Cornel & Cornel Topoexim

05/11/2026

05/11/2026

Leveraging LiDAR in a Digital Ecosystem
Ground-Based Mobile Scanning Strengthens Contractor’s Evolving Connected Workflow
Vicki Speed

In an industry often resistant to change, WW Clyde stands out as a trailblazer, seamlessly integrating cutting-edge technology into its everyday operations to drive productivity, efficiency, and safety across the firm’s ever-growing portfolio of projects. This heavy civil contractor has boldly stepped into the digital age, leveraging an ever advancing and increasingly connected ecosystem to transform the way it plans, executes, and documents its projects.
It’s been a path of continuous improvement that began some time ago with solutions such as GNSS-enabled grade control, aerial and ground-based LiDAR, and field-based project management tools. In the last year, the firm has focused ever more on ways to gather quality data faster while enabling a truly connected construction workflow that streamlines data management, drives real-time insights, enhances collaboration, and provides a competitive edge.

> A Strategic Tech Focus
> Point Cloud Potential
> Road Worthy
> Piling Precision
> A Data First Approach

“We have regular coordination calls with our technology partner to track milestones and identify areas for further development,” Greer concluded. “The progress, which includes the adoption of solutions such as the mobile mapping solution, are essential to improving our operational efficiency, enhancing our risk management, creating a comprehensive, long-term record of projects and driving better outcomes for our customers.”

American Surveyor, Volume 23 Issue 2, September 2026

Read full article: https://amerisurv.com/2026/09/14/leveraging-lidar-in-a-digital-ecosystem/

04/11/2026

Mapping submerged cultural heritage using flash Lidar
Centimetre-scale point clouds are obtained at echosounder survey speeds
Jannis Holzer, Christophe Pache, Fabien Langenegger

Acoustic sounders cover submerged archaeological sites efficiently but blur fine structure, while photogrammetry resolves detail at the expense of time, water clarity and visible texture. Trials at three European heritage sites show that time-of-flight flash Lidar mounted on uncrewed surface vehicles closes much of that gap, producing dense, centimetre-scale point clouds at speeds comparable with echosounding.
Submerged heritage is currently mapped using two broad families of remote-sensing technology, but neither is fully satisfactory in shallow water. Multibeam echosounders map wide swaths quickly and are indifferent to turbidity and darkness. However, lateral sampling in shallow surveys is typically in the order of ten centimetres, and observation - geometry effects further reduce the effective resolving power in the field. Thin timbers, small artefacts and low-relief features are easily lost.
Meanwhile, structure-from-motion photogrammetry reaches lateral resolutions close to one centimetre and yields textured models, but demands long acquisition and processing times, good visibility and distinct visual features on the surfaces being reconstructed. Uniform sand or silt reconstructs poorly, and working through the water surface from drones or pole cameras introduces refraction errors. Therefore, high-quality photogrammetric surveying generally means divers, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) or autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) must enter the water.

• A gap between acoustics and optics
• Evaluating flash Lidar
• Sufficient repeatability for monitoring
• Wooden bridge piles in deeper water
• Very shallow water and dense coverage
• Remaining limitations

Across three sites and widely differing conditions, flash Lidar delivered 17-77pts/sq cm with completeness consistently above 98% on a 5cm grid, optical-scale resolution at acquisition and processing rates associated with acoustic survey. Moreover, the repeatability of 3.8cm keeps small erosional changes detectable. It requires neither ambient light nor surface texture, and nothing in the concept ties it to surface vessels. Deployment from ROVs or AUVs would extend it to greater depths.

Read full article: https://www.hydro-international.com/article/mapping-submerged-cultural-heritage-using-flash-lidar

03/11/2026

Reality Capture Is Becoming the New Mapping Process
Esri’s CTO of Digital Twins spent years building the photogrammetry engine underneath ArcGIS Reality before Esri acquired his company outright. A conversation after this year’s User Conference covers what changed when Gaussian splatting arrived, why survey-grade accuracy still matters in an AI-driven capture environment, and what a working geospatial digital twin actually looks like in Zurich.
Reality capture is no longer merely a source of contextual imagery; it is becoming an operational mapping process. Konrad Wenzel’s path to that conclusion — and to becoming Esri’s CTO of Digital Twins — ran through a company he built himself. Wenzel holds a PhD in photogrammetry from the University of Stuttgart and co-founded nFrames in 2013, building software for 3D surface reconstruction from imagery. Esri acquired nFrames in 2020, and the Stuttgart R&D center Wenzel then led became the engineering core of what is now ArcGIS Reality. Capture, he said, has since been democratized by increasingly accessible devices. “Now everyone is enabled,” Wenzel said. “That is really mind blowing.”

