Our streets in 3D

Terralink have announced:

A million dollar mobile mapping platform launching is set to capture the first complete and measurable 3D model of New Zealand’s streets.

The first technology of its kind in New Zealand, StreetCam3D features a high-density LiDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) scanner and high-resolution 360-degree cameras mounted on a four-wheel drive utility vehicle.

Brought to the New Zealand market by Wellington location intelligence firm Terralink International, StreetCam3D promises to deliver millions in productivity related benefits for business, as well as enhance safety both before and after disasters or emergencies.

Terralink International Managing Director Mike Donald says StreetCam3D will dramatically reduce the need for expensive, time consuming and often dangerous fieldwork on and around New Zealand’s 126,000 kilometers of state highways, local roads and city streets.

“Instead of sending staff into busy environments to undertake manual surveying or measurements, StreetCam3D can quickly provide precise measurements for entire road networks with a single drive-through at normal road speeds.”

StreetCam3D captures the position and detailed appearance of every object, up to 100 meters in any direction, with incredible pinpoint accuracy.

“It captures up to 1.33 million points of location data, in every direction, every second. This gives you a near perfect model of the street environment so you can undertake almost any analysis, measurement or planning, all without leaving your office,” Mr Donald says.

Because StreetCam3D is capturing high definition LiDAR, as well as high-resolution imagery, it allows users to accurately measure depth as well as height and width. It allows informed decision making about the condition of road surfaces, buildings, power lines or the encroachment of trees, all within an accuracy measured in millimeters.

“It’s going to unlock the benefits of spatial information for almost any organisation that operates on or around our streets, fundamentally changing the way many businesses and people work – from engineers to asset managers and urban planners,” Mr Donald says.

As a data geek, I find this pretty exciting. I just hope they have a larger server bank to hold all the data!