The new solution from Leica Geosystems increases hydrographic survey performance by 250% for shallow to deep waters and provides a flexible data capture solution for multiple applications.
(Heerbrugg, Switzerland, 5 February 2025) Leica Geosystems, part of Hexagon, today announced the launch of the Leica CoastalMapper. Thanks to a wider field of view and the ability to be flown at higher altitudes, the new airborne bathymetric LiDAR solution increases survey efficiency of coastlines and rivers by 250% compared to previous sensor generations.
The CoastalMapper brings a new generation of airborne hydrographic mapping solutions to the industry and offers unmatched performance across a wide variety of mapping applications, from infrastructure resilience to river flood monitoring and environmental investigations in shallow and deep waters.
“We aim to empower our community with tools that meet current needs, anticipate future challenges and push the boundaries of bathymetric mapping,” says Anders Ekelund, Vice President of Airborne Bathymetric LiDAR at Leica Geosystems. “We’re beyond pleased to offer our customers this radically enhanced system for more detailed and efficient surveys. Powering easier yet more comprehensive data analysis and supporting a broad range of bathymetric applications, the CoastalMapper opens mapping possibilities that were hard to achieve before.”
Redefining bathymetric efficiency
The CoastMapper combines a new high-performance bathymetric LiDAR module with a Leica TerrainMapper-3 topographic LiDAR and imaging sensor into a compact and lightweight sensor head. The system captures up to one million data points per second with the bathymetric channel and up to two million points per second with the topographic channel, while providing imagery at a 5-centimetre ground sampling distance (GSD) at common flying heights.
Simultaneous collection of bathymetric and topographic LiDAR as well as imaging enables broad data capture in a single flight, which significantly reduces the survey time, operational costs and environmental impact of each mission. Uniquely, the system can be mounted to a helicopter, enabling surveying in complex environments, such as rivers with steep mountainous terrain.
Maximum productivity for flexible applications
The CoastalMapper fully integrates with Leica Geosystems’ established and trusted airborne mapping workflows, minimising training time and simplifying operations for existing customers. Thanks to cluster processing capability, users can efficiently analyse large data sets, reducing the time from data collection to deliverable, such as classified point clouds, digital terrain and surface models and imaging products.
Read here for more information about the Leica CoastalMapper.
Leica Geosystems – when it has to be right
With more than 200 years of history, Leica Geosystems, part of Hexagon, is the trusted supplier of premium sensors, software and services. Delivering value every day to professionals in surveying, construction, infrastructure, mining, mapping and other geospatial content-dependent industries, Leica Geosystems leads the industry with innovative solutions to empower our autonomous future.
Hexagon (Nasdaq Stockholm: HEXA B) has approximately 24,500 employees in 50 countries and net sales of approximately 5.4bn EUR. Learn more at hexagon.com and follow us @HexagonAB.