UAS is the future for surveying

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Surveyors @ Work specialises in civil construction surveying throughout the east coast of Australia. With some 25 employees, the company puts strong emphasis on staying abreast of the latest technology, including Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) surveying, to remain competitive.

UAS manager Wade Mills is passionate about the opportunities this emerging technology will bring to the survey industry.

“We believe that UAS will become an integral part of surveying in the future,” he said.

“Surveyors @ Work is committed to the technology because we can see the potential for a UAS to collect the majority of survey data for all subsequent analysis work.”   

The biggest advantage, Mills explains, is the level of detail and the speed at which it is captured.

“We surveyed a 60-hectare landfill site to 30mm tolerance in five hours,” he said. “It took two hours to put in the ground control targets and another two to three hours to fly the site. After a few hours’ work, the client has an accurate, time-stamped survey as a permanent record of all assets and height measurements.”

Safety and ease of use are the other key benefits to UAS over traditional surveying methods. Some mine operators are soon to introduce zero interaction between light and heavy vehicles, which will make life impossible for survey crews according to Mills.

“When such policies are introduced, UAVs will be one of the only viable alternatives, as they can be set up and controlled away from the pit to remove any risk to survey crews.”

Quarry Stockpile Test Site

Mills is quick to point out that far from replacing the work of surveyors, UAS technology is purely an additional tool to help save them time and increase productivity, often at a critical time of the month when they have a narrow window to calculate volumes.

“UAS can quickly capture the data and save a considerable amount of time for the crews. The surveyors still need to set out the control points and calculate all the volumes and so on, we simply provide them with the data model to work from,” he adds.

When it came to choosing the right UAS setup, Mills explains the company took its time to find the right solution.

“Some of the first products to market were not quite robust enough or suitable for our purposes,” he said. “We did our research and it was only after testing out the SIRIUS that we found a solution we were comfortable with.”

The SIRIUS UAS can be flown in automatic or autopilot assisted mode, which Mills says is an important differentiator. “It’s good to be able to manually control the plane if you need to, but the autopilot assist means it is easy to manoeuvre. You don’t need to be a pilot to fly it!” he added.

The greatest challenge has been the ability to process the incredible amount of data captured during a flight. 

“But the software is developing quickly and we are now looking into new solutions that hopefully enable us fast processing and presentation of the data. We need it for calculations, but also for video data fly throughs and 3D presentations to clients.”

Now that the initial fervour over high tech ‘toys’ has passed, Mills believes the key is to prove their capabilities by comparing UAS accuracy with traditional survey methods. Surveyors @ Work has already done this for volume calculations of a quarry, putting the SIRIUS UAS to the test against the company’s Leica C10 scanner. Only a 1.5% difference in volumes was recorded.

“Like anything new, there was a lot of hype about UAS when they first came out but the technology needs to be proved before it will be widely adopted,” Mills added.

A second case study between the C10 scanner, the SIRIUS UAS and a GNSS-based survey of a NSW coal mine will be released shortly. 

New Sydney Office

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The larger, more modern office will offer customers extensive training facilities, comprehensive calibration and repairs, dedicated warehouse space for machine installations and ample space for meetings.   

After 22 years in the company’s Rydalmere branch (formerly LaserQuip) and the addition of an office in Arncliffe when the company acquired Fielder Instrument, Position Partners is consolidating the two locations under one roof.

“Due to the company’s ongoing expansion, we have outgrown our old homes,” said Brian McLoughlin, NSW regional manager. “By consolidating the two branches to a single office, we will offer our customers streamlined support for product training, calibrations and delivery.

“Our new premises also provide a comfortable, spacious environment for employees, where everyone works together as a close-knit team,” he added.

The new location at 92 Wetherill Street North, Silverwater, can accommodate up to 25 customers for Campus training courses and has extensive service and repair facilities. A large warehouse enables on-site machine control installations and comprehensive equipment stock for sale or for hire.

Open from 7:30am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday, the new office also offers an extensive range of survey and construction accessories, such as tripods, staffs, safety clothing and marking paint.

“We look forward to welcoming our customers at our new office, whether it’s to discuss an upcoming project, pick up some marking paint, or just to share a cup of freshly ground coffee,” McLoughlin added.

iSeekPlant launches Australia’s first plant hire app

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The hugely successful plant hire industry aggregator, iSeekplant.com.au, has released Australia’s first Plant Hire phone application, allowing the user to hire plant directly from their iPhone or iPad from any location. It’s the first of its kind in Australia, and a massive win for the industry.

The Application draws its records from the thousands of items of plant for hire on iSeekplant.com.au, listed by plant hire companies from all over Australia. With simplified usability, it’s been designed for project managers who have urgent plant hire requirements onsite. The company built the application, because it knows how incredibly mobile its audience is.

