Goal is to gives student body access to scanner by summer
Mining tech pioneer Maptek Pty Ltd. said Tuesday it donated an I-Site laser scanner to the University of California Berkeley.
South Australia-based Maptek, with U.S. operations in Lakewood, Colo., said Berkeley has rented Maptek’s I-Site scanners for years with graduate students using scanners in the past for vegetation and hydrologic mapping.
The company said it also donated educational licenses of its I-Site Studio 3D point cloud processing and modeling software.
PhD candidate Danielle Christianson is using the scanner for a forestry study in Sequoia National Park as part of her research project to measure the impact climate has on seedling growth.
“I can’t wait to use the scanner again and see how the data compares to my first field survey,” she said. “The scanner allows me to map my site, which is about six football fields long, in days versus weeks.”
Christianson can view her “virtual forest” containing fine-scale topography in I-Site Studio that will help her determine the variables influencing plant growth.
“The goal is to give access to the student body by the summer,” said Rune Storesund, UC Berkeley research specialist in the landscape architecture department. “We plan to use the scanner in training seminars for surveying and lidar equipment operating, and educating students on how to manipulate and manage their data in a robust software package such as I-Site Studio.”
Maptek debuted a new laser scanner last month designed specifically for underground survey applications such as measuring voids, drives, tunnels and stopes, and handling interior silo survey and stockpile measurements.
The company’s new I-Site 8200 is ultra-versatile and features a coordinated development of all elements – scanner, accessories, scan control interface, and processing software – to “build-in” underground workflow from the get go.
