Sanborn Inks Major Mapping Deal With USGS

Contract for Geospatial Services Spans Five Years

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Nov. 14, 2016) — The Sanborn Map Company, Inc. (Sanborn) has won a Geospatial Products and Services Contracts (GPSC) award from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) that allows the agency to negotiate task orders with Sanborn during the next five years. The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract is one of a suite of multi-award agreements with a total cap of $750 million. The contract gives the USGS and other customers who use USGS procurement contracts access to the professional services they require.

A GPSC is a suite of contracts used by federal, state and municipal government entities to partner with the USGS to fulfill their geospatial data requirements. Photogrammetric and mapping services, such as those Sanborn provides, primarily are awarded under the umbrella of Architect-Engineer contracting. Services performed under a GPSC are negotiated and managed by the agency’s Commercial Partnership Team (CPT).

According to the USGS, its GPSC contractors are selected through a competitive, quality-based selection process, are well known to the CPT and are highly skilled with the full gamut of geospatial and cartographic products. They are industry leaders with product-specific expertise, and maintain technical liaisons with the USGS.

“We’re honored that the USGS selected Sanborn to provide professional services under this multiyear agreement,” says Jason Caldwell, Sanborn VP of business development and sales. “Only a handful of firms are awarded a GPSC contract. The choice confirms that the agency recognizes Sanborn’s expertise and commitment to quality.”

Sanborn services performed under the GPSC may include imagery and LiDAR data acquisition; photogrammetric mapping, and aerotriangulation; orthophotography; thematic mapping; surveying and control acquisition; image manipulation, analysis, and interpretation; map digitizing; data manipulations; primary and ancillary data acquisition, and more.

About The Sanborn Map Company, Inc.

Sanborn is a preeminent innovator in the geospatial industry, delivering state-of-the-art mapping, visualization, WebGIS™ and 3-D solutions to customers worldwide. The firm, which celebrates its storied 150th anniversary in 2016, currently operates a fleet of 14 aircraft located strategically across the United States. Embracing cutting-edge technology, Sanborn specializes in oblique aerial imagery, aerial and mobile light detection and ranging (LiDAR) mapping, aerial orthophotography, 3-D modeling and visualization software and services, indoor mapping with its proprietary SPIN robot, unmanned aircraft system (UAS) sales, services and image processing, and a host of geospatial software products.

Please contact:
Jason Caldwell
(719) 593-0093
jcaldwell@sanborn.com

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Rabbit Hash - Boone County, Kentucky
Sanborn Completes Kentucky County Aerial Project

Delivers Ortho and Oblique Imagery On Time to Boone County GIS

Colorado Springs, Colo. (Oct. 24, 2016)—The Sanborn Map Company, Inc. (Sanborn) has completed a project for Boone County GIS (BCGIS), Burlington, Ky., comprising the acquisition and delivery of oblique imagery and orthoimagery for the 256-square-mile county.

Formed in 1992 by the Boone County Planning Commission, BCGIS serves 29 agencies that include law enforcement, fire protection, historic and environmental preservation, school districts, and more. Altogether, more than 800 staff members across the various agencies have access to BCGIS services, so it was important that the Sanborn imagery could be readily shared with those who need it.

“One of the primary reasons we chose Sanborn for this project is because they offered us very generous terms for using the oblique data we paid for,” explains Steven Gay, director of GIS services. “Other firms were requiring us to license every single user of the oblique data, but Sanborn was clear on the other end of the spectrum—they encouraged us to provide access to their oblique viewer to as many people as we felt was necessary.”

Sanborn collected the data during the spring of 2016 under ideal conditions—leaf off, snow free and cloud free. The company delivered 6-inch resolution orthoimagery and 6-inch resolution oblique imagery to BCGIS on schedule. Also included was Sanborn Oblique Analyst, a powerful software tool for viewing and working with oblique imagery.

