Laser Technique Assessment
in GIS Data Acquisition
Technical Assessment
For POEC 6383
Tianyou Chen
Rui Ge
7/12/2016
Tasks
Acquire Laser mapping equipment for GIS
spatial data acquisition:



Utility mapping (power poles, water valve,
gas pipe, water pipe, etc)
Construction (ask for higher accuracy)
Digital geology mapping (geologic
features)
Laser Mapping – Why It is
Needed
 Laser + GPS = fast
3D spatial data
acquisition
 Mapping the
inaccessible area
 More efficient and
cost effective
Technical Basics
 Distance measure +
Angle (H & V) measure
 Using NIR / Red Laser
(Light Amplification by
Stimulated Emission of
Radiation) pulse for
distance measure
 Using magnetic
compass or encoder
for angle measurement
Emitter
Distance
Receiver
Laser Instrument
Distance = C x T / 2
C – speed of light
T – time
Technical Assessment
Standards
 Accuracy
Distance
 Angle (horizontal &
vertical)
 Function
 Support
Reflectorless
 Motorized
 Autotrack (highcaliber)
 Continuous mode
 Remote control
(high-caliber)

Performance
Measurement Time

Measurement Range

Ease of use
GPS integration

External interface

Display

Laser Plummet (highcaliber)

Cost
Technology Assessment Focus
 Low Caliber (lower accuracy)
Advantage Laser Range Finder from Laser
Atlanta
 LaserAce / ALS series from MDL
 High Caliber (high-accuracy)
 GTS-800 and GPT-2000 series from
Topcon
 TCRA1100 series from Leica

Advantage V.S. LaserAce/ALS
Laser Atlanta
Advantage
Accuracy
Performance
Function
Ease of Use
Cost
MDL
LaserAce / ALS
Distance
±15.3 cm
Typically 10 cm
Typically 5 cm
Angle
±0.01°(en) both H & V;
H:±1°;V:±0.4° w/o en
H(encoder):0.2°; V: 0.3°;
Better ±1° w/o encoder;
H & V(en):0.02°
Range
2-610m w/o reflector;
2-91800m w/ reflector
300m w/o reflector;
5,000m w/ refelctor
300 (DM)/600(RF) w/o
5km (DM)/10km(RF) w/
Time
0.34 sec
0.3 sec
0.5s(DM)/self-adp(RF)
Reflectorless?
yes
Yes
yes
Motorized?
no
No
yes
Cont. Mode
yes
yes
yes
Ext. Interface
RS232 to PC
RS232 to PC
RS232 to PC
GPS integration
Yes(plug & play)
No
No
Display
HUD+ LCD
LCD
LCD
$4000 -$6000
$4,300 – $5,525
$21,000 - $27,720
Analysis for low caliber
equipment
Advantage is better than LaserAce in:




Range (600m)
Angle accuracy (0.01°)
HUD display
GPS integration
LaserAce is within the same price range as
Advantage and a little better in distance accuracy (10
cm to 15 cm) but inferior in:


Range (300m)
Angle accuracy (0.2°)
MDL Quarryman is superior of all but:

very specialized and expensive and less portable
Suggestion for Low caliber
Laser equipment
For general purpose laser mapping,
choose Advantage because of the
above superiorities over LaserAce
within a reasonable price
Topcon vs. Leica (total
Station)
Topcon
GTS800
GTS800A
Function
Cost
gpt2009
2mm + 2ppm
5mm + 2ppm (without reflector)
3mm + 2ppm (with reflector)
angle
H1”; V: 1”
3”
Range
2,000m (1 prism)
2,600m (3 prism)
3-150m(np);
7,000m(p)
Time
2sec
5”
9”
TCRA1101
TCRA1103
1.5''
2”
3”
3 s ( without reflector up to 30m)
1 s (with reflector)
Yes
Yes
motorized
Yes
No
Yes
Cont. mode
Yes
Yes
Yes
autotracking
Yes
No
Yes
Remote control
yes
No
Yes
RS232
RS232
RS232
No
No
NO
display
LCD
LCD
LCD
Laser plummet
Yes
Yes
Yes
$13,000
$28,000
$9,800
$7,500
$5,500
5”
Range*
No
GPS integration
TCRA1105
3mm + 2ppm (without reflector)
2mm + 2ppm (with reflector)
3-100m
4,000m
1.2s (fine); 0.5s (coarse);
0.3 (tracking )
TCRA1102
reflectorless
External
interface
Ease of
use
GPT2005
Distance
Accuracy
Performa
nce
GPT2003
Leica
$31,660
$30,910
$29,410
$26,410
Analysis
GTS800 series is superior in accuracy and in
other aspects but:


Do not support reflectorless
Expensive
GPT2000 series




Supports reflectorless mode
Quick measuring time and
Reflectorless tracking mode
Cheaper
Leica TCRA1100 series


