Resource World Magazine

66 www.resourceworld.com F E B R U A R Y / M A R C H 2 0 1 7 V ancouver-based Aero Geometrics has been providing Geomatics services and expertise for local and international clients for over four decades now. During this period there have been tremendous technological advances as digital imagery has replaced film, digital data has replaced mylar and paper, and com - puters and software have replaced massive stereo plotters. Over the years Aero Geometrics has successfully integrated this new technology and is now a leading provider of a wide range of services which include: Satellite Imagery acquisition, Ground and Aerial Survey, Terrestrial Laser Scanning, 3D Digital Mapping, Aerial Triangulation, Orthophoto, Volumetric Calculations, Aerial LIDAR and Hyperspectral Imagery. The firm serves all levels of government, as well as engineer - ing, forestry, mining, and environmental consulting companies. Some of its more well-known resource industry clients include Teck Resources, Pretium Resources, Copper Mountain Mining, Xstrata, Vale and many others. "Our paramount focus is on client satisfaction; we go to all ends to do the job on time and never over budget," commented Tim Daly, President of Aero Geometrics. "Over four decades of repeat clients will attest to our quality workmanship. We focus on exceeding the expectations of our clients in order to ensure their complete satisfaction." According to Daly, UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) work is taking off (pardon the pun) and is one of the company's big - gest growth sectors along with Ground Based Laser Scanning solutions. Last year the company has acquired several quad copters to complement its aerial acquisition capabilities. These quad copters are outfitted with a built-in Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), as well as an Airborne Geo Positioning System (ABGPS) and high quality cameras that allow AeroGeo to service clients with tight deadlines, weather constraints or other unique requirements. The data the drones gather is processed via specialized software that can provide high quality solutions often for lower cost than stan - dard aerial surveys. Using the more traditional fixed-wing or helicopter platforms, the company has completed thousands of aerial photo sorties through- out Canada and the world. Canadian projects range from BC to Newfoundland and include many locations in the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. South and Central America as well as the USA and Mexico are also important areas of operation, with scat- tered work coming from Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Aero Geometrics can capture stunning digital imagery in either RGB (Red Green Blue) or RGBI (Red Green Blue and Infrared) and will fly to provide pixel resolutions of between 5 and 40 centime- tres. ABGPS and an IMU on the aircraft provide geo-referenced pictures which can then be mosaiced into large, seamless ortho- photos. The company's software can also display the imagery in stereo and be used to accurately capture planimetric detail, create contours or calculate volumes. Planimetric elements in geography are those features that are independent of elevation, such as roads, building footprints, and rivers and lakes. They are represented on two-dimensional maps as they are seen from the air. These features are often digitized from orthorectified aerial photography into data layers that can be used for analysis and cartographic outputs. Creating 3D imagery is one of Aero Geometrics many special - ties. After receiving imagery from aircraft, the data is triangulated using common points which are passed between photos and flight lines. Surveyed target control points are then introduced to ori- ent the entire block of photos so that each stereo pair can now be viewed in 3D stereo using a soft copy workstation. A softcopy workstation displays a left and right image on a dual computer screen that uses polarization and 3D glasses to uniquely separate the left and right image allowing full 3D viewing. From this point, all stereo models can be accurately measured and vector lines can be created to represent planimetric features. A DTM (digital terrain model) is then created by capturing break lines and spot elevations which accurately represent the ground surface. This DTM is then triangulated to create a surface mesh which can generate contours at various intervals and can be used to measure piles and calculate volumes. Aero Geometrics also utilizes state-of-the-art Global Navigational Satellite Systems (GNSS) dual frequency receivers and has many years of experience conducting drill hole surveys, establishing target coordinates, establishing benchmarks and coordinating AERO GEOMETRICS – the cutting edge of exploration technology by Thomas Schuster The Teck Resources Highland Valley copper mine mill near Logan Lake, British Columbia. The image was created using industrial laser scanning and 3D modeling with 250 setups and 1.2 billion points captured. Image courtesy Aero Geometrics. MININGWORLD

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