within deadline and budget. These were: Leica Viva GS15 and Leica Viva GS10 GPS receivers, Leica TCRM1203+ R400 and Leica TC1203+ Total Stations, as well as Leica NA2 levels. Moreover, Leica RoadRunner Civil Engineering software guarantees proper data flow and management. GUPC fully realizes that big challenges can only be tackled by working with the best resources and instruments. Works of great difficulty, such as the one in progress in Panama, require highly qualified teams and technicians that can address any challenge, anywhere in the world.

“The local personnel have adapted quickly to the Leica Geosystems equipment, particularly because it is so extraordinarily easy to handle.”

GUPC Consortium (Grupo Unidos por el Canal) is made up of: Sacyr Vallehermoso (Spain) Impregilo (Italy) Jan de Nul (Belgium) Constructora Urbana (Panama)

Jorge Barangé, Head of Topography of Sacyr Vallehermoso

Project Dates

Completion in Time for the Centennial

Expansion started on August 25, 2009 Scheduled completion by end of 2014

After an estimated 1,883 days of very intense work at the highest level of technical and human demand, the project should be completed by the end of 2014, coinciding with the Centennial of the official opening of the Canal. The project, valued at more than 3,200 million US Dollars (2,360 million Euro), will generate direct employment for almost 6,000 people and indirect employment for about 15,000. About the author: Maribel Pros is responsible for Marketing and Communication at Leica Geosystems in Spain.

Surveying Instruments Total Stations: GPS Receivers: Levels: Software:

Leica Leica Leica Leica Leica Leica

TCRM 1203+ R400 TC1203+ Viva GS15 Viva GS10 NA2 RoadRunner

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Leica TS30 Measures Lifting Cranes by Jozef Predan

Portable extension boom cranes made of high strength steel are used for raising cargo on to and off of ships and trucks, e.g. loading equipment or food onto large cruise ships. Customers demand ever-increasing lifting capacity, while at the same time wanting the cranes to remain lightweight, versatile, mobile, and as small as possible when folded. Together with his students, Professor Jozef Predan from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maribor, Slovenia, carried out a series of tests for the crane manufacturer Palfinger Systems using a Leica TS30 total station. To ensure a lifting crane meets industry standards and to guarantee a smooth and safe operation, crane producers such as Palfinger Systems check each crane before delivery to the customer. Tests include checking the supporting frame structure, the hydraulic drives, as well as the control system. One of these tests covers a load capacity test at nominal and increased load. Most important is that the crane can take the load without being destroyed or permanently deformed. The second most important thing is the static and dynamic response of the crane

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in terms of load versus deflection of the crane cantilever. Modern cranes are slim, as they are made of very high strength steel, and consequently allow large deflections. Therefore it is very important to know the deflected shape of a crane and its dynamic response. The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering was approached by engineers from the Palfinger Systems assembly plant in Maribor. Together, we wanted to find new possibilities to accurately measure cranes. We decided to use a Leica TS30 high precision total station to carry out the measurements. There were two reasons for this decision: Firstly, the total station is able to carry out very accurate measurements

Palfinger Lifting Crane in use on a ship.

to a lot of points in a relatively short time. The second argument for the Leica TS30 was that it could take measurements to moving points to also get the dynamics of the crane mounted on the ships, where ship movement plays an important part. So, by following the target, we wanted to measure dynamic responses of the crane or the structure. In the latter case, the total station was fixed on the pier, but the target was moving on the crane’s cantilever or on a point of interest on the ship or the crane. From the measurement data it was possible to calculate the movement and corresponding velocity and acceleration vectors. We performed two different kinds of measurements – static and dynamic. For the static measurements we attached sixteen targets to the crane’s cantilever and an additional three as reference points on the workshops walls. To define the unloaded (reference) shape of the cantilever, each target was measured 20 times in both faces. After defining the first set of all measurement points, the 19 repetitions were done automatically by the Leica TS30. All together these 20 measurement-sets only took approximately 18 minutes, a very short time compared to the usual manual measuring. Using the target recognition functionality of the Leica TS30, the set of points was also defined in very short time. After this, the crane was loaded with 2,000 kg (4,400 lbs) weight and was lowered. The first procedure for measuring the reference configuration was repeated again for the deformed crane. The displacement vector for each point was calculated from the coordinate differences of the target positions. These vectors showed the displacement and rotation of the cantilever and for each boom of the crane. The second series of measurements was designed to determine the dynamic response of the crane by tracking a moving target mounted on its outer end being rapidly raised and lowered. This was made possible by the ability of the Leica TS30 to track ten measurements per second. The system behavior was computed from the collected target position data over time. The two important mechanical system parameters were determined by fitting the measurement data with under-damped oscillation function, angular frequency, and damping ratio. Additionally, the dynamic load of the crane was executed as a time function of acceleration.