“Sanborn’s professionalism and attention to customer service continually put us at ease,” says James Horton, GIS Data Analyst. “The quality of both the ortho and oblique imagery blew us away, and the Sanborn Oblique Analyst viewer is extremely easy to learn and use. Our users are thrilled to have this in our tool belt.”

Boone County is the northernmost point in Kentucky, converging at the intersection of Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, and bordered by 40 miles of the Ohio River on the north and west. The BCGIS GIS comprises more than 500 data layers, including more than 56,000 parcels and 67,000 address points.

About The Sanborn Map Company, Inc.

Sanborn (www.sanborn.com) is a preeminent innovator in the geospatial industry, delivering state-of-the-art mapping, visualization, Web GIS™ and 3-D solutions to customers worldwide. The firm, which celebrates its storied 150th anniversary in 2016, currently operates a fleet of 14 aircraft located strategically across the United States. Embracing cutting-edge technology, Sanborn specializes in oblique aerial imagery, aerial and mobile light detection and ranging (LiDAR) mapping, aerial orthophotography, 3D modeling and visualization software and services, indoor mapping with its proprietary SPIN robot, unmanned aircraft system (UAS) sales, services and image processing, and a host of geospatial software products.

Please contact:
Jason Caldwell
(719) 593-0093
jcaldwell@sanborn.com

Click here to read this press release on PR Newswire.

Watch a Sanborn & Planet Labs webinar on combining satellite & aerial imagery to save State & Local Governments time & money.

Sanborn and Planet Labs hosted a recent webinar about how we’re helping State and Local Government save time and money by combining satellite and aerial imagery for the first time.

The traditional way of purchasing imagery usually involves a county paying to fly their entire county every 3-5 years. This leaves the county to pay for data they may not need, and—they’ll have data to work with that’s outdated before it even gets to them for use.

Now, Planet Labs satellite technology can indicate areas of change within your county, allowing state and local governments nationwide to get data where they need it most, but also to get data more frequently—for LESS cost. Watch the webinar to learn how the sample county could save $175,080 by switching to the new Sanborn / Planet Labs combined solution package.

Recorded Webinar Link:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/8169966605639747332

Orthoimage - Mystic Seaport, Connecticut
Sanborn Completes Connecticut Statewide Data Collection

Mapping Project a Windfall For 169 Municipalities

Colorado Springs, Colo. (June 14, 2016)—The Sanborn Map Company Inc. (Sanborn) flight team overcame challenging spring weather conditions to successfully collect high-resolution imagery of the entire state of Connecticut and its coastline in just five weeks. Altogether, the firm collected more than 42,500 4-band, 3-inch resolution images during March and April, including more than 6,000 coastline images during low-tide conditions.

The Sanborn team, which included subcontractors, also collected more than 5,200 square miles of high-density light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data covering the entire state during the same time period. All of the data were collected during snow-free, cloud-free and leaf-off conditions, which makes them ideal for a host of products and applications.

“Our flight team did an exceptional job of outmaneuvering the unusual weather present during the collection period,” says Shawn Benham, Sanborn project manager. “Despite the elements, we were able to meet or exceed our contractual commitments by collecting 100 percent of the data on time.”

Sanborn now is focused on creating mapping products from the data, which will be delivered during the 2016 calendar year. These include 3-inch ground sample distance (GSD) orthoimagery; U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) QL2 LiDAR data; bare Earth digital elevation models (DEMs); and 1-foot contour maps. Individual municipalities and state agencies also have options to acquire additional products as needed, such as 3-D buildings, planimetrics, landcover maps, impervious surface maps and more.

Brad Arshat, Sanborn director of strategic accounts in the Northeastern United States, estimates that statewide collaboration on the project will result in several million dollars in tax dollar savings, as opposed to each of the state’s 169 municipalities acquiring its own data.

“The savings truly are astronomical when you merge many smaller project areas into a single large project because of the fixed costs associated with each mobilization,” explains Arshat.

