How to Evaluate Good Photogrammetry Companies

Photogrammetry is a term used to describe the science of measuring land reliably via photographs. This is usually done using aerial photos for purposes of land surveys. Land surveying is an extremely complex and painstaking task that should only be done by professional surveyors.

The best time to look for good photogrammetry companies is when you don’t actually need one. It’s good to have an established relationship with a company so that you can call on them with confidence when you have a land surveying project that needs attention.

The first thing you should do is check out the company history to be sure that the company you are considering is established, experienced and competent. Talk with some of their former clients and look at some of their projects. If this all checks out, go on to look at the services they provide and the technology they use.

When undertaking aerial surveying, it is absolutely essential to use the most up-to-date equipment possible. Here is the equipment you should expect a good photogrammetry company to have on hand:

They should have equipment for low altitude mapping photography (LAMP) which is a technology that is conducted with digital cameras used to take images of land and structures at an altitude of about three hundred feet. The main uses of LAMP are park planning, road planning, patrolling pipelines and power lines, aerial mapping and assessments conducted by real estate representatives.

A good photogrammetry company should also have light detection and ranging technology (LiDAR). This equipment is used for measuring the properties of scattered light. This allows collection of information on properties and objects that are quite far away. It works by utilizing laser pulses that can measure the distance to a surface or an object. It does this by keeping track of the time that transpires between broadcasting a signal and detecting its reflected signal.

LIDAR can be used in conjunction with a global positioning system (GPS) to gather information about elevation and location. This information is used to create topographical maps that are useful to law enforcement personnel, military personnel, people interested in conservation projects, astronomers, biologists, physicists, meteorologists and geologists.

LIDAR and GPS can also be used in conjunction with topographic maps, stereo photogrammetry, Doppler radar, inertial surveys and digital terrain modeling (aka: digital elevation modeling) in a number of applications. These include: engineering, farming, creating relief maps, base mapping, infrastructure design, precision forestry, geographic and geometric terrain analyses.

It can be hard to find a good surveying company, but it is absolutely essential if you want to get a proper, usable survey. If you don’t invest in a good surveyor, you may end up wasting a lot of time, energy and money in the long run. If you make all your calculations based on faulty data, you are bound to end up in trouble.

By becoming familiar with a company in advance and ensuring that they have all of the equipment and expertise necessary to deliver competent, accurate services, you can feel confident you are hiring just the right photogrammetry company for your project.