As a result of our series of tests, we could not only provide Palfinger systems with valuable measurement data, but also learned that the Leica TS30 is an accurate enough total station for mechanical engineering, and has some advantages beside its user friendly interface. It is appropriate for the static measurements of the deflection of a large number of marked points because it measures automatically in both faces after the first target definition. The measurements were carried out quickly and accurately, and it was not necessary to minimize the number of measurement points, as the automatic measurement was so fast we got a lot of useful data in a relatively short time. Its ability to follow and measure the position of the target on the crane cantilever during movement was very useful for the dynamic tests. The collected data of the target’s path carried information on the crane’s cantilever maximal amplitude and it also provided us with acceleration data, which can be directly scaled to additional dynamic loads.

The movements of the crane's arm were measured with a Leica TS30.

Measurements such as those we carried out for Palfinger Systems provide us with a lot of additional information on mechanical systems and we can use them for the optimization of structures, system cybernetics, for proof of statics calculations, and other analyses. So we hope we will be able to carry out future projects in connection with Palfinger Systems and other manufacturers. We will certainly use the Leica TS30 in the future; such as we currently are for a hydro powerplant at Ðerdap in Serbia. About the author: Jozef Predan is a professor at the Faculty of Engineering at University of Maribor, Slovenia.

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The Leica HDS4400 for this project was provided courtesy of Leica Geosystems.

Scanning of Swiss Rock Glacier by Reinhard Gottwald, Ruedi Haller, and Christian Schmid

Unlike ordinary glaciers, rock glaciers are not extensive bodies of ice but mixtures of rock debris and ice that flow down valleys at speeds of 0.1 to 1 m (0.3 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 3.3 ft) per year. They are typical in alpine or high mountain permafrost regions and direct conclusions about climate change can be drawn from their movement. Investigating the movement dynamics of rock glaciers presents a great challenge to all the various earth science disciplines involved. Students at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) have taken on this challenge with the help of a Leica HDS4400 long-range scanner.

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The Macun rock glacier in the Swiss national park has been regularly surveyed and analyzed since 1965. This involves the periodic capture of a number of discrete points using traditional surveying methods. The annual movement of the Macun was shown to be 7 to 25 cm (3 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 10 in). On the basis of this data conclusive statements about the dynamics of the whole glacier body or about localized movements can only be made to a limited extent. The availability of terrestrial lasers with long ranges (long-range terrestrial laser scanners) inspired researchers to use this technology to capture the movement of rock glaciers. As part of a bachelor thesis on the Macun rock glacier at FHNW, a feasibility study and an initial survey of the glacier were

undertaken using a Leica HDS4400 long-range scanner provided by Leica Geosystems. An extended network was placed over the initial network of points the University of Karlsruhe, Germany had used for its total station surveys to capture glacier movement. The station points were optimized for surveying with terrestrial laser scanners (TLS) and defined in the new Swiss terrestrial reference frames LV95/LHN95 using the Leica SmartPole GNSS system. After solving a few logistical problems – how to transport 150 kg (330 lbs) of equipment over the almost impassable survey terrain and the lack of a power supply to name but two – the survey commenced: using the Leica HDS4400, all the required glacier data was acquired in four days at the beginning of August 2010. In this initial survey twelve million points on the surface of the rock glacier were captured from a total of seven stations, then registered in a base data set, and finally transformed into a 3D surface model. Previous investigations had shown that, depending on various parameters, point accuracies could be