> From Base Map to Business Process
> As Accurate as Necessary
> Why Gaussian Splatting, Specifically
> The Shape of a Digital Twin
> Zurich, on the Ground

Wenzel was direct that reality capture inside ArcGIS is no longer a specialist workflow. “We have made a strong effort to make it simple and available for all types of users where they are,” he said. The tools range from ArcGIS Pro and browser-based workflows to ArcGIS Reality Studio for citywide or countrywide production. The suite also includes Site Scan for cloud-based drone processing and ArcGIS Drone2Map for offline, in-field desktop work.

The next investment Wenzel pointed to is less about new capture hardware than about what happens once capture becomes continuous rather than occasional. ArcGIS is moving, he said, from visualization and annotation toward survey-ready layers that can be updated repeatedly and used to extract further information. “That will be really powerful for digital twins, operating in an enterprise platform like ArcGIS.”

Read full article:

This entry is part 6 of 6 in the series July / August 2026Esri’s CTO of Digital Twins spent years building the photogrammetry engine underneath ArcGIS Reality before Esri acquired his company outright. A conversation after this year’s User Conference covers what changed when Gaussian splatting a...

02/11/2026

02/11/2026

Chains became coordinates. Theodolites gave way to intelligent instruments. Field notes evolved into digital twins. Surveying hasn't just changed its tools; it has transformed its possibilities.

At Techtonic Shifts, in collaboration with Trimble Inc., we'll explore four defining stages of this technological evolution:

- The Traditional Era: Theodolites, levels, chains, tapes and field books.
- The Digital Era: Electronic total stations, GNSS and digital CAD workflows.
- The Connected Era: Robotic total stations, 3D laser scanning, UAVs and connected field-to-office workflows.
- The Integrated Era: BIM, digital twins, real-time data and increasingly automated workflows.

But here's the bigger question: as technology takes surveying to new frontiers, how must surveyors adapt, upskill and redefine their place in the industry?
Join us as we examine the innovations, practical workflows and professional competencies shaping the next chapter of surveying.

TECHTONIC SHIFTS: The Future of Surveying with Trimble Inc.

📅 Wednesday, 4 November 2026
⏰ 12:00 PM CET
🌐 Virtual
🔗 https://shorturl.at/r3OCc

Whether you're a student, educator or practising surveyor, this is a conversation you don't want to miss.
The technology has moved on. It's time for the profession to move forward with it.

02/11/2026

Some Consideration Regarding Realization Using Technologis GPS, Network Elevations Using Rapid Static Metod Comparation RTK Measurement
Gabriel BADESCU, Cornel SPĂTAR, Mihaela SOPONAR

Is presented the realization nets of lift with help GPS technologies, through method of the quick static measurements the respective through method of measure RTK( Real Times Kinematics). Is presented the methods in itself( static speedster, RTK) and these combinations optimized the realization net of necessary lift of the measurements topo the element key for his utilization how much in the many maul lines waves is utilized the measurements.
The receivers used GPS the by from the area the precise maul, one of geodesic guy the topographic refer to measurements for big scales 1: 500, 1: 1000.
To ultimate is done a crossing an in a review else an efficient methods and techniques of utilize the methods of respective measurements, and a comparative study with method of respective measurements, with some recommendations from the author, by experience he practices and theoretical.
From a technical geodesic and topographic point of view the accuracy imposed by the beneficiary and by the present technical legislation approved by A.N.C.P.I. is assured.
The determined points from the surveying network can be used for this work and for future topographic measurements in the area.

Keywords: GPS technologis, network elevation, RTK measurement, rapid static method

University “1 Decembrie 1918” Alba Iulia, RevCAD – Journal of Geodesy and Cadastre, No. 8/2008

Read full article:https://revcad.uab.ro/upload/17_218_Paper36_RevCAD08_2008.pdf

01/11/2026

Coastal Environments: LiDAR Mapping of Copper Tailings Impacts, Particle Retention of Copper, Leaching, and Toxicity
by W. Charles Kerfoot, Gary Swain, Robert Regis, Varsha K. Raman, Colin N. Brooks, Chris Cook, Molly Reif