Sanborn’s contract with Connecticut’s Capitol Region Council of Governments was made possible by a grant from the state’s Office of Policy and Management. Connecticut Governor Daniel P. Malloy notes the importance of the Sanborn data, all of which will be made publicly available according to the governor’s Open Data Initiative.

“We need to support our communities by giving them the tools to do their jobs in a modern, efficient and effective way,” asserts Malloy. “As a former mayor, I know how valuable this information is to municipalities. In addition, this information is critical to our state agencies.”

About The Sanborn Map Company, Inc.

Sanborn (www.sanborn.com) is a preeminent innovator in the geospatial industry, delivering state-of-the-art mapping, visualization, Web GIS™ and 3-D solutions to customers worldwide. The firm, which celebrates its storied 150th anniversary in 2016, currently operates a fleet of 14 aircraft located strategically across the United States. Embracing cutting-edge technology, Sanborn specializes in oblique aerial imagery, aerial and mobile light detection and ranging (LiDAR) mapping, aerial orthophotography, 3-D modeling and visualization software and services, indoor mapping with its proprietary SPIN robot, unmanned aircraft system (UAS) sales, services and image processing, and a host of geospatial software products.

Please contact:
Jason Caldwell
(719) 593-0093
jcaldwell@sanborn.com

To view the original version of this release on PR Newswire, click here.

Sanborn Observes 150th Anniversary
Sanborn Observes 150th Anniversary

High-Tech Mapping Firm Celebrates Notable Heritage

Colorado Springs, Colo. (April 11, 2016)—The Sanborn Map Company Inc. (Sanborn) is well known by its customers as a cutting-edge technology firm, but its rich history often surprises many. Founded in 1866 to produce fire insurance maps, modern-day Sanborn offers high-tech mapping services that include mobile and aerial light detection and ranging (LiDAR), aerial oblique imagery and orthoimagery, 3-D visualization, autonomous robotic indoor mapping, FAA-approved unmanned aircraft system (UAS) services and more.

“It’s highly satisfying to note our strong technology leadership position in today’s market while at the same time reflecting on a host of achievements comprising our 150-year legacy,” says John Copple, Sanborn CEO. “It’s a little-known fact that Sanborn even made key contributions to America’s World War II efforts.”

Celebrating Storied Success

Copple refers to when the company secretly housed classified Allied invasion maps critical to the D-Day invasion of Normandy in its historic Pelham, NY, building. That building is 110 years old this year and Westchester County has declared April 20 as “Sanborn Map Building Day” to honor both the building and company anniversaries.

Sanborn’s legendary fire insurance maps are distinctive because of their sophisticated set of symbols that precisely and clearly convey complex information. The Library of Congress Sanborn map collection includes some 50,000 editions of the maps comprising an estimated 700,000 individual sheets dating back to 1867. The maps depict commercial, industrial and residential sections of some 12,000 cities and towns across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Focus on Innovation Drives Technology Leadership

Continually extending its rich mapping tradition, Sanborn remains positioned at the forefront of modern geospatial technology. The company pioneered the collection and delivery of digital orthoimagery. It’s now at the leading edge of collecting and processing high-resolution oblique aerial imagery and designing derivative products.

The firm boasts one of the world’s premier oblique imagery collections, which is growing by leaps and bounds. In 2015, Sanborn added approximately 2.8 million new images to its Oblique Imagery Solutions database and provides proprietary tools, such as Sanborn Oblique Analyst software, so its customers can extract the maximum value from the imagery.

Sanborn also offers 6-inch resolution orthoimagery covering the entire continental United States in both natural color and infrared products, and has one of the industry’s widest range of 3-D, off-the-shelf mapping products. These include 3D Buildings, a suite of modeling products designed for 3-D visualization and geographic information system (GIS) applications; 3D Cities for virtual city implementation; and CitySets, which comprise digital datasets covering the core downtown areas of most major U.S metropolitan areas.

About The Sanborn Map Company, Inc.