assumed to be in the order of a few centimeters. Subsequent deformation modeling proved that glacier displacements of 14 cm (5.5 in) can be confidently detected with a probability of 95 %. A first follow-up survey – probably with a successor system to the HDS4400 – is planned for 2012. Only then can it really be said if the new method and all the effort involved have paid off for geologists, geomorphologists, geographers, and surveyors. Something we are all very excited about! About the authors: Prof. Dr. Reinhard Gottwald is head of the Institute for Surveying and Geoinformation at the University of Applied Sciences in Northwestern Switzerland, College for Architecture, Construction, and Geomatics in Muttenz. Dr. Ruedi Haller and Dipl. Ing. Christian Schmid are manager and staff, respectively, for the spatial information division at the Swiss National Park Authority (SNP) in Zernez. Source: Lerch, Th., Wüthrich, M. (2010): Bachelor thesis «Bewegungsmessungen am Blockgletscher Macun mit terrestrischem Laserscanning».

The Macun Rock Glacier The “Macun” is one of three rock glaciers within the area administered by the Swiss National Parks Authority (SNP). Located in Unterengadin, northwest

of Zernez, at an altitude of 2,700 m (8,850 ft) it is not accessible by road and can only be reached by hiking for several hours from Zernez or Lavin.

Left – Point Cloud; Right – Generated Surface Model (Maptech I-Site Studio 3.3)

The imagery of flooded areas in Queensland was captured with a Leica ADS40 in 25 cm (< 10 in) resolution.

Rapid Help for Flood Victims by Steve Gaynor and Steven Wright

Beginning in December 2010, a series of floods affected Australia, primarily the state of Queensland, and forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes. Three quarters of Queensland were declared disaster zones, leaving 35 people dead and nine missing. The damage to Australia’s GDP is said to be AUD$30 billion (USD$ 31.6 billion). The Imagery Collection and Exploitation (ICE) Team of the Australian Army’s 1st Topographical Survey Squadron used a Leica ADS40 Airborne Digital Sensor to capture imagery data of severely flood affected communities to assist reconstruction activities. Throughout January and February 2011, the ICE Team has had a watchful eye over Queensland’s flood affected areas. The goal was to capture very accurate flood levels for more than 100 of Queensland’s hardest hit communities to prepare for future events and

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use the information as a tool during flood disasters. The end result was an aerial image of the affected areas in Queensland with an overlay showing the flood level. Citizens have free access to these maps on an interactive website, which is a definite first. After being recalled at short notice in January, the ICE Team was dispatched in support of the “Queensland Flood Assist Operation” of the Australian Army to provide situational awareness to reconstruction activities in severely flood-affected communities. The ICE Team worked in conjunction with RAAF 38 Squadron elements that operate a modified aircraft – they captured imagery in and around Brisbane, West to Roma, North to Gladstone, and South to Hebel. Although weather throughout the operation was not conducive to effective aerial imagery capture, the ICE Team continued to fly daily, capturing opportune targets and processing imagery around the clock to ensure outputs were delivered on time to

its many customers. Imagery was captured using a Leica ADS40 Airborne Digital Sensor. This sensor captures digital imagery and is able to generate surface models of targeted areas of the earth’s surface. This capability is a quantum leap ahead of previous imagery capture techniques used by the Army. The ICE Team was complimented by two Leica Sensor Support Technicians: Jacques Markram, who flew to Australia from the Leica Geosystems headquarters in Heerbrugg/Switzerland, and Mal Hentschel, who helps support all sensor systems worldwide, but is based in the Australasia/South East Asian region. Most units deployed as part of the “Flood Assist Operation” ended their support in late January; but the ICE Team continued its capture efforts until 18 February 2011, and continued the exploitation of this imagery in the following months.

Queensland State Government’s Department of Environment and Resource Management and the Queensland Reconstruction Authority. Both organizations will continue to exploit the imagery captured and generated by the ICE Team in assessing and prioritizing the reconstruction efforts throughout Queensland. In a letter of thanks Major T.J. Francis of the Australian Defence greatly appreciated the support of Leica Geosystems: “The additional support provided enabled imagery to be captured and processed more efficiently for distribution to Queensland Emergency Services.” About the authors: Steve Gaynor is Leica Geosystems Airborne Sensor Segment Manager for the Australasia & South East Asia Region. Steven Wright is Captain of the 1st Topographical Survey Squadron of the Australian Defence.

