Aerial Acquisition

Each of the services below works hand-in-hand allowing Resolution to provide highly-detailed aerial data at a lower cost to the customer.
Resolution has relationships with acquisition partners to provide the following:

Digital Cameras for Imagery Acquisition

Top-of-the-Line Camera Equipment

Airborne GPS with IMU Data

An image is only as good as the data you can measure with it. By collecting GPS and IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) data with each photograph, Resolution is able to accurately provide precise altitude, latitude and longitude, as well as the yaw, pitch, and roll of the camera at the exact moment the image is captured. This results in highly detailed, geometrically, and geographically accurate images.

Flight Planning & Ground Control Layout

Meticulously planning both the flight and ground control layout necessary to acquire your aerial images and data is paramount in completing a successful mission. An effective flight plan will ensure photographic coverage of the entire area to be mapped within an agreed-upon timeframe. The best aerial photography can only be accomplished with the best groundwork. Knowing where and how to place the most efficient number of ground control points not only makes our service more cost-effective, it means we will provide the most accurate images and data. Resolution and our partners will plan your project’s ground control component from its initial layout to completion.

Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)

LiDAR, (Light Detection and Ranging) is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure variable distances back to the ground. This generates precise, three-dimensional information about the topography of the Earth, as well as its surface characteristics. A Geo-positional coordinate can be mapped on any of the millions of points identified by LiDAR. Combined with other data Resolution records with our aerial photography service, LiDAR provides highly detailed terrain data that can be used for a variety of applications.

Ground Control Survey

Resolution has experience planning and conducting ground control surveys for photogrammetry and LiDAR projects. Our surveyors are experts in using industry-standard equipment and providing control points meeting the accuracy standards required by the project. Resolution adheres to the highest standards set forth by the U.S. Geological Survey, FEMA Appendix A, and ASPRS Report Sensing Control Standards.

Digital Orthophotography

Digital Orthophotos combine the image characteristics of a photograph with the geometric qualities of a map. Unlike a standard aerial photograph, relief displacement in orthophotos has been removed so that ground features are displayed in their true ground position. This allows for the direct measurement of distance, areas, angles, and positions. Also, an orthophoto displays features that may be omitted or generalized on maps.

Aero-triangulation

A critical phase in photogrammetric mapping is rectifying the aerial images to the appropriate ground control point on the surface of the earth. This is accomplished by collecting horizontal and vertical information via the collection of GPS and IMU (Inertial Management Unit) data to ascertain the location of a number of features captured on the aerial images. Resolution and our acquisition partners have the collection and analytical tools to ensure your project’s data is accurately and economically interpreted.

DTM Models

Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) are created using the inputs collected from Resolution’s individual tools and techniques. High accuracy, high-resolution DTMs have become important in a wide range of applications in civil engineering, and environment protection and planning. DTMs combine aerial and field-collected data into a representation of elevation and topography. This 3-Dimensional representation of an area can be used in the creation of contour generation, orthophoto rectification (see below), and floodplain mapping.

Orthorectification & Mosaicking

Aerial photographs are valuable tools on their own, however, spatial distortions due to factors such as camera angle, lens characteristics, and relief displacement must be accounted for during analysis to prevent incorrect measurements of the area, distance, and other spatial parameters.

Resolution removes these distortions through a process orthorectification by subjecting the images and data to algorithms that eliminate each source of spatial distortion. The result is a georeferenced digital mosaic of several photographs with a uniform scale throughout the mosaic. Accurate digital elevation models and ground control points, services which Resolution also provides, are a key prerequisite.

Image Editing and QA/QC

Images are only as valuable as the information they provide. Resolution’s Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) protocols are second to none. Our team of image editors combines the data we collect in the field with rigorous attention to QA and QC to ensure our final product is not only acceptable to our customers, but also conforms with our own high standards.

Format Conversions

Not every application for Resolution’s Aerial Photography products will require the same format. Together with our acquisition partners, we possess the capability to format your data, images, and other products into the format most appropriate for our customers’ needs.

GIS – Geographic Information Systems

GIS Development

Geographic Information Systems are the systems designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, and present spatial geographic data. GIS applications include searchable databases of granular data which can be analyzed to produce coherent maps to be used for a wide variety of applications. The development of customers’ custom GIS is based entirely on what is needed for their particular project.

Data Conversion

Whether the data collected and analyzed by Resolution needs to be converted to a different format for use in another requested project or just into a more convenient format for a client’s use, the ability to reformat data is a key component in flexibility and economy. Quality control of our clients’ data is an extremely important consideration when undergoing data conversion. Before importing data, Resolution ensures that features are appropriately attributed and geometrically correct to ensure that bad data is not imported or that features are not omitted because they have invalid geometries.

Data Integration

Harnessing the potential of big data is integral to success in the burgeoning tech world. Data interoperability makes the best use of clients’ data to ensure it can be used and used again, extending its usefulness enhancing analytic capability. Our use of ArcGIS allows us to manipulate, edit, and manage metadata, while storing it securely in the industry’s leading platform.

LiDAR Editing and Classification

In using LiDAR technology to create 3-dimensional DTMs (see above), the raw data must be properly manipulated into a highly accurate and usable final product. Resolution and our acquisition partners take every LiDAR point collected and classify it as ground, vegetation, buildings, water, etc. before feeding it back into the software necessary to create the desired maps.

Feature Extraction

While the LiDAR itself does the collection of data points, Resolution must still analyze the collected data in post-production to determine the number, size, and location of topographical features such as trees, buildings, power lines, railways, and roadways, among many of the other boundaries and barriers found in the areas we map. Resolution has made it a priority to stay in front of the rapidly improving LiDAR and LiDAR Feature Extraction methods that have developed in recent years.

Photogrammetry

Aero-triangulation

A critical phase in photogrammetric mapping is rectifying the aerial images to the appropriate ground control point on the surface of the earth. This is accomplished by collecting horizontal and vertical information via the collection of GPS and IMU (Inertial Management Unit) data to ascertain the location of a number of features captured on the aerial images. Resolution and our acquisition partners have the collection and analytical tools to ensure your project’s data is accurately and economically interpreted using the most highly regarded software and techniques.

Stereo Compilation of Planimetric & Topographic Features

Stereo compilation, or using two images of the same object taken from slightly different angles, useful information can be obtained to compile highly detailed mapping. Planimetric mapping details man-made features such as streets, sidewalks, culverts, utility lines, and building footprints, while topographic mapping depicts the 3-dimensional shape of the earth’s surface with contour lines at specific intervals to depict the shape, elevation, or relief of terrain. Topographic maps often incorporate both natural and manmade features.

Editing & Translation to Common CAD & GIS Formats

Resolution can translate raw data into the common formats needed for Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Geographic Information System (GIS). Resolution has experience with common GIS and CAD standards such as US Army Corps of Engineers SDSFIE Standards and software tools such as ArcGIS, GlobalMapper, Bentley Microstation, AutoCAD, Civil3D, and metadata compilation tools.