“25% of our monthly website customer traffic is coming from smartphones, principally iPhones and iPads. We wanted to create the industry’s first phone application, designed specifically for those urgent plant requirements and for searching for plant on-the-go, because we know how mobile and time poor our project manager audience is. Our app is simple to use, returns necessary results quickly and easily, and will become an essential resource for our Project Managers whilst onsite or travelling,” says CEO Matt Peters.

The most useful feature is the map functionality, built into the system for Project Mangers to seek urgent plant replacements or to keep their projects moving, from plant suppliers close to their current location. Users simply drop a pin, and search around their current location, for plant hire companies that can meet their specification and have the gear they need to continue the project. Users can then call the nearest plant hire companies, and get new machines onsite, fast.

Search functionality has been simplified on the application, and streamlined to the services that are most relevant for phone usage. Searches can still be refined based on specifications, and search results ordered based on location to project, or fleet size.

Given the increased prevalence of iPads used onsite at projects, and by travelling project managers, the Directors also felt it important to make the application available on the iPad platform. “Tablets are the future of computing for professionals who are mobile. They are so useful in the mining and civil industries. In meetings I walk into, everyone uses iPads as a reference tool. We want to give Project Managers the tools they need to find plant wherever they are, and deliver that information to them on the devices they are using. That is iPad and iPhone,” says Marketing Director Sally McPherson.

iSeekplant.com.au’s phone application is free for a limited time. It can be downloaded at the Apple App store via iTunes or online. After the release of the application on the IOS platform,  iSeekplant will be releasing an Android version shortly after. More information on this release will be forthcoming.

To download the new app, visit https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iseekplant/id649671204?mt=8

Topcon’s Ray O’Connor receives Geospatial Leadership Award

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The award was presented by Geospatial World magazine during its annual Geospatial World Forum conference and leadership awards ceremony in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

O’Connor was recognised “as the champion of surveying and positioning technologies in the world, having served in this industry for more than two decades.  He has transformed Topcon into an acknowledged market leader in surveying technologies related to civil engineering, agricultural, mapping, and measurement applications.”

In addition to receiving the award, O’Connor was a speaker at the conference and Topcon executives also participated in applications and technology workshops.
 
About his selection as Geospatial Business Leader of the Year, O’Connor said, “To be selected by the leaders and visionaries of the industries we serve is an incredible honour.  At Topcon we focus our energies on pursuing products and technologies that truly make a difference in the lives of our customers and potential customers.
 
“We work closely with our global distributors, customers and strategic partners to ensure we are not only providing exemplary products, service and support, but also are focussing our efforts on developing the next generation of precision instruments and technologies in every market segment we serve,” he said.
 
The award certificate presented to O’Connor at the conference, read: “A leader, technocrat and, above all, a man of vision, (O’Connor) is recognised as the champion of surveying and positioning technologies in the world.”
 
The award certificate further stated, “Topcon Positioning Systems is one of the only companies to offer ‘the complete solution’ from survey to finished grade,” and that the unique corporate culture he created and instilled into his team “has resulted in the innovative integration of technologies under one roof, causing radical changes throughout the construction positioning industries.”
 
The magazine’s award also noted that under O’Connor’s leadership, “Topcon has evolved a unique corporate culture of unity with diversity, which has enabled its executives to pursue (large) corporate objectives while focusing on respective technology domains and territorial geographies.  
 
“Professionalism with human touch is an added value to his corporate leadership.”

Topcon announces expanded cloud storage for MAGNET Enterprise

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Cloud storage is a company-wide service that provides secure data storage for organisations working in the MAGNET Enterprise environment.
 
Now, each MAGNET Enterprise company account, with subscriptions of at least one licence of the team module, will come with a standard 5GB of cloud storage with additional space options available.
 
Jason Hallett, director of product management – software applications, said, “With ten times the data storage capacity, MAGNET Enterprise users can archive and share more projects in the cloud.  More cloud storage means increased uses and productivity.”
 
MAGNET Enterprise is a cloud service that connects the Field and Office products and provides a web-based interface to company data. MAGNET Field is software that runs on field controllers and onboard total stations, and Civilcad MAGNET Office is stand-alone office software for processing and modeling.  MAGNET makes it possible for real-time collaboration between project manager, field crews, office personnel, engineers, or consultants.

Position Partners to offer Carlson machine guidance for Australian mining

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Position Partners is to offer Carlson’s machine guidance and fleet management solutions for mining, quarrying, dredging and landfill operations throughout Australia. Position Partners will both sell and support the wide variety of software products.

