Aerial imaging ‘camera’ has multi-directional lenses for capturing 360-degree oblique images.
Leicestershire, 17 March 2021 – Aerial mapping company Bluesky International has secured its position as the leading UK provider of 3D mapping data following the purchase of the very latest high performance aerial mapping sensor from Hexagon. The Leica CityMapper-2 is the world’s only hybrid oblique imaging and LiDAR sensor and the latest version, released in 2020, offers twice the data collection capacity. This purchase adds to Bluesky’s existing, multi-million pound portfolio of state of the art aerial survey equipment and will help Bluesky meet the growing demand for 3D city mapping solutions.
Building on a period of significant investment by Bluesky, the CityMapper-2 will sit alongside Bluesky’s original CityMapper, three state of the art large format aerial cameras as well as a multi-sensor that includes LIDAR, thermal and survey grade imaging cameras.
“We have dramatically expanded our domestic and international activities with recent successes including the award of a contract to supply aerial photography and height data for the whole of UK government, a collaboration to support the roll-out of 5G across Europe and the exciting development of our growing American operation,” commented Rachel Tidmarsh, Managing Director of Bluesky International.
“However, one of the most exciting developments we are seeing is a growing appetite for 3D data, especially our MetroVista product range,” she continued. “Fuelled by demand from virtual and augmented reality mapping projects as well as smart city and digital twin applications, we are confident that the addition of the CityMapper-2 to our already world class portfolio of aerial mapping technology will allow us to meet this growing international requirement.”
“We are delighted to expand our partnership with Bluesky as they deploy their new CityMapper-2 to transform from 2D to rich 3D digital twin creation,” added John Welter, President Geospatial Content Solutions at Hexagon. “Bluesky’s MetroVista product range keeps solving complex problems across many industries, and we are excited to be part of such a valuable initiative.”
Bluesky’s MetroVista collection, captured using its CityMapper sensors, includes oblique and vertical aerial photography as well as LiDAR. The MetroVista datasets also include geographically accurate, photo-textured, mesh models ready for use in 3D GIS, CAD and other modelling software as well as visualisation, gaming and Virtual Reality workflows. MetroVista data is available for an ever increasing list of cities including London, Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle with plans to expand coverage both in the UK, Republic of Ireland and US.
About Bluesky
Bluesky International is the leading aerial survey and geographic data company in the UK producing and maintaining seamless digital aerial photography and height data on a national scale in both Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland. Bluesky also undertakes bespoke surveys, including LiDAR, for a range of public and private sector clients. Bluesky International operates a range of aircraft and sensors including three Ultracam Eagle Mark 3s, two CityMappers which allows the simultaneous collection of vertical and oblique imagery as well as LiDAR data, and a Galaxy LiDAR which is mounted with a thermal sensor and survey grade camera. These systems put Bluesky International in the enviable position of being able to provide customers with unique and cost-effective geospatial solutions. As well as being an established and respected aerial survey company Bluesky International is also highly innovative and continually strives to develop new products and services by embracing new technology and methods. This has resulted in the development of some unique products such as the National Tree Map (NTM). These datasets underpin long term contracts with local and central governments and many major blue-chip companies from a range of market sectors including financial services, utilities, telecoms, web portals, construction and environment. Bluesky International has offices in the UK, US, Republic of Ireland and a dedicated production centre in India. https://www.bluesky-world.com/