The team’s professionalism and effective use of its assets became of particular interest to the

The Global Magazine of Leica Geosystems | 21

Floating Masterpieces by Andreas Petrosino

Meyer Werft GmbH from Papenburg in Northern Germany is more than just a shipbuilder – 2,600 employees create floating masterpieces beyond your wildest dreams in the shipyard’s fabrication halls. Modern cruise liners demand the highest commitment to quality. For this reason the surveying team at Meyer Werft only use instruments from Leica Geosystems. Boston or Bosporus, Montevideo or Mallorca, Guadeloupe or Gothenburg – cruise ships are underway across all the world’s seas and harbors. However,

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many a sea mile travelled owes a lot to a small town in Northern Germany. Papenburg in Emsland usually finds itself at the focus of interest only when a new ship runs down the slipway at Meyer Werft and moves with impressive precision along the river Ems into the North Sea.

Harsh Working Conditions These enormous ship fabrication halls are the temporary homes of ferries and gas tankers as well as cruise liners. New ships are put together from over 60 individual sections called blocks, which can weigh up to 800 tons each. The quality of the connection interfaces plays an important role in the construc-

tion of the ship and in the assembly of the blocks themselves. Consistent measurements are crucial – correcting mistakes is virtually impossible. Ralph Zimmermann is a qualified surveying engineer with over 20 years’ experience in this field. He heads the surveying section at Meyer Werft. “Our surveying instruments are used every day under harsh conditions in both indoor and outdoor environments. In addition to the quality of the instruments, we also recognize the value of good service and a long-term relationship. It is important that our partners are still there for us tomorrow,” says Zimmermann. “In Leica Geosystems and Hexagon Metrology, we have found partners who have never once disappointed us.”

The contents of the instrument locker at Meyer Werft include a Leica TDRA6000 laser station and two Leica HDS6200 high-definition surveying (HDS) laser scanners. All instruments are permanently in use. Ralph Zimmermann: “The HDS scanners and laser station together form a strong combination. Before we begin to scan and capture point clouds, we determine the exact position of the targets using the Leica TDRA6000 and create a mesh. Most of the targets remain as fixed reference points, some are only temporary. We can then move the scanner from area to area and get it going immediately, because we always know where we are in the surveyed space. The process is pretty much like land surveying.”

Quality as a Competitive Advantage Surveyors Always Involved in the Action The surveying team at Meyer Werft is on hand to provide its services at every stage during the production of a new ship. Alignment of the plasma torch cutting machines is just one of the first tasks. Accuracy is also the name of game when laying keels and fabricating the blocks. On top of this come a host of other special jobs, such as determining the overall length of a ship. Ralph Zimmermann: “More and more parts are being prefabricated and then attached to the ship in one piece. For us this means we have to carry out fairly accurate 3D surveys – such as taking the measurements of a sun shade composed of multiple concave shapes or a 260-m-long waterslide (850 ft) with curves and loops.”

Zimmermann also wishes to ensure that the high standard of Meyer ships will continue to be achieved in the future and actively promotes the training of young surveying engineers. Meyer Werft sees consistent quality as a key competitive advantage. For this reason Ralph Zimmermann has been upgrading surveying equipment and practices at the shipyard piece by piece – and always with Leica Geosystems and Hexagon Metrology firmly on board. About the Author: Andreas Petrosino is Marketing Coordinator at Hexagon Metrology Marketing & Communications based in Unterentfelden, Switzerland.

Harsh conditions in the engine room – an everyday job for an HDS scanner from Leica Geosystems.

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Accident Investigation at Russian Power Station by Pavel Karpov

After one of its turbines was pushed out by water pressure, 75 people died at the Russian Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station in the summer of 2009. Leica Geosystems' equipment was chosen to scan the disaster area during the first phase of reconstruction. The accident happened after one of the hydropower units was pushed out and lifted into the air by the pressure of a stream of water. After the water pressure decreased, the power unit – now more or less a pile of waste metal with a total weight of 2,000 tons – came to rest upon a crane base. After detailed inspection it became clear that it would be necessary to drag it out of the debris for further inspection and to determine the cause of the terrible accident as well as the cost of reconstruction, which was estimated to be around 40 billion Rubles (almost 1 billion Euro). The only way to lift the unit was to use one of the cranes – although it was possible that both the crane

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Point cloud of the scanned turbine.

