Highway surveying with StreetMapper mobile laser mapping

Halcrow has turned to new laser mapping technology to create a 3D computer model as part of a GBP120 million (US$240 million)regeneration project in Coventry, UK. Developed by Nottingham-based 3D Laser Mapping, the StreetMapper mobile laser system was used, in conjunction with Halcrow Geomatics, to survey a Coventry roundabout and its surrounding area. By mapping the highway with precision from a moving vehicle, StreetMapper eliminated any disruption to normal traffic flows, improved the safety of the workforce and achieved significant project savings.

Instead of traditional field surveying, StreetMapper uses a series of vehicle-mounted lasers that accurately measure and record the highway surface, features and associated assets. The resulting 3D computer generated model will be used by engineers at Halcrow to help with the redesign of the intersection as part of a project to create a high-class business park on land adjacent to the roundabout.

“Using traditional total station survey techniques for this project would require road closures and overnight working,” said Marc Stedman, Project Manager within the Geomatics Project Division of Halcrow. “By utilising the StreetMapper system we have reduced our impact on other road users, guaranteed the safety of our personnel and significantly reduced the costs associated with this part of the project.”

StreetMapper uses well-proven laser scanning technology to capture highly accurate measurements at speeds of up to 70 km per hour. A series of laser scanners can be mounted on virtually any vehicle and arranged to suit the specific requirements of the survey project. Each scanner has a range of 150 metres, an 80-degree field of view and can capture up to 10,000 measurements per second. When combined with an on board Global Positioning System StreetMapper can achieve positional accuracies up to 3 centimetres within the data.

Halcrow are working for St Modwen Properties Plc, one of the country’s leading regeneration specialists, who purchased the 53 acres of surplus land at the Jaguar Engineering, Whitley, Coventry for the creation of a high-class business park. Whitley Business Park, as the site will be known, is located at the A45/A46 interchange, two miles south east of city centre and close to Coventry Airport. The junction carries 86,000 vehicles every day, according to Highways Agency figures, a level of traffic significantly greater than the existing junctions design capacity already resulting in congestion, queuing onto the Tollbar roundabout and long delays.

StreetMapper was jointly developed by 3D Laser Mapping and German based guidance and navigation specialist IGI mbH. 3D Laser Mapping is a specialist in laser scanning solutions, the Riegl Premier Distributor for the UK, Ireland and sub-Saharan Africa and the leading distributor of TerraScan software. 3D Laser Mapping integrates laser scanner hardware systems with their own software and peripherals to create robust solutions for sectors such as mapping, mining and manufacturing.

Contact Dr Graham Hunter, 3D Laser Mapping Ltd,
tel: +44 (0) 870 442 9400, www.3dlasermapping.com