Sanborn (www.sanborn.com) is a preeminent innovator in the geospatial industry, delivering state-of-the-art mapping, visualization and 3-D solutions to customers worldwide. The firm currently operates a fleet of 14 aircraft located strategically across the United States. Embracing cutting-edge technology, Sanborn specializes in oblique aerial imagery, aerial and mobile light detection and ranging (LiDAR) mapping, aerial orthophotography, 3-D modeling and visualization software and services, indoor mapping with its proprietary SPIN robot, unmanned aircraft system (UAS) sales, services and image processing, and a host of geospatial software products.

Please contact:
Jason Caldwell
(719) 593-0093
jcaldwell@sanborn.com

To view the original version of this release on PR Newswire, click here.

Sanborn Avenger UAS
Sanborn Commercial Drone Services in Full Swing

Colorado Springs, Colo. (Dec. 29, 2015)—The Sanborn Map Company, Inc. (Sanborn) announces that several of its seasoned pilots have completed extensive unmanned aircraft system (UAS) training and now are qualified to perform commercial flights with the firm’s UAS. Earlier in 2015, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted Sanborn a Section 333 Exemption to commercially operate a UAS.

“Our pilots are among the nation’s most skilled at performing complex mapping missions,” says Sanchit Agarwal, director of mapping operations. “Their vast knowledge and experience will seamlessly transfer to our UAS operations, putting Sanborn at the forefront of offering exceptional UAS services anywhere in the United States.”

Sanborn already has successfully completed several commercial UAS data collection projects, as well as numerous test flights to validate the system’s geospatial data collection capabilities. The efforts have resulted in unprecedented data accuracy and resolution, enabling a broad portfolio of services that include high-quality, engineering-grade digital terrain models (DTMs) exceeding 2-inch accuracy; multispectral frame imagery at sub-centimeter resolution; crisp, vibration-free video; high-resolution light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data; and thermal imaging data.

In addition to providing UAS flight services, Sanborn offers a full range of professional image processing and analysis services for all UAS imagery collected. As with all Sanborn offerings, the firm’s UAS data is available as a licensed product within the firm’s cloud service, allowing customers to cost-effectively store and securely access their data around the clock. Customers also can purchase and host the data on their own servers if desired.

Several functional examples of how Sanborn serves customers with its UAS include damage assessment and response efforts, site mapping, water resource mapping, volumetric assessment and asset estimation, highway survey and accident mapping, corridor asset review, assessment, and mapping, and precision agriculture.

About Sanborn’s UAS

Sanborn’s commercial UAS is a vertical take off and landing (VTOL) platform with a hefty 15-pound payload capacity. This enables the use of a wide range of sophisticated sensors or combinations of sensors, including video, multispectral, hyperspectral and infrared (thermal). The high-performance aircraft features a full military-grade autopilot with GPS waypoints and laser altimeters that are integrated with its sensor payload, permitting pinpoint sensor control. Additionally, the rugged aircraft has demonstrated amazing reliability, including maximum stability in winds up to 50 mph.

About The Sanborn Map Company, Inc.

Sanborn is a preeminent leader in the exploding geospatial industry, delivering state-of-the-art mapping solutions to customers worldwide. The firm currently operates a fleet of 14 aircraft located strategically across the United States. Embracing cutting-edge technology, Sanborn specializes in oblique aerial imagery, aerial and mobile light detection and ranging (LiDAR) mapping, aerial orthophotography, 3-D modeling and visualization software and services, indoor mapping with its proprietary SPIN robot, unmanned aircraft system (UAS) sales, services and image processing, and a host of geospatial software development.

Please contact:
Jason Caldwell
(719) 593-0093
jcaldwell@sanborn.com

To view the original version of this release on PR Newswire, click here.

