George Zhao

LEADERS' OUTLOOK

ANNUAL EDITION / JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2022

3D Capture to Blur the Line Between Digital and Real

BY GEORGE ZHAO

CEO, CHC Navigation

CHC Navigation (CHCNAV) is structured as a technology-driven company. Since its inception, it has aimed to be a technology enabler for precise positioning and navigation applications. The company has endeavored to provide optimal solutions to customers for solving their geospatial positioning challenges.

The fusion of technologies allows for positioning accuracy in the millimeter or centimeter range. A few years ago, it was based on GNSS. Today, it is hybrid positioning solutions that merge the strengths of GNSS, MEMS, IMU, LiDAR and optical data. The result is greater availability, reliability and accuracy of position, navigation and timing data. CHCNAV’s precision positioning solutions cover a wide range of applications, including land and airborne surveying with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned surface vehicles (USVs), Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) RTK surveying, 3D mass data acquisition with integrated LiDAR systems, precision agriculture, unmanned navigation and robotics, realtime GNSS reference station networks, and more.

Towards precision and autonomy These days fully robotic and unmanned solutions for positioning in closed or semi-closed scenarios are gaining momentum. These include CHC Navigation’s USVs and UAVs, which require even more advanced technology fusions, such as anti-collision systems. More recently, we have made significant progress toward democratizing GNSS RTK systems for tractors. Our auto-steer systems give farmers access to high-performance but affordable retrofit kits to upgrade their tractors to optimize their work efforts and reduce input costs and fuel consumption. 3D capture technology The demand for hybrid GNSS, IMU and MEMS fusion systems applied to assisted and autonomous driving to ensure reliable lane-level accuracy is constantly growing.

In China alone, the electric car market is expected to grow from three million in 2021 to five million in 2022, with 40 percent of built-in L2 or L3 driving automation. The technologies we develop for these applications will benefit other business segments such as machine control, drones and agriculture.

We foresee strong growth potential as most of our customers are looking for reliable and affordable technology solutions to move from 2D mapping to 3D reality capture using LiDAR and imagery. This also applies to Digital Twin projects for which mass 3D data collection of assets in a real environment scenario is steadily increasing. The need for high-definition augmented reality maps is also positively impacting the demand for LiDAR, GNSS and imaging systems.

Mobile mapping and construction The mission of our mobile mapping division is to build bridges between the real world and the digital world, for greater interoperability and accessibility of data. Mobile mapping surveys have proven to be four to ten times faster and three to seven times cheaper than traditional methods. In addition, LiDAR-based data capture not only provides complete 3D models but also reduces workload, avoids costly errors, simplifies data use and provides design based on reality.

Digital Construction encompasses not only GNSSbased guidance systems for excavators, graders and compactors, but also dedicated solutions for project management in areas such as airport and road infrastructure. The use of complementary technologies is a fact of life on construction sites with the integration of traditional GNSS-based surveying, 3D machines automation, and LiDAR drone surveying for 3D data capture.

The interplay of a gamut of technol-ogies and real-time positioning will rapidly transform sectors ranging from navigation and construction to AgTech.