and the turbine would collapse during the operation. A 3D model of the power units was needed to aid decision-making for this high-risk undertaking. Laser scanning was chosen since the fragments were too big to survey using a total station. Three specialists

of Leica Geosystems’ partner Navgeocom Engineering carried out the scanning. The Navgeocom team’s goal was to supply design engineers with all documentation needed to dismantle the power unit. The scans had to be performed within a very tight schedule and harsh conditions. The Leica HDS6100 laser scanner proved to be the ideal instrument for the job: “It is a scanner that met all our requirements for successful job performance,” says Pavel Karpov, senior engineer at Navgeocom Engineering. “For those who work outdoors the advantages of this scanner are very notable. You can manage everything from onboard controls: no need for external controllers, notepads, etc. The power unit is also ‘onboard’ – no external power units and cables are needed: If a surveying device requires extra equipment, it means you need an extra person to carry it, but during this project we faced a lot of situations where two persons simply wouldn’t fit.”

damaged unit and two other nearby units from 50 stations. Field work – while completed with as much detail as possible – took only three days. Due to the high point density achieved with the Leica HDS6100 scanner, it was possible to create a precise and very detailed 3D model of the three extremely complex power units. Additionally, the Navgeocom team could generate a full set of plots and drawings that was passed to the customer. Leica Cyclone software was used for post-processing. Afterwards, the scans were referenced into one single point cloud to create the 3D models. About the author: Pavel Karpov is a Senior Engineer at Navgeocom Engineering, Leica Geosystems’ distribution partner in Russia.

During the scanning phase, one of the Navgeocom specialists worked with a total station to georeference the object, while the other two scanned the

The Global Magazine of Leica Geosystems | 25

The Red Flood On October 4th, 2010 Hungary faced the worst environmental disaster in its history when the embankment of a toxic waste reservoir failed and released a mixture of 600,000 to 700,000 m³ (160 to 185 million gal) of red mud and water. Lower parts of the settlements of Kolontár, Devecser, and Somlóvásárhely were flooded. Ten people died and another 120 people were injured. The red mud flooded 8 km² (2,000 acs) of the surrounding area. Airborne service provider BLOM and Károly Róbert College, a Hungarian scientific research institute for remote sensing, processed the data acquired with Leica

ALS LiDAR, thermal, and hyper spectral imaging technologies to map the scale of the damage caused by red mud leakage and to compensate property owners for their losses. Immediately after the catastrophe on October 4th, 2010 the procedure for obtaining necessary permits was started and on October 6th the research agenda was agreed upon. The main aim of the mission was to document the current status and to identify possible additional dam breaks with risks of new red mud outflow. After necessary flight planning and mobilization, the aerial survey was performed within a very short time frame from October 9th – 11th. Fortunately, the weather conditions in those days were

by Jan Sirotek and Tamás Tomor PhD.

excellent and three survey flights using different technologies were performed to receive detailed and valuable data about the mud-flooded area: Thermography (4.2 km² / 1,000 acs) LiDAR (10 km² / 2,500 acs) Hyperspectral (100 km² / 25,000 acs) In total, 12.5 hours of survey flights were performed and 792 GB of data were captured.

of the polluted area, determine the degree of concentration of pollutants, mainly heavy metals, and to determine the thickness of settled red mud in the outlying area. The concentration of most heavy metals can be mapped by hyperspectral survey, as there is a strong correlation between aluminum oxide, iron oxide, and the heavy metals. The map of polluted areas based on hyperspectral survey was matched with the cadastral map to evaluate damage to property owners. This data will later be used to determine compensation for the property owners.

Thermography and Near-Infrared Survey The survey flight was performed with a geometric resolution better than 20 cm (8 in). The data was acquired with visible, near infrared, and thermal bands to achieve detailed information about the extent of the damaged area. The survey was performed in the area closest to the broken dam with the intention of detecting gaps and fractures in the dam, and leaking and wet patches near the dam. The analysis of this approach showed that there were no additional fractures or leaks between the two affected reservoirs and that there was no substantial outflow from the northern dam, but significant leaking was identified on the terrace under the western dam.

LiDAR Survey

A 3D model of the scene provides valuable

BLOM, a leading international company for acquisition and processing of airborne data, used a Leica ALS60 LiDAR system to acquire a precise and detailed digital terrain model, which allowed an exact estimate of the quantity of red mud spilt over the territory. Additionally, the dam storage capacity could be calculated and the data was also used to design a levee to be constructed to prevent further damage. The data delivered an excellent basis for the flood modeling to determine the quantity of polluted soil and mud removed during the restoration work.

information for damage analysis.

