Sanborn selects Applanix’ Landmark™ mobile mapping system to fuel business growth!
Sanborn provides comprehensive end-to-end geospatial solutions (products and services) that satisfy diverse and evolving customer needs for GIS software systems, application development, systems integration, and spatial analysis and modeling. Leveraging precision remote sensing techniques, Sanborn also supports a wide range of applications and users. Sanborn’s solutions are founded on a strong legacy of innovative geospatial data collection and processing capabilities.
The Challenge
Sanborn was tasked with finding a solution from which they could launch new services to the marketplace, and have product capabilities to further grow as their business needs change. Sanborn was seeking an off-the-shelf, but easily tailored system, which could be used in a wide range of mapping applications, from asset collection and LIDAR imaging to mapping highways, bridges, college campuses and cities.
The Solution
On July 9, 2008 John Copple, CEO of Sanborn, announced that after a careful review process the company had selected to test the Applanix Landmark solution, a commercial, off-the-shelf state-of-the-art mobile mapping system, for three months beginning in July 2008.
“Sanborn regards mobile mapping as an integral component of its future growth strategy,” said Jim Peterson, a vice President with Sanborn. “We have chosen to work with Applanix to develop custom solutions using its Landmark system, which meets all our requirements. Applanix has a wealth of experience applying mobile LIDAR and photogrammetry expertise in a number of applications, which makes them an ideal partner.”
“Partnering with Sanborn and adapting our solutions to their operations highlights the differentiation and flexibility of the Landmark product, which is unique in the marketplace,” remarked Louis Nastro, Director of Land Products for Applanix. “We are pleased to have been chosen by Sanborn to develop a solution which will provide them the opportunity to launch new services and have the product capabilities grow as their business needs change.”
Sanborn has also chosen to use the Landmark system to combine airborne and ground products for a variety of situational awareness and mapping/visualization applications which give users the ability to view street level imagery and an overhead view of the precise location of an area of interest. “From the air we get the planimetric images and LIDAR,” explains Peterson. “From the ground we get the oblique to completely vertical view of images and LIDAR.” After capturing the imagery, the system performs semi-automatic feature extraction, such as highway sineage, and then creates a database of the inventory which is geospatially referenced.
The Result
Testing is currently underway and at this point Sanborn has immediate plans to use the system on two specific projects: to scan a bridge and tunnel below the city of St. Louis, Missouri, and to capture trolley system assets for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.