Planning for Success

Brian Wegner explains how geospatial data is playing a leading role in infrastructure lifecycle planning.

“Combined with important developments in geographic information systems (GIS) technology, aerial mapping data are now considered essential tools for decision support”
-Brian Wegner

A lot has been said about the state of the country's infrastructure: it's old, it's outdated and it's overburdened. While these statements are true, stimulus funding offers a great opportunity to improve the integrity of these critical, interrelated systems. Currently, billions of dollars have already been released to state governments for infrastructure projects related to transportation, water, energy, and other key areas. Geospatial data will play an important role in these efforts, supporting a wide range of planning, design and maintenance activities.

Over the past decade, geospatial technology advances have significantly increased the range of mapping products available from airborne remote sensing. Combined with important developments in geographic information systems (GIS) technology, aerial mapping data are now considered essential tools for decision support. Fugro EarthData and its sister companies have helped pioneer many of these innovations, which contribute readily to the entire infrastructure lifecycle.

Direct-to-digital mapping for planning and management
Combining digital airborne sensors with robust processing software, direct-to-digital mapping delivers high-resolution image-based mapping products in a fraction of the time required using conventional film-based methods. Fugro EarthData has used this approach to complete over a dozen statewide and more than fifty countywide mapping programs over the past seven years. These foundational datasets support utility site selection, transportation planning, construction feasibility and land-use planning, among other functions.

LiDAR mapping for planning and design
Airborne LiDAR mapping systems use the near-infrared portion of the electro-magnetic spectrum to provide fast and accurate topographic mapping. Fugro EarthData was an early adopter of this technology, helping to design and build the first commercially available LiDAR mapping system and completing the nation's first-ever statewide LiDAR mapping project. Collected from a fixed-wing aircraft, LiDAR data supports infrastructure planning through efficient base mapping, urban modeling, and floodplain mapping. Helicopter-borne LiDAR, as developed by sister company John Chance Land Surveys, provides highly detailed corridor mapping in support of transportation design, asset management and utility maintenance.

Thematic mapping for problem solving
By cataloguing the spatial distribution of specific cultural and natural features, thematic mapping helps users answer important questions related to infrastructure and environment. Traditionally, these projects were accomplished using manual photointerpretation techniques. Two years ago, Fugro EarthData introduced a semi-automated approach that greatly streamlines the production process. The success of this technique was recently demonstrated in Horry County, South Carolina. By mapping the impervious surfaces as well as vegetation and open terrain, the county was able to improve its storm water runoff modeling. Additional applications for infrastructure include site and route selection, permitting and construction logistics planning.

Panoramic mapping for visualization and management
This summer, Fugro EarthData unveiled its latest technology innovation: a high altitude, high- resolution panoramic mapping solution that provides comprehensive 3D mapping from multiple viewing angles. The technology is truly one of a kind, with the potential to revolutionize aerial mapping. More cost-effective than existing camera systems, a single panoramic mapping mission will meet a full range of user needs, from base mapping, to oblique mapping, to terrain modeling and feature extraction, to 3D visualizations. With regard to infrastructure, the range of data applications is equally as vast, including urban planning, asset management, change detection, emergency preparedness and disaster response and recovery.

This overview just scratches the surface of available geospatial technologies. Along with airborne remote sensing, GPS-based land surveys and satellite mapping serve a number of important functions, all of which will be used to help renew the infrastructure we now describe as old, outdated and overburdened. In fact, state and federal government agencies are now using web-based mapping tools to help track stimulus-funded projects. The State of Maryland's StateStat website (www.mdimap.com/statestat2) is a simple yet fitting example of geospatial technology at work for infrastructure.

Brian Wegner is Senior Vice President of mapping services at Fugro EarthData. With more than 20 years of service to the company, he has helped implement many of the technology innovations detailed herein. Mr. Wegner is a certified photogrammetrist and licensed surveyor and holds an MBA from John Hopkins University.