Data was captured at a flying altitude above ground of about 800 m (2,600 ft) with a density of 4 points/ m² in the final digital surface model and with highest possible accuracy of 10 cm (8 in) in height. The digital model was then converted into a suitable format for the flood modeling software, where a simulation of the catastrophe was performed.

Hyperspectral Survey In addition to the LiDAR, a hyperspectral sensor and thermal camera were used to specify the exact range

An Effective Solution for Data Analysis The combination of different remote sensing methods turned out to be a very effective solution for evaluating the range and impact of this huge environmental disaster. Based on the data acquired it was possible to simulate a detailed course of the red mud flow and exactly evaluate the extent and concentration of the pollution. The technology enabled identification of possible fractures in similar reservoirs’ dams and therefore it would be ideal for use in emergency management, modeling of potential scenarios, and systematic monitoring of similar deposits to prevent other catastrophes. About the authors: Jan Sirotek is Director International Sales at BLOM with responsibility for activities in Central & Eastern Europe, including Hungary. Tamás Tomor PhD. is Institute Director of Károly Róbert College, a Hungarian scientific research institute for remote sensing.

The Global Magazine of Leica Geosystems | 27

by Daniel C. Brown

Welcome to space tourism, Southwestern style! Contractor David Montoya Construction finished construction of the Spaceport America runway in a remote area 60 km (37 mi) southwest of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, in September last year. Billionaire Sir Richard Branson’s space enterprise, Virgin Galactic, cut a deal to be a tenant at Spaceport, and Branson hopes to send tourists into near orbit as early as this year. More than 300 people have reportedly signed up for tickets, which start at $ 200,000 each. The state of New Mexico and two local counties have financed the $ 198-million project. And thanks to stringless concrete paving system Leica PaveSmart 3D and some spaceage machine control equipment, construction on Spaceport’s $ 27-million runway was able to wrap up nearly two months early. Montoya’s superintendent David Guerra said the runway, which is 3 km (10,000 ft) long by 60 m (200 ft) wide, was completed seven weeks ahead of the scheduled date. Montoya paved the runway with a Guntert & Zimmerman S850 slipform concrete paver automatically controlled by a Leica PaveSmart 3D system guided by two robotic total stations. The paver had to make six passes, each 10 m (33.3 ft) wide, to cover the complete width of the runway. Depth of the concrete is 35 cm (14 in). Leica PaveSmart 3D regulated steering, grade, draft, and crossfall of the slipform paver in real-time, and integrated seamlessly with the paver with no need to install complex retrofit hydraulics. No stringline was used on either the concrete paver or the placer-spreader that preceded it. The automatic paver control system based its guidance on a digital terrain model – a digitized 3D model of the runway – entered into a Leica Geosystems computer onboard the paver. The paver also had two prisms, mounted above the machine, for tracking by the two robotic total stations set up on tripods ahead of the paver. The prisms on the paver were set in relation to four points on the slipform concrete paver’s pan, which extruded concrete for the runway. If he had used stringlines, Guerra would have used one stringline for the placer-spreader and another for the paver. “The two stringlines are time-con-

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Spaceport America designed by URS/Foster + Partners Conceptual image courtesy of Vyonyx Ltd

suming to set up,” said Guerra. He bought the Leica Geosystems machine control equipment, including six Leica TCP1201+ robotic total stations, because he wanted a system that was independent of the paver and simple to use. “The total stations, their tripods, and the required radios and batteries are easy to move on and off of the project,” he said.

Automatic Accurate Steering When setting up the two total stations, a technician back-sighted each of them to three known control points, fixing the location of the total stations relative to the runway’s digital model. The total stations could then “see” the two prisms on the paver and communicate the paver’s precise location – by free-

Precision for Space Tourists wave radio – to the paver itself. The on-board computer processed the differences between the actual paver location and the digital terrain model. Knowing those differences, the computer could control the paver pan location automatically.

