New Levels of Industry-leading Performance and Accuracy

Cardno, Inc. announced that the newest platform in its industry-leading unmanned aircraft system (UAS) fleet is the Pulse Aerospace Vapor 55 on which the Riegl VUX-1 LiDAR sensor will be mounted. It will be deployed primarily for electrical transmission projects as well as other applications for Cardno’s extensive engineering and environmental services. Cardno’s nationwide UAS operations provide clients in several industries innovative geospatial data that aid in managing their assets and project workflows.

“We’re not just taking pictures from the sky,” said Jason Kack, Cardno’s UAS Director. “The survey accuracy is unlike anything on the market today. It expands our remote sensing services, unmatched by our competitors.”

The VAPOR 55 platform is modeled along a Department of Defense-level design that provides exceptional stability and performance. The platform provides multiple features and increased flight time and payload capacity over current UAS platforms. It is built with commercial-grade components and state-of-the-art avionic systems in communications, navigation, and capabilities for performing specific functions.

The Riegl VUX-1 LiDAR sensor is a highly compact laser scanner that can be mounted in any orientation, can operate from an altitude as high as 1,000 feet, and can capture 500,000 data points per second with color. This new sensor will add to LiDAR’s already prodigious contributions to science and engineering. Cardno can deliver better infrastructure integrity analysis, asset management, and detailed structure/surface mapping.

“The combination of high quality data collection and top-of-the-line data scientists performing the analysis gives companies products that allow them to work much more efficiently,” said Cardno’s Layne Friedel, Geospatial/UAS Division Manager.

The platform operates with North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) reliability standards. Its enhanced safety features align to Cardno’s Zero Harm approach to safety training and field operations, which was an additional factor in its selection. VAPOR 55 has a double fail-safe system with secondary GPS that can operate better under difficult conditions, adhere better to right-of-way clearances, and can land itself. “VAPOR 55 was 100 percent internally tested for the marketplace,” Mr. Kack stated.

Demand for remote sensing services is growing rapidly as more clients seek the ease and relative safety of remote observation and as UAS service providers pursue advanced efficiencies and streamline operations to lower costs and reinforce client satisfaction. Cardno is one of a few professional engineering firms that hold an FAA 333 exemption allowing the firm to legally fly more than 1,150 different UAS platforms nationwide at ground level to 400ft altitude in unrestricted airspace. Cardno maintains a fleet of UAS, Sensors, and a professional pilot team dedicated to safety and accuracy of remote data acquisition.