“We are thrilled to be introducing our solutions through Position Partners, Australia’s leading provider of machine guidance and positioning solutions,” said Randy Noland, vice president of Carlson’s Machine Control division. “Carlson and Position Partners have worked together for many years to supply the land surveying industry with software solutions so it was natural to expand our partnership to include Carlson’s machine guidance products.”

Position Partners will be offering Carlson’s complete range of machine guidance solutions for mining operations, including Carlson Grade™ for dozers, graders, scrapers and other surface grading machinery; Shovel Grade™ for excavators & shovels; Drill Grade™ for drilling machinery, and TruckPro™, which monitors position and load information across the truck fleet.

For on-site management and inspection, Position Partners will be offering Carlson Grade Supervisor™, which delivers an integrated 3D and GNSS solution for surveyors and supervisors. For monitoring from the office, Position Partners will offer Carlson Fleet Manager Office™, which enables managers to communicate with multiple machines in real time and also to generate a wide range of data from machine performance to progress reporting.

For landfill applications, Carlson has Landfill Grade™ that can be used across compactors, dozers, graders and scrapers to increase compaction and reach optimum density faster.

For dredging applications, Carlson provides Excavator Grade™, for long reach excavators, barge heading, and cable cranes, etc. supporting multiple sensor types such as line riders, flow meters and encoders. Multiple attachments are also supported including finger grabbers with open & close visualisation.

“We chose Carlson Machine Control for mining,” said Martin Nix, Position Partners CEO, “because it offers a comprehensive range of solutions, all with open system architecture that enables them to work on most makes and models of equipment used on a mine.” Nix adds, “By combining Topcon GNSS hardware solutions with Carlson Machine Control software we are able to extend our expertise and service to mining, dredging, quarrying and landfill applications.”

“We are delighted to be able to offer our customers this complete range of machine guidance options,” Nix said, “and look forward to working with Carlson Machine Control to deliver the right combination of solutions to help save time and increase productivity for earthmoving, grading, material management, drilling and dredging operations.”

Aibot X6 rotary-blade UAV lands in Australia

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Following a recent announcement of the fixed wing SIRIUS Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), Position Partners has extended its aerial mapping range with a complementary new rotary-blade UAV for Australia, the Aibot X6 by Aibotix.

“The Aibot X6 offers an ideal solution for detailed inspections or aerial surveys of hard to reach areas such as bridges, pipelines, power lines and rail tracks,” said Garry MacPhail, Survey Business Manager at Position Partners.

“We are pleased to offer our customers a UAV solution for any application and the Aibot X6 is a very flexible, robust option that can be used for aerial mapping, imaging, filming, asset inspection and even thermography.”

Unlike fixed-wing UAVs, the Aibot X6 operates via six propellers, which are positioned in a hexagonal shape above the camera and are protected by a unique, lightweight yet robust carbon fibre housing.

The propellers enable movement in every direction, vertically and horizontally, allowing for greater flexibility during flight and the ability to hover in a fixed position when required.

In addition, the camera mount mechanism includes automated pitch and roll compensation as well as the option to switch between vertical and horizontal camera positions during flight for multiple-perspective image capture.

The Aibot X6 can fly autonomously to a pre-programmed flight path, or alternatively it can be controlled manually via a tablet PC or remote control unit. It comes with built-in collision avoidance and automatic distance control, with on-board sensors that enable the user to fly close to a surface without bumping into it.

As the on-board camera is mounted outside of the UAV frame, a wide range of options is available to suit the purpose of the flight, from thermographic to DSLR cameras and also video cameras. There is even the option to transmit a live video broadcast to a ground station or video display goggles to enable real-time viewing.

“We are thrilled to announce our distribution agreement with Position Partners,” said Joerg Lamprecht, Aibotix CEO. “The Aibot X6 is designed for such a wide range of applications within the construction, engineering, surveying and mining industries that it was important to find a partner that specialises in all of these markets.”

Position Partners introduces SIRIUS UAV to Australasia

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Garry MacPhail, Business Manager Survey at Position Partners (left), launching the SIRIUS UAV with Michael Niesen, one of the MAVinci CEOs

Precision solutions specialist Position Partners has announced a new Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for the Australasian civil construction, survey, mining and agricultural industries – SIRIUS UAV by MAVinci.

Designed for a wide range of survey applications, the SIRIUS UAV is a fixed wing structure ideal for corridor mapping roads, pipelines and power lines, calculating stockpile volumes, monitoring erosion, reconciliation and progress reporting.

Weighing only three kilograms and with a wingspan of 1.6 metres, SIRIUS is ideal for one-man operation. Unlike manned flyovers that are often delayed due to weather conditions or cloud cover, SIRIUS can fly under cloud and despite strong winds and rain.