Tailings generated by mining account for the largest world-wide waste from industrial activities. As an element, copper is relatively uncommon, with low concentrations in sediments and waters, yet is very elevated around mining operations.
On the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan, USA, jutting out into Lake Superior, 140 mines extracted native copper from the Portage Lake Volcanic Series, part of an intercontinental rift system. Between 1901 and 1932, two mills at Gay (Mohawk, Wolverine) sluiced 22.7 million metric tonnes (MMT) of copper-rich tailings (stamp sands) into Grand (Big) Traverse Bay.
About 10 MMT formed a beach that has migrated 7 km from the original Gay pile to the Traverse River Seawall.
Another 11 MMT are moving underwater along the coastal shelf, threatening Buffalo Reef, an important lake trout and whitefish breeding ground.
Here we use remote sensing techniques to document geospatial environmental impacts and initial phases of remediation. Aerial photos, multiple ALS (crewed aeroplane) LiDAR/MSS surveys, and recent UAS (uncrewed aircraft system) overflights aid comprehensive mapping efforts.
Because natural beach quartz and basalt stamp sands are silicates of similar size and density, percentage stamp sand determinations utilise microscopic procedures.
Studies show that stamp sand beaches contrast greatly with natural sand beaches in physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. Dispersed stamp sand particles retain copper, and release toxic levels of dissolved concentrations.
Moreover, copper leaching is elevated by exposure to high DOC and low pH waters, characteristic of riparian environments. Lab and field toxicity experiments, plus benthic sampling, all confirm serious impacts of tailings on aquatic organisms, supporting stamp sand removal.
Not only should mining companies end coastal discharges, we advocate that they should adopt the UNEP “Global Tailings Management Standard for the Mining Industry”.

Keywords: coastal environment; mine tailings; Global Tailings Management Standard; Keweenaw Peninsula; LiDAR bathymetry; UAS drone studies; particle dispersal; copper retention and leaching; Buffalo Reef; toxicity; Daphnia; benthic organisms

Read full article: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/5/922

Tailings generated by mining account for the largest world-wide waste from industrial activities. As an element, copper is relatively uncommon, with low concentrations in sediments and waters, yet is very elevated around mining operations. On the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan, USA, jutting out into...

31/10/2026

Bridging Sustainable Development Goals and Land Administration: The Role of the ISO 19152 Land Administration Domain Model in SDG Indicator Formalization
Mengying Chen, Peter Van Oosterom, Eftychia Kalogianni, Paula Dijkstra, Christiaan Lemmen

This study illustrates the linkages between the ISO’s Land Administration Domain Model (LADM) and the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs), highlighting the role of the LADM in promoting effective land administration suitable for efficient computation of land/water (space)-related SDG indicators.
The main contribution of this study is the formalization of SDG indicators by using the ISO standard LADM.
This paper proposes several SDG-indicator-related extensions to the multi-part LADM standard that is currently under revision.
These extensions encompass the introduction of new procedures for calculating indicators, the integration of blueprints for external classes to fulfil additional information needs and the design of interface classes for presenting indicator values across specific countries and reporting years. In an innovative approach, this paper introduces the Four-Step Method—a powerful framework designed to formalize SDG indicators within the LADM framework. Detailed attention is devoted to specific indicators, including 1.4.2 (secure land rights), 5.a.1 (women’s agricultural land rights), 14.5.1 (protected marine areas) and 11.5.2 (valuation as a basis for direct economic loss).
In short, the Four-Step Method is pivotal in eliminating ambiguities, enhancing the efficiency of indicator computation and securing more accurate indicator values that more truly reflect the progress towards SDG realization.
This approach is also expected to work with other (ISO) standards for other SDG indicators.

Keywords: LADM; SDGs; sustainable development; land registration; marine georegulation; valuation information

Read full article : https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/4/491

30/10/2026

Surveying is no longer just about measuring the world. It's about reimagining what's possible.
From chains and field books to GNSS, robotic total stations, 3D laser scanning and digital twins, our profession has undergone a remarkable transformation. And the next shift is already here.
That's why Techtonic Shifts, a signature webinar series by the FIG Young Surveyors Network (VCSP), brings together young surveyors, students and professionals to explore the technologies reshaping our world.

Through the series, participants get to:
Explore emerging surveying and geospatial technologies
Learn directly from industry experts
Discover practical tools and workflows
Understand the skills needed to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving profession
For this edition, we're collaborating with Trimble Inc. to explore the innovations driving the next chapter of surveying and geospatial practice.

📅 Date: Wednesday, 4 November 2026
⏰ Time: 12:00 PM CET
🌐 Location: Virtual
🔗 Register now: https://shorturl.at/r3OCc

Whether you're a student, educator or practicing surveyor, there's always something new to learn.
The technology is moving. The profession is evolving. Are you ready for the next shift?