The ability to capture high-quality multispectral digital imagery at low altitudes opens new opportunities in transportation surveying and digital orthophotography applications for the Florida-based firm.

NORCROSS, GA, March 18, 2014 – Leica Geosystems Inc. today announced that I.F. Rooks & Associates, Inc., an aerial photogrammetry firm based in Plant City, Fla., has expanded its services with the purchase of a Leica RCD30 medium-format digital camera. Rooks is the first firm in Florida to implement the complete RCD30 sensor solution on a helicopter.

Introduced by Leica Geosystems as a digital successor to its RC30 film cameras, the RCD30 was the first 60MP medium-format camera able to record co-registered multispectral four-band imagery in RGB and near-infrared. A variety of innovative design features such as mechanical motion compensation along two axes, a specially designed lens systems and state-of-the-art calibration techniques make the Leica RCD30 the most advanced and most suitable single-lens medium-format sensor for professional photogrammetric and remote sensing applications. The integration of forward motion compensation (FMC) technology allows the RCD30 to capture sharp images at low altitudes, making the system ideal for low-altitude helicopter mapping.

Rooks, which provides photogrammetric services to federal, state, and local municipalities along with industry, transportation, government and the private engineering community, has a solid reputation for providing high-quality low-altitude photogrammetry from film cameras. The company decided to invest in the Leica RCD30 based on the camera’s ability to capture highly accurate imagery with fast cycle times. “Low-altitude photogrammetry improves safety by keeping ground survey consultants off busy roadways while picking up extremely accurate survey data on the travel lanes,” said Edward M. Rooks, the firm’s vice president. “The Leica RCD30 was the only digital camera that would allow us to take rapid-fire images at altitudes of 350 feet with high clarity and accuracy. It also mounted easily to our helicopter and integrated into our existing workflows with Leica SoftCopy Mapping Station software.”

The company has already used the technology to map a section of Florida’s Interstate 10 for a resurfacing project. According to Rooks, the Leica RCD30 provided consistent imagery that exceeded accuracy requirements. “The imagery is so tight that [the client] can evaluate the slabs of concrete directly from the image,” Rooks said. The firm will soon begin work on the Florida Department of Revenue statewide digital orthophotography program.

“The RCD30 is an excellent investment for us because it allows us to provide our existing clients with faster service and better imagery, while also opening up different opportunities for us in applications that require digital image acquisition—whether it’s FEMA work, beach erosion mapping, seagrass mapping, or county-wide digital orthophotography.”

“I.F. Rooks is a quality firm that provides outstanding service to their clients,” said Jean Gardiner, General Manager of Leica Geospatial Solutions. “We are pleased to support them as they expand their business into digital photogrammetry.”

For more information about airborne sensor solutions, visit www.leica-geosystems.us.

Image: The Leica RCD30 camera mounted on I.F. Rooks helicopter. 

I.F. Rooks & Associates, Inc. – Solutions Through Photogrammetry

I.F. Rooks & Associates, Inc. ( www.ifrooks.com) is a full service aerial mapping and photogrammetric firm serving clients throughout Florida and the Southeastern United States. The company has extensive experience providing digital orthophotos, topographic and planimetric mapping, fixed-wing and helicopter aerial photography for transportation, site development, coastal and environmental projects. Incorporated in 1968, I. F. Rooks has evolved from a general civil engineering and surveying firm to a 25-person photogrammetric engineering company. The company is headquartered in West Central Florida with an additional office in Miami.

Leica Geosystems – when it has to be right

With close to 200 years of pioneering solutions to measure the world, Leica Geosystems products and services are trusted by professionals worldwide to help them capture, analyze, and present spatial information. Leica Geosystems is best known for its broad array of products that capture accurately, model quickly, analyze easily, and visualize and present spatial information.

Those who use Leica Geosystems products every day trust them for their dependability, the value they deliver, and the superior customer support. Based in Heerbrugg, Switzerland, Leica Geosystems is a global company with tens of thousands of customers supported by more than 3,500 employees in 28 countries and hundreds of partners located in more than 120 countries around the world. Leica Geosystems is part of Hexagon (Nordic exchange: HEXA B), a leading global provider of design, measurement and visualisation technologies that enable customers to design, measure and position objects, and process and present data.