Aerial mapping company Bluesky is reinforcing its commitment to the geospatial market in the Republic of Ireland with the opening of an Irish office. Based in Cork, the new Bluesky office will provide a local base for sales, marketing and customer support. This announcement comes at the start of the 2015 flying season which has already seen the capture of significant amounts of data. Bluesky has committed to the capture of 70,000 square kilometres of brand new aerial photography as well as colour infrared (CIR) imagery, and the creation of 3D maps providing accurate elevations of land and buildings for the Republic of Ireland.
The company just started their 2015 Ireland flying programme – in fact due to early weather windows they have already captured much of Wexford and Waterford, commented Robert Loughran, international sales manager at Bluesky. The new office gives the the perfect base to support potential customers and partners and develop long term relationships with the geographic community in Ireland, he added.
Data capture
Bluesky will capture high resolution, leaf on, aerial photography and colour infrared imagery for the whole of the Republic of Ireland during the spring and summer months of 2015. In order to maximise all flying opportunities and complete data capture as soon as possible, planes equipped with the latest Vexcel cameras will operate out of multiple flying bases, including Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Knock and Donegal.
Products from the Bluesky data capture will include 25cm resolution coverage for the whole country with 12.5cm resolution data for selected urban areas including Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford, Drogheda, Dundalk and Wexford. In addition to the aerial photography and CIR imagery, national Digital Terrain and Surface Models (DTM/DSM) will be created. The first datasets, available in a variety of GIS ready formats as well as online at Bluesky’s Mapshop, are expected to be launched to market in the third quarter of 2015, and Bluesky has already committed to a three year update cycle for core data products.
Renewable energy
Bluesky is an expert in the capture of remotely sensed data and the production of innovative geographic data products. Bluesky’s work includes providing a technical lead in a European Commission funded project into a web based renewable energy rating platform, the laser mapping of overhead power line networks, new technology for air quality mapping, night time thermal surveying and the creation of national tree maps.
Source: GIM International