Sanborn Oblique Imagery - National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C.
Sanborn Expands Extensive Oblique Imagery Collection

Mapping Firm Adds Nearly 3 Million New Oblique Images in 2015

Colorado Springs, Colo. (Dec. 22, 2015)— Just as The Sanborn Map Company, Inc. (Sanborn) pioneered mobile light detection and ranging (LiDAR) mapping at the turn of the century, the firm now is at the leading edge of collecting and processing high-resolution oblique aerial imagery. In 2015, Sanborn added 2.8 million new images to its Oblique Imagery Solutions line of products, including fresh coverage of 107 new cities. Sanborn now has the one of the nation’s fastest growing collections of oblique imagery products, with the acquisition of 12 million new high-resolution oblique images covering more than 200 U.S. cities during the last two years.

Sanborn offers its Oblique Imagery Solutions as a licensed product available within the firm’s cloud service, which allows customers to cost-effectively store and securely access their data around the clock. Customers also can purchase and host the data on their own servers if desired. Additionally, Sanborn’s uniquely liberal data licensing policy offers a terrific value proposition for its customers.

“We’re still in the early innings of the broad-based adoption of oblique imagery as a cost-effective way to view and analyze urban areas for a host of applications,” says Jason Caldwell, Sanborn VP of business development and sales. “As our customers continue to recognize how oblique imagery can streamline their workflows by greatly enhancing the visualization and analysis of all types of infrastructure, Sanborn will have the nation’s most current and accurate oblique data ready for them.”

When customers purchase Sanborn’s Oblique Imagery Solutions products, they also receive Oblique Analyst, the firm’s proprietary web-based oblique imagery viewer featuring a suite of tools that enables easy analysis of oblique imagery. Oblique Analyst presents all five views of a building or structure—nadir and four 45° oblique angles—and provides the ability to select any view as the primary one. A built-in compass feature lets users know the current view as they pan and zoom around a project area to analyze and extract critical information from the image.

About Sanborn Oblique Imagery Technology

Sanborn’s Oblique Imagery Solutions products comprise aerial imagery that gives users multiple views of any location. Upholding its reputation for product innovation and technology leadership, the firm captures the imagery with five separate state-of-the-art cameras at once, resulting in the highest-quality oblique data available in today’s marketplace. The imagery is georeferenced and delivered to users in a format that makes it easy to view, analyze and use effectively.

About The Sanborn Map Company, Inc.

Sanborn is a preeminent leader in the exploding geospatial industry, delivering state-of-the-art mapping solutions to customers worldwide. The firm currently operates a fleet of 14 aircraft located strategically across the United States. Embracing cutting-edge technology, Sanborn specializes in oblique aerial imagery, aerial and mobile light detection and ranging (LiDAR) mapping, aerial orthophotography, 3-D modeling and visualization software and services, indoor mapping with its proprietary SPIN robot, unmanned aircraft system (UAS) sales, services and image processing, and a host of geospatial software development.

Please contact:
Jason Caldwell
(719) 593-0093
jcaldwell@sanborn.com

To view the original version of this release on PR Newswire, click here.

MOBILE LIDAR Glacier National Park
Sanborn Maps Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks

High-Resolution LiDAR Data Help Ensure Effective Road Repairs

Colorado Springs, Colo. (Dec. 3, 2015)—The Sanborn Map Company, Inc. (Sanborn) has completed mobile LiDAR data collection for two corridors in Glacier National Park and one corridor in Yellowstone National Park totaling approximately 40 linear miles.

Sanborn was selected for the project to provide data that could be used to determine the level of effort and cost to resurface the roads, which are in dire need of repair. In Yellowstone alone, about 185 miles of main roads are in a structurally deficient state, with poor quality road bases failing under the weight, speed and volume of modern traffic, for which they were not designed. Harsh winter weather and short construction seasons in both parks provide additional challenges.

During the 2015 fall season, Sanborn acquired the LiDAR point clouds, which were particularly dense with 300-500 points per square meter, along with accompanying georeferenced imagery. The firm’s post-acquisition approach involved auto-filtering the point clouds in the ground and non-ground classes. The points in the ground class were used to derive road centerlines and edges of pavement, and the non-ground points were used to derive guardrails in vector format.

