APEI first to purchase Leica CityMapper-2

WASHINTON, D.C., USA (20 February 2020) — Hexagon’s Geosystems division announced today Aero Photo Europe Investigation (APEI), an international aerial survey firm with headquarters in Moulins, France, has become the first customer to purchase theLeica CityMapper-2oblique imaging and LiDAR hybrid airborne sensor.

With the CityMapper-2, APEI expands its business to the rapidly growing smart city market, which today requires more detailed and more accurate data on larger areas in fast-changing urban environments.
APEI is currently operating a CityMapper that incorporates the latest-generation linear-mode LiDAR from theLeica Terrainmapper. With the higher performance 2 MHz pulse rate LiDAR scanner, the firm has benefitted from significant operational advantages, such as an increased data collection rate versus flying height. This performance improvement enables flying larger swaths for any given point density and to achieve more efficient flight planning and even point distribution for all flying heights from 300 - 5,500 m AGL with up to 35 pulses in the air and with no range gate limitations.

During the recent winter season, APEI carried out several LiDAR projects. For example, the firm captured Haut-Rhin, France, over an area of 2,350 km² with a ground point density of 10 pts/m². APEI has a long history with the CityMapper as the first to fly the original CityMapper during the product development process.

“We have established a solid relationship of trust with our customers, and they know they can count on us to carry out their missions. Due to this relationship, we have never hesitated to invest heavily in all the materials necessary to maintain our skills and address new market demands, and our purchase of the CityMapper-2 is another major step,”said APEI CEO Bruno Callabat.“With this investment, we will be able to offer imagery and LiDAR data for 3D urban modeling, a keen interest of our customers. Moreover, we firmly believe that the combination of an ultra-efficient LiDAR with circular pattern with the latest-generation oblique sensor will allow us to offer final products of unrivaled quality. Last but not least, being able to independently use either oblique imagery or LiDAR with the CityMapper-2 will allow us to increase our offerings to our customers”

High-performance urban mapping sensor to create digital twins
Increasing significantly productivity and data quality for the creation of digital twins of cities and metro areas, the CityMapper-2 now offers a newly developed optical system incorporating two nadir (RGB & NIR) and four oblique 150 MP metric camera, using CMOS technology and equipped with Leica Geosystems’ Forward Motion Compensation (FMC) technology, allowing the capture of high-quality imagery even in difficult lighting conditions with no reduction in efficiency. Furthermore, the LiDAR sensor’s pulse repetition frequency has been increased to 2 MHz and features gateless Multiple-Pulses in the Air (MPiA) technology, with similar performance to the TerrainMapper, allowing the collection of point clouds in the most complex reliefs and urban environments.

“As populations grow and move into urban areas, fast-changing urban centres need to be monitored faster and more efficiently. Accurate 3D digital twins of cities build the backbone. We wanted to provide our customers and end-customers fast access to digital twins by producing the most efficient and productive method of collecting and processing data. Together with the HxMap processing workflow, the CityMapper-2 is the enabling technology for fast data updates in urban centres,”said John Welter, president of Geospatial Content Solutions, Hexagon’s Geosystems division.“借助我们与APEI的牢固的工作关系，我们很高兴看到公司将为CityMapper-2和收集的数据找到的创新用途。作为一家致力于推进空降收购的公司，我们最新的机载传感器创新没有更好的第一客户。”

作为Leica Geosystems的长期客户，APEI是Hexagon的GeoSystems部门的一部分bob体育报道，APEI通过最新的创新（例如Leica DMC IIIairborne imaging system in 2017 and the Leica ALS70-HP airborne LiDAR in 2015. Furthermore, since 2016, APEI has been one of the first companies in the world operating theLeica RealCityurban mapping solution, combining the CityMapper with theHxMap同时收集斜图像和激光雷达点云的高性能处理工作流程3D城市项目，例如在城市中Bordeauxand Paris in France.