Law enforcement officers in the field like the Leica HDS equipment because it’s easy to use and helps keep them out of harm’s way at an accident scene

Leica Geosystems Inc. today announced it has been awarded a contract by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for several products in the Leica Geosystems High-Definition Survey (HDS) line, including the Leica Geosystems ScanStation C10 and the Leica HDS70003D laser scanner. Additionally, Leica Geosystems Total Stations will be used to document evidence at accident scenes.

“Laser scanners enable law enforcement personnel to safely and efficiently map an accident scene so the roadway where it occurred can be quickly re-opened to traffic,” said Frank J. Hahnel, III, Leica Geosystems Accident Investigation Accounts Manager. “Fast documentation of vehicle accidents is important for commerce because it keeps people moving toward their destinations.”

Often used to document vehicular accidents, the Leica Geosystems ScanStation C10 3D laser scanner captures the scene in 360n degrees, accurately mapping the locations of evidence and preserving the relationships between them so the incident can be modeled and reconstructed later in a 3D computer environment. The Leica Geosystems C10 is a compact all-in-one platform that includes the laser scanner, tilt sensor, battery, controller, data storage, auto-adjusting video camera, and laser plummet. It has a long surveying range of up to 300 meters.

The phase-based Leica Geosystems HDS7000 operates at ultra-high-speed to map major incidents such as airplane crashes where numerous pieces of evidence must be mapped quickly as recovery operations continue. The HDS7000 is capable of capturing one million points per second.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey operates the New York/New Jersey major airports, marine terminals, the PATH rail transit system, and six tunnels and bridges connecting the two states.

After an accident, Leica Cyclone software processes the scan to create 3D models of the accident scene after the fact. Investigators rely on Cyclone to visualize the evidence, generate fly-through animations of the scene, and re-create the sequence of events the led up to the incident to help determine how and why the crash occurred.

The GPS units enable law enforcement personnel to collect precise latitude and longitude coordinates at an accident scene so the 3D laser scan can be tied into the New York State Plane Coordinate System. Public Safety personnel use the Leica Total Station at accidents to automatically measure distances between two pieces of evidence.

“Law enforcement officers in the field like the Leica HDS equipment because it’s easy to use and helps keep them out of harm’s way at an accident scene,” said Hahnel.

Leica Geosystems – when it has to be right
With close to 200 years of pioneering solutions to measure the world, Leica Geosystems products and services are trusted by professionals worldwide to help them capture, analyze, and present spatial information. Leica Geosystems is best known for its broad array of products that capture accurately, model quickly, analyze easily, and visualize and present spatial information.

Those who use Leica Geosystems products every day trust them for their dependability, the value they deliver, and the superior customer support. Based in Heerbrugg, Switzerland, Leica Geosystems is a global company with tens of thousands of customers supported by more than 3,500 employees in 28 countries and hundreds of partners located in more than 120 countries around the world. Leica Geosystems is part of the Hexagon Group, Sweden.