A new mapping imaging system has lightened the load for Hanson’s geospatial team.
Trimble’s MX7 is a photogrammetric imaging system equipped with six 5-megapixel cameras and a built-in global positioning system (GPS), all housed in a 24-inch canister, which has been mounted to a roof rack on a Hanson vehicle. It connects to a tablet, runs off power from a 12-volt receptacle and stores the data it collects until it is downloaded. It is portable and can be used on trucks, boats or four-wheelers.
Hanson debuted its geospatial imaging vehicle five years ago, which holds four computers, three monitors, two GPS units, six cameras and heavy-duty electrical hookups to perform the same functions that the Trimble MX7 provides. That unit has been used to locate and map all of the outdoor advertising signs for the Illinois Department of Transportation controlled-route network and for roadway condition monitoring projects throughout Illinois.