“We are delighted to introduce this exciting product into the Australian, New Zealand and PNG markets – SIRIUS represents an evolution in UAV survey technology with greater flexibility, robust hardware and value for money,” said Garry MacPhail, Survey Business Manager at Position Partners.

Unlike other UAV systems, SIRIUS can capture images defined by irregular shapes, reducing the amount of data processing to the specific area of attention.

SIRIUS also gives the user greater control during flight, with “fully automatic” mode supported by “autopilot assisted” mode or “fully manual” mode. This flexibility is better for landing management, enabling navigation around any unforseen obstacles.

To complete an aerial survey, users simply program in a flight plan using the included desktop flight planning software. Load the flight plan onto the UAV, stand at the desired take-off area and launch the SIRIUS by switching on autopilot and throwing it into the air!

Once airborne, SIRIUS will fly the pre-planned route, taking multiple images with a high-resolution on-board camera. It then begins its descent to the programmed landing area so that the images can be post-processed.

As the exclusive distributor for MAVinci products in Australia, New Zealand and PNG, Position Partners will offer complete support and training services for the SIRIUS UAV.

“Position Partners pioneered the use of UAV technology for surveying in Australia in 2011,” said MacPhail. “We employ UAV experts and continue to work closely with CASA to ensure we meet the support and training needs of our customers as they learn about the use of this technology in their field.”

Commenting on the new partnership between MAVinci and Position Partners, MAVinci CEO Johanna Claussen, said: “We are excited to announce our distribution agreement with Position Partners. As the leading provider of mapping and spatial technology solutions in Australia, it is a perfect fit for the SIRIUS UAV.”

New buy-back program for 3D machine control

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To ensure customers are running the latest Topcon solution and the right system for their work, Position Partners is offering an exclusive buy-back program for existing 3D machine control systems already installed on their equipment.

“We want to maintain our status as the number one service provider on job sites and Topcon as the number one machine control solution,” said Joel Seddon, National Product Manager for Machine Control.

“Anyone who has a 3D system installed in their machine, no matter what brand, should get in touch to find out what we can offer – we’ll buy it back for up to $29,000 and get them fitted with the latest Topcon equipment!”

Position Partners offers a wide range of Topcon machine control solutions, with 3D systems that range from Millimetre GPS and Total Station options for fine tolerance grading, through to excavator systems and the latest 3D-MC2 solution that can be fitted to dozers or graders.

“The key advantage to our solutions is that we can fit to every make and model of machinery, regardless of manufacturer,” said Seddon.

“At Position Partners, we always consider the application first and the machine second. Our question is ‘what is the job and what results do you need?’ not ‘what machine do you have?’

“Also Topcon systems are cross-compatible, which means you can swap hardware and components around to suit the application rather than having to start from scratch with a whole new system.”

To qualify for the buy-back scheme, customers must have a 3D machine control system fitted to their machine, which Position Partners will buy back and put towards a new Topcon system. The offer ends 31st December 2012.

“There are three main benefits to this program for customers: one, they get to upgrade their system to the latest and best Topcon solution; two, they can save a considerable amount of money by trading in their old system; and three, they are assured of the highest levels of support through the industry’s number one service provider, Position Partners,” Seddon added.

Position Partners launches trade-up program for new Topcon PS Robotic

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To celebrate the release of Topcon’s all-new PS robotic total station series, Position Partners is offering limited time trade-up options on all total station makes and models until the end of 2012.

According to Position Partners Survey Manager Garry MacPhail, the new Topcon PS series offers new industry-leading EDM and prism tracking capabilities, to provide the highest performance in its class.

“Topcon’s new total stations have a much narrower beam than other instruments, to provide accurate measurements to complex surfaces when used in reflectorless mode,” MacPhail said.

“The enhanced prism tracking in the PS is truly remarkable. We have tested these instruments here in Australia on roads with heavy traffic and they have performed exceptionally well and kept track of the prism even at long distances.

The PS series boasts a range of six kilometres to the prism and one kilometre in reflectorless mode. The PS also features Topcon’s new LongLink communications technology, which enables the surveyor to measure from the pole at distances of up to half a kilometre without radios.

“We are excited to bring these total stations to the Australian market and encourage anyone considering an upgrade for their robotic to get in touch with Position Partners to arrange a demo and find out more about our trade-up options,” MacPhail added.

Position Partners trade-up packages include:

  • A choice of either the 1” or 3” PS robotic, complete with MAGNET Field on-board software and RC-5 remote kit
  • Topcon Tesla 3G handheld data collector, with WiFi, Bluetooth, 3 megapixel camera and MAGNET Field on-board software
  • Heavy-duty tripod with carry bag
  • Prism and prism pole, also with carry bag

Complete trade-up packages start from $1,125 per month including GST with 36-month Chattel Mortgage finance options. For more information click here or contact your nearest branch.