3Di Acquires EagleScan
EagleScan, founded in 1994 in Boulder, Colorado, utilizes emerging LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and digital camera technologies to produce precision topographic mapping and digital orthophotography for clients including Dames and Moore, United States Army Corps of Engineers, the United States Geological Survey and others. EagleScan's capabilities complement 3Di's line of Mapping, GIS Professional and Remote Sensing Services by offering clients topographic and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data collected with LIDAR - a faster and often less expensive DEM capture tool.
"This is a benchmark acquisition," said Monty Deel, President and CEO of 3Di. "The acquisition of EagleScan adds LIDAR and advanced remote sensing to 3Di's capabilities, providing broadened services, faster solutions and a fully integrated product to the 3Di client." EagleScan also has significant experience using LIDAR and digital remote sensing for highway, pipeline, shoreline, reservoir, forestry and landscape development mapping.
"This is a tremendous opportunity to combine our technologies and leadership strengths for a winning strategy," said EagleScan's Verlin Fisher. "We provide the marketplace with Mapping, GIS, Remote Sensing, LIDAR and professional service capabilities combined into one company - 3Di. We offer a fully integrated solution for our customers' GIS needs. 3Di is on the fast track for industry leadership - we're excited to be a part of this team."
EagleScan is the only company to have fully developed its own terrain data acquisition hardware and data processing software while providing a full range of laser terrain mapping and digital imaging services. Through the acquisition, EagleScan's Digital Airborne Topographical Imaging System (DATIS) will become a part of the 3Di solution. DATIS provides an integration of LIDAR, GPS (Global Positioning System), and IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) technologies. DATIS also incorporates a digital camera with the LIDAR sensor to simultaneously collect digital panchromatic images of the same mapped area. 3Di will utilize EagleScan's capabilities to collect digital, high accuracy terrain elevation data or DEMs and complementary digital images of the terrain. This process provides capabilities to generate other products such as planimetric features, three-dimensional high-resolution image models and precision digital ortho images to supplement 3Di's complete line of geo-spatial solutions.
The addition of EagleScan brings 3Di's staff to more than 250 employees, with 17 offices in three countries. 3Di's list of acquired companies includes Photogrammetric Data Services (PDS), Earth Information Systems (EISYS), and American Geographic Data (AGD). Additional acquisitions to support and expand 3Di's capabilities are also planned.
3Di LLC, 28969 Information Lane, Easton, MD 21601. Tel: 800-546-4437; Fax: 410-820-5613.