“I’d say that machine control saved us at least 50 percent of the time it takes to use stringline.” David Guerra, Superintendent at Montoya Construction

Montoya actually used four robotic total stations to control the paver, but only two were active at one time. Two stations were set 150 m (500 ft) ahead of the paver, one on each side of the paving lane. Those two controlled the paver while the next two waited 300 m (1,000 ft) ahead for the paver to catch up. When the paver passed the first two stations, the second two took over, and the first two stations were then leapfrogged out ahead. That way the paver never stopped, says Anthony Cerisano, Leica Geosystems’ on-site service representative. Guerra said he got accuracies of ±1.5 mm (0.05 in) on the concrete slab. It took two workers to control the paver. Montoya used the paver operator to read

The Global Magazine of Leica Geosystems | 29

the paver’s computer to check elevation and steering; the main quality control worker handled placement of the robotic total stations and supervised the operation.

ting blue-tops, and the labor to set up stringlines. Typically a concrete paver is controlled by two stringlines set at precise locations on each side of the lane being paved.

“Leica Geosystems equipment is really, really good equipment. It’s really accurate and we have received excellent technical support from the company.”

Further benefits of machine control include improved jobsite logistics, easier and faster truck turnaround, greater jobsite safety (no stringlines to trip over), and faster machine setup and clean-down at the end of a shift. The result is a lower cost, higher productivity construction process with none of the human error associated with traditional staking activities.

David Guerra, Superintendent at Montoya Construction

Unlimited Benefits Automated machine control saves time and money because it eliminates all of the detailed survey labor normally needed for a runway: staking of hubs, set-

Most space tourists probably won’t know the airfield was paved with a Leica Geosystems’ stringless machine control system. But they’ll certainly appreciate the smoothness of the runway. As the saying goes: Build it and they will come, and they’re expected to come to Spaceport America – organizers are planning on 1 million visitors each year. Bon voyage, we say! About the author: Daniel C. Brown is the owner of TechniComm, a communications business based in Des Plaines, Illinois/ USA.

Montoya is paving the runway with a Guntert & Zimmerman S850 slipform concrete paver automatically controlled by a Leica PaveSmart 3D system.

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Leica Geosystems Supports Mongolian Mining Research Mongolia is rich in mineral resources. Under its extensive grasslands and deserts lie large reserves of coal, metallic ores, and other raw materials, such as rare earth minerals for high-tech applications. The areas are relatively undeveloped; therefore many deposits have only just been discovered. A research project supported by Leica Geosystems is underway to ensure that the raw materials are extracted as sustainably as possible. Except for the capital city of Ulaanbaatar and settlements in the main transportation corridor, the population density in Mongolia is very low and travelling soon becomes a bit of an adventure. This remoteness and the unspoiled nature of the country mean that the last untouched steppe landscapes on earth can be found here. Recent years have seen a mining boom with obvious consequences for the environment and nature. For how can these countless and widely scattered mining operations ever be efficiently controlled when the transportation infrastructure is still being developed? This has been the focus of a research project on sustainable raw material extraction sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research since the beginning of 2011. Carrying out the project

are the Faculty for Environmental Information Systems at Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Science in Hรถxter, the mining consultants arguplan GmbH, in the form of their office for mining engineering, environment, and surveying in Karlsruhe, and the School of Mining at the Mongolian University of Science and Technology (MUST) in Ulaanbaatar. With the help of remote sensing data the research project seeks to differentiate between various types of land affected by mining activities, such as opencast mines, reclaimed areas, and sites abandoned without restoration, as automatically as possible. This could make a significant contribution to exploiting the country's underground riches in a sustainable manner. The investigations involve extensive off-road data collection in which a field spectrometer is used to provide reference measurements. GPS is used to localize the measurements and the investigated areas. Until recently MUST was not equipped to carry out this task, so Leica Geosystems supported them by making two GPS systems available to the university during the winter semester 2010. This will allow enough time for the students and research assistants to receive all the necessary training before the first field campaign begins in summer 2011.

Authors Klaus Maas (1st from left) and Jรถrg Fugmann (4th from left) with Stefan Wolf and Klaus Massmeyer from the University of Ostwestfalen-Lippe and project coordinator Ms. Erdenechimeg Ulziikhutag in front of a floating dredge.

The Global Magazine of Leica Geosystems | 31

www.leica-geosystems.com Head Office Leica Geosystems AG Heerbrugg, Switzerland Phone +41 71 727 31 31 Fax +41 71 727 46 74

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