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The hourly cost for a ScanStation survey is only slightly higher than for the cost for a Total Station survey. Usually it only adds the cost of another survey assistant, and there is no equipment charge.
The survey is completed much faster, and there is no comparison in the finished product, and an AutoCad drawing or a 3-D simulation is much easier, since everything can be imported into the AutoCAD or PC-Crash programs...and anyone with these programs can use this data as is!! See Point Clouds & Simulation Modeling below. |
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The ScanStation survey on the left was made from 12 feet off the ground, and outside a busy freeway with heavy traffic!!
Your survey controls can actually allow you to sit
50 or more feet from the ScanStation as it scans the area!! Everything including level control and "real time" point cloud construction is monitored on a PC screen away from the instrument!
And you get 6 mm accuracy for each of hundreds of thousands of points made during the survey. |
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| Probably the most important advantage to the ScanStation survey, is the ability to get absolutely EVERTHING accurately in a 3-D image format. And, with better accuracy than the Total Station! When we cover the area you need with a ScanStation survey, we're going to get everything in it you could possibly want, which includes the tops of the utility poles and even the wires hanging between the poles, and get it all at 6 mm accuracy….the scene, basically, in its' entirety, the best of virtual reality. And, it makes the time and cost for turning it into a PC-Crash or 3D Studio Max reconstruction/recreation significantly less than use of any other type of survey. |
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Field & Test Engineering, Inc's engineers have been providing surveying services since the early 1960's. (See "About US").
We have performed and supervised hundreds of surveys, and now that the Total Station survey equipment is available, the total cost for us to do a Total Station survey is $150.00 per hour for the survey engineer (including the Total Station instrument) plus the time for one of our engineers. Having our engineer present allows us to testify to the adequacy and accuracy of the survey, and generally has kept "oversights" from occurring (see "Don't Let this Happen to you" below).
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| In November 2006, the California Highway Patrol contracted to purchase several ScanStations. |
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Leica Geosystems Awarded Contract To Supply High-Definition
Surveying (HDS) Equipment To California Highway Patrol |
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Lieutenant David Fox, CHP MAIT program coordinator:
"…We were looking for a scanner that combines high-accuracy, long-range, full field-of-view and dual-axis compensation, which allows our officers to use it like a surveyor's total station." |
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| "...When we get a call-out to a scene, our goal is to quickly, accurately and completely document it... Leica ScanStation allows us to do that and get the roadway open sooner." |
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Press Release Excerpt dated November 2006 from "Thomas Net Industrial Newsroom."
The entire article can be found with the following "clickable" link:
http://news.thomasnet.com/companystory/498879 |
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As heralded by the article above, the Leica high speed laser ScanStation has greatly increased the accuracy and realism available to the forensic world. Leica Companies,* world known for a vast array of survey equipment, precision cameras, and optical solutions for microscopy have developed the most versatile laser scanning equipment for accident reconstruction, with the introduction of the ScanStation and the powerful Cyclone Software.
The Leica Geosystems new ScanStation technology has a hundred times the capabilities of a Total Station and also allows us to do a survey from outside the road or street, which means we can quickly acquire a 3D image and tie it to our control in minutes, not hours, allowing for fewer setups and faster post processing. These features provide us with the highest survey grade accuracy and 360° scanning capabilities. The ScanStation's internal photo capabilities even allow for storing the "point cloud" scan in true color.
Other unique features of the ScanStation include:
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Full 360° field-of-view. Get the whole scene with one setup. |
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Automatic leveling using Leica's dual axis compensation. |
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Survey-grade 6 mm accuracy for each of hundreds of thousands of point measurements made during the survey. |
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*In 1990 the Leica Multinational Group was formed, which united the rich tradition of some of the world's best manufacturers of surveying, camera, and microscopy equipment. By joining with the best in the industry, including Wild, Leitz, Kern, Reichert, Jung and Cambridge, Leica has become the dominant force in the industry.
