Spatial Data Applications Committee and Upcoming LIDAR Workshop – Practical Applications of LIDAR

The Geomatics Division of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has recently formed a new subcommittee, the Spatial Data Applications Committee. Recent articles in Professional Surveyor Magazine and the ASCE Journal of Surveying Engineering highlight the objectives of the ASCE Geomatics Division and its role within the civil engineering profession.

So how does this relate to LIDAR? The purpose of the newly created Spatial Data Applications committee is to provide resources to improve understanding by engineers (current and future) regarding advancements in geomatics and the application of spatial data to improve efficiency in civil engineering design and construction.LIDAR technology is of particular interest to the committee. We believe this will revolutionize the civil engineering and construction professions.

As such, an upcoming workshop Practical Applications of LIDAR will be held Friday October 14, 2011 at ASCE headquarters in Reston, Virginia. As the workshop gets closer, I will continue to provide more information regarding details such as pricing, and logistics.

This workshop will provide attendees with a basic understanding of what LIDAR is, what it can be used for, how it is acquired, how it is processed into digital terrain models, and how to ensure quality results and the smooth implementation of LIDAR into daily operations. The speakers will emphasize practical applications of LIDAR and demonstrate these through several case studies which explore successes and lessons learned from LIDAR implementation.

Specific topics will include

DTM fundamentals

Point cloud

Overview of LIDAR systems (airborne, terrestrial, mobile)

Geo-referencing of LIDAR data

LIDAR data management and tools in GIS

Deliverable Specifications/Options

Case studies and Applications

And more!

While the workshop is primarily focused on engineers and surveyors, it will be useful to anyone. If your organization is wanting to become involved with LIDAR or improve its efficiency in working with LIDAR, you will want to attend this workshop.

This will be the first of many efforts of this committee. For more information on the committee, its members, and if you would like to get involved, see the ASCE Geomatics division website.

About the Author

Michael Olsen

Michael Olsen ... Michael is an Assistant Professor of Geomatics in the School of Civil and Construction Engineering at Oregon State University. He chairs the ASCE Geomatics Spatial Data Applications Committee and is on the editorial board for the ASCE Journal of Surveying Engineering. He has BS and MS degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Utah and a Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego. He has also worked as an Engineer in Training for West Valley City. His current areas of research include terrestrial laser scanning, remote sensing, GIS, geotechnical engineering, earthquake engineering, hazard mitigation, and 3D visualization. He teaches geomatics and geotechnical engineering courses at OSU where he has developed new, ground-breaking courses in Digital Terrain Modeling course and Building Information Modeling. Recent projects he has been involved with include: earthquake reconnaissance (following the American Samoa and Chile earthquakes and tsunamis), landslide analysis for the US 20 realignment, seacliff erosion mapping using LIDAR for San Diego County and Oregon, liquefaction hazard mapping for Utah, and modeling and studying historical buildings such as the Palazzo Medici and Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy.
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