“This project was particularly rewarding because both of these parks truly are national treasures,” notes Arjan Mooij, Sanborn program manager. “There’s no doubt that the quality data we provided will help streamline the process for their much-needed road repairs.”

Sanborn is a mobile-mapping technology pioneer, with solid experience dating back to 2001. The firm’s advanced mobile mapping system combines LiDAR with high-resolution video to meet the accuracy required for modern engineering-grade applications and solutions. With a system delivering better than 5-centimeter accuracy and image resolution as fine as 1 centimeter, Sanborn’s mobile mapping products and services provide unprecedented 3-D detail, while offering the efficiency of data capture at vehicle speeds of up to 60 mph.

About The Sanborn Map Company, Inc.

Sanborn is a preeminent leader in the exploding geospatial industry, delivering state-of-the-art mapping solutions to customers worldwide. The firm currently operates a fleet of 14 aircraft located strategically across the United States. Embracing cutting-edge technology, Sanborn specializes in oblique aerial imagery, aerial and mobile light detection and ranging (LiDAR) mapping, aerial orthophotography, 3-D modeling and visualization software and services, indoor mapping with its proprietary SPIN robot, unmanned aircraft system (UAS) sales, services and image processing, and a host of geospatial software development.

Please contact:
Jason Caldwell
(719) 593-0093
jcaldwell@sanborn.com

To view the original version of this release on PR Newswire, click here.

LiDAR 3D Wireframe Extraction
Sanborn Helps Boulder Solar Maps Shine

3-D Building Data Foundational for City’s Rooftop Solar Tool

Colorado Springs, Colo. (Nov. 17, 2015)—In pursuit of transitioning its community to clean, local, affordable and reliable energy, the City of Boulder selected The Sanborn Map Company, Inc. (Sanborn) to optimize its 3-D building data for use as the cornerstone of the city’s Rooftop Solar Tool. The tool helps citizens determine how much electricity can be produced on their rooftop from a solar photovoltaic (PV) system, what system may work best, and estimate their system cost and payback time.

Sanborn designed a fully automated, time-saving workflow that efficiently extracted 3-D building wireframes by auto-filtering the city’s LiDAR point cloud in the ground, building and vegetation classes. Sanborn then tested and fine-tuned the parameters—depending on the land-cover and type of terrain—and the points in the building class were used to derive 2-D building polygons. Finally, the 2-D polygons were used to create bounding boxes to extract the 3-D wireframes. Altogether, Sanborn extracted wireframes for more than 40,000 buildings with this approach. The data was found to be more than 90 percent accurate, far surpassing the city’s requirement of 80 percent accuracy.

“For many community members, Boulder’s Rooftop Solar Tool will spark the conversation about what is possible in terms of personal—and communitywide—power generation. For others, it will provide the information they need to take the next step toward going solar,” says David Driskell, the city’s executive director of community planning and sustainability. “This exciting development represents a key step on our community’s path to clean, local power.”

The project has identified 553 Megawatts of potential high-yield photovoltaic capacity capable of delivering 740,000 Megawatt-hours per year. This is enough clean, renewable energy to power 70,000 American households, create more than $2 billion in local business, and offset carbon emissions equivalent to planting more than 11 million trees.

About The Sanborn Map Company, Inc.

Sanborn (www.sanborn.com) is a preeminent leader in the exploding geospatial industry, delivering state-of-the-art mapping solutions to customers worldwide. The firm currently operates a fleet of 14 aircraft located strategically across the United States. Embracing cutting-edge technology, Sanborn specializes in oblique aerial imagery, aerial and mobile light detection and ranging (LiDAR) mapping, aerial orthophotography, 3-D modeling and visualization software and services, indoor mapping with its proprietary SPIN robot, unmanned aircraft system (UAS) sales, services and image processing, and a host of geospatial software development.

Please contact:
Jason Caldwell
(719) 593-0093
jcaldwell@sanborn.com

To view the original version of this release on PR Newswire, click here.