Michael Baker International Purchases Topcon Falcon 8 UAS
Michael Baker International, an engineering and planning consulting service company, has purchased the Topcon Falcon 8 UAS and plans to use it for pinpoint aerial imagery and mapping during infrastructure inspections.
The company will install its mobile and static LiDAR systems for data collection onto the UAS, combining them with the UAS’ 32-megapixel digital camera.
“With the purchase of the Falcon 8 UAS, Michael Baker is now one of seven firms in North America to use this system, which allows us to offer an advanced, highly-engineered inspection solution for engineering projects,” said Robert Hanson, senior vice president and market leader for Michael Baker’s geospatial practice, via a company press release.
The Falcon 8 will also give the company the capability to monitor for heat loss and thermal leakage in concrete and pipeline inspections, thanks to the integrated thermal camera on the UAS.
Michael Baker currently has two contracts in place that will utilize the UAS. The first contract is a statewide contract from the Nevada Department of Transportation for digital aerial imagery and video, as well as other remotely sensed data.
The second contract is a task order with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation for determining the usefulness of in UAS during bridge inspections and bridge inspection procedures.
The company will also use the UAS for inspecting other infrastructures such as buildings, towers and water control systems.
