(Norcross - GA,  05 May 2015) - Airborne Hydrography AB, part of Leica Geosystems, recently made a new depth record in airborne LIDAR bathymetry with the Leica Chiroptera II system during a customer demonstration survey near Okinawa and the Tenryu River, Japan.

Airborne Hydrography AB has conducted customer demonstration surveys in Japan using the Leica Chiroptera II and Leica HawkEye III airborne LIDAR systems. The Chiroptera II system is a combination of both topography and a bathymetry LIDAR, designed for use in near-shore surveys and surveying in coastal areas. 

The Leica Chiroptera II is specified for down to maximum depth of around 15 metres. The 31 metres depth record during the survey in Okinawa is an astonishing and unexpected result and proves that the system has better performance than its specifications.

During the survey of the Tenryu River, excellent results have been achieved with the HawkEye III, and the results show a highly detailed profile of the complex river structure.  The data include highly accurate bathymetric data as well as terrestrial data, which deliver a seamless land and river floor topography. The data are used for environmental monitoring and allow to observe and analyse the changes of the river bed over time. 

Leica Geosystems’ regional manager Rolf Schaeppi comments “ The results from the ongoing surveys with Leica Geosystems’ ALB systems (Airborne Laser Bathymetric) in Japan are astonishing. This data will provide unique insights in better understanding river environments.“ “This type of complex mapping is not possible with any other survey technologies, such as multi-beam or satellite imagery,” Schaeppi adds. 

The HawkEye III, a multi-sensor LIDAR with a maximum depth range of approximately  50 metres, has been also used in the Okinawa demonstration and has proven its specs.

In both demonstrations the Chiroptera II and HawkEye III systems have further proved their excellent capabilities in difficult turbid water conditions. The HawkEye III system was the first system to successfully collect data in turbid Japanese river environments. 
Airborne Hydrography AB, part of Leica Geosystems, develops and markets airborne LIDAR equipment used for hydrographic and topographic surveys around the world. 

Further information on the Leica airborne LIDAR bathymetry solutions is available at: 
http://leica-geosystems.com/en/Aiborne-Hydrography_106019.htm

About Airborne Hydrography AB (AHAB)

Airborne Hydrography AB (AHAB), part of Leica Geosystems, develops and markets airborne LiDAR survey systems for bathymetric and topographic surveys. Our key products are the Chiroptera II and the HawkEye III bathymetric survey system and the DragonEye pure topographic survey system. Our customers are international survey companies and governmental organisations around the world. We offer our customers support, service, maintenance and applications development during the whole product lifetime.

Airborne Hydrography AB is a centre of excellence within hydrographic and topographic LiDAR technology.