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| Whether we do a Total Station or a ScanStation survey for you, we'll get what you need. Following are some of our clients near disasters: |
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" , and after their survey, it became clear that the overhead road signs were important, so we had to send them out again to get the overhead signage into the survey. When another survey was needed, we decided to try a ScanStation survey; they are faster and they get EVERYTHING, even the wires dangling between the telephone poles. They shot the whole survey from outside the street, and the ScanStation survey was completed so fast the cost was actually less than it would have been for the Total Station Survey." (Orange County Attorney's Firm) |
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" go out to survey the width of a lane that "necked down" at our accident location. They came back with a map showing the lane was 10 feet wide. I had measured it with a tape measure, and they insisted I was wrong when I told them it was only 9 and ½ feet wide. Field & Test Engineering went out, and they verified my numbers and prepared an excellent map that showed everything we needed.…." (Los Angeles Attorney's Office) |
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" a surveyor from a firm in San Bernardino, it came back with a major problem. They told us they measured a side slope at 3:1, the 'minimum' required to not use any guard rail….we learned that both the top and bottom of the side slope is often rounded, so the 'critical' slope' is midslope, which is difficult for a Total Station to measure. We used the ScanStation survey on our next case, which gave us everything we needed much faster and with amazing detail…." (Newport Beach Attorneys Office) |
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Once the survey is complete, you will have a "point cloud" created to give a 3D image without modification, like the point cloud surveys shown below. And you never have to worry about having enough data points…ScanStation gives you literally hundreds of thousands of accurately defined points with each survey.
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| And how does the ScanStation compare to the Total Station survey? We've been doing Total Station surveys for several years, and still use a Topcon Total Station for a variety of purposes. Not everything needs a ScanStation survey. However, we are finding that more and more of our clients want them. |
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Gathering or "shooting" the points in a Total Station survey requires placing the prism rod at each point. The laser ScanStation not only doesn't need a target on a point, it can actually
perform the survey from outside the road. We have done several surveys of major freeways under full traffic flow without setting foot on the lanes! We've even done hundreds of
feet of railroad track and bed from outside the surrounding fence. |
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| The three dimensional model below was provided by "melding" the points from the survey above. |
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| Then, we can import the road into either CAD or PC-Crash, and we can place the accident vehicles on the identical road surface as what existed at the scene,
complete with pot-holes and botz dots….we can also use the model to import into 3D Studio Max, and then we have the exact replication of the accident as shown below.
(Note there are four separate cars on four separate levels we could never duplicate with a Total Station survey). And this final reconstruction simulation is done at a fraction of the cost of the typical modeling. |
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| This is a "point cloud" for a high intensity high definition laser survey in an urban setting. Note the large manhole behind the truck. This is actually the place the ScanStation was set to scan from, and is created by the circular area below the tripod it sits on. The hole is "repaired" by melding the surrounding points, or by doing a second scan from another setup location. |
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| The slight distortion in the photograph is due to the pixelization in the photograph and the variance in "intensity" of each point which depends on the color or reflectivity and the angle of incidence. A laser particle striking a solid vertical white wall will have better intensity on return than a flat asphalt road since it will return more of the impacting laser to the instrument, which controls the hue of the color of the image as well as the size of the returning laser particle. The distortion disappears after melding the points together. Highly reflective materials will have the greatest intensity. The melding or connecting of points uses the center of the point of intensity for connectivity. |
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The American Society for Testing and Materials recently formed committee E57, 3D Imaging Systems. Field & Test Engineering is proud to have served on this committee since its' inception. The term LADAR has become an official acronym of the ASTM 3D Imaging Systems newly released ASTM Designation E2544-07. This specification provides definitions for the latest super accurate, super high definition survey tool, the Leica Geosystems ScanStation.
The acronym LADAR is defined by the ASTM E2544-07 as:
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LADAR, n - LAser Detection And Ranging system.
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| For more information on this and other surveys, as well as a photo history of surveying through the ages, visit our surveying websites at www.AccidentSurveys.com or www.CollisionSurveys.com |
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| For more information on the Leica High Definition Laser Survey systems, check the Leica Geosystems web page at http://www.leica-geosystems.com/hds/en/lgs_5570.html |
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| Also, for more information on use of laser scanning in the accident reconstruction field, click on http://www.forensicmag.com/articles.asp?pid=103 and you will be taken to the "Forensic Magazine" article on "accident reconstruction" using the high definition laser scanning technology. |
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