All in one with
Very expensive
Suggestions
GPT2003 will be a good choice for
doing high accuracy general purpose
mapping because of its support for both
prism and non-prism mode with a
reasonable price
Conclusions
For low accuracy, Advantage laser range
finder from Laser Atlanta is a choice for
its better performance (600m range)
and higher accuracy(0.01°)
For high accuracy, Topcon GTP2003 is
selected for its support for reflectorless
mode and tracking mode, and cheaper
price
References
1. http://www.laseratlanta.com
2. http://www.mdl.co.uk
3. http://www.topcon.com
4. http://www.leica.com
End
Company Briefs
Laser Atlanta Optics, Inc.,
Norcross, GA USA, has been
designing and manufacturing
eye-safe laser-based distance
and speed measuring
systems since 1989.
Currently manufacture a
product line based on a core
technology called the
Advantage. All of its
rangefinder products are
based on this proven design.
Measurement Devices Ltd.
(MDL) is a leading designer,
manufacturer and supplier of
laser measurement systems.
MDL is committed to preserving
a quality system throughout all
levels of our business, as well
as providing consistent, high
standards of customer service.
Company Briefs (cont.)
Topcon America Corporation
(TAC), based in Paramus, NJ,
is the wholly-owned American
subsidiary of Topcon
Corporation, the world’s
leading manufacturer of
surveying, ophthalmic, GPS
and industrial instruments and
positioning control products
for the civil engineering and
construction industries.
Leica Geosystems is a globally
active surveying and geomatics
technology group. It provides
modern systems for highaccurate 3D data capturing,
visualisation and modelling of
space-related data.
Headquarters are in Heerbrugg,
Switzerland, with further
research, development and
production facilities are located in
Unterentfelden, Switzerland, in
America (Atlanta, Grand Rapids,
Oakland, San Diego, Torrance)
and in Asia (Singapore).
Advantage From Laser Atlanta
Physicals
•905 nm class I eye safe laser
•11.5Hx21.5Wx19Lcm
•4.5 lbs(2.1kg)
•Handle batteries
LaserAce From MDL
Physical
Physical
•GaAs Laser Diode 905nm
•Semi-conductor 905 nm
•Class I eye Safe
•Class I eye safe
•175x106x55 mm (LxWxH)
•209 x 243 x 420mm (LxWxH)
•600g
•9.7kg /10.3 kg (w/ tribrach)
•Alignment Telescope: red dot
•Optical encoder
•Compass(option)
•Laptop/palm/desk top PC
•Pocket PC (option)
Topcon: Pulse Total Station
GPT-2000 series
 Using pulse laser technology
 Support both prism/non-prism mode
 High accuracy:
Millimeter accuracy in distance
measurement (5mm+2ppm xD in
non prism mode; 3mm+2ppmxD in
prism mode)

1”/ 5” (H & V) angle measurement
accuracy
Fast data acquisition:

0.3 sec tacking mode

1.2 second fine mode
Long range:

Prism: 7,000m

Non prism: 150m
All weather operation: water /dust proof
Large data storage: 8000 points
Laser plummet






Total Station GTS-800/800A series
from Topcon
 Motorized & automatic tracking – high



speed rotation (up to 50º /sec) and high
speed auto-tracking (up to 5º /sec)
Remote control through radio link or
optical remote controller – enables one
man operation
Flexible data management: Huge data
storage – 2Mb memory plus PCMCIA
card, space for data and software
User friendly






Large graphic display
Built-in MS-DOS OS
Compact and light weight
Water / dust resistant
Handheld data collector
TDS Survey Pro software allows more
functions: job classification, stake out, etc.
Leica TCRA1100 series Total
Station
 Motorized, automatic target recognition,





reflectorless and remote control
Accuracy:

Angle measurement: from 1.5” to 5”

Distance measurement: 3mm+2ppm
w/o reflector; 2mm+2ppm w/
reflector
Range: 200m (w/o reflector) to 7.5 km
(w/reflector)
Time

1sec w/ reflector

3 sec w/o reflector
Data storage: PCMCIA card or export via
RS232
Software supports:

computations of area, height, tie
distance etc.

stake outs

Exchange data between instrument
and PC

Create code list
Laser Plummet
GPT2000 series Display
Leica TCRA1100 series Range
Range-Reflector
3 km (circular prism)
1.5 km (360 degree prism)
Reflectorless - standard range
80m (without reflector)
5 km (circular prism)
Reflectorless - eXtended Range
200m (without reflector)
7.5 km (circular prism)
GTS800A Series
External Interface
The external
interface provides a
way for the
instrument to
communicate with a
PC, a laptop, a palm
or a data logger. All
the models here
have this ability