The Project
In 2017, Severn Partnership completed an ambitious mobile mapping journey across Europe, surveying a variety of complex and high-profile locations using the Leica Pegasus:Two system. The aim was to test, validate, and demonstrate the accuracy, efficiency, and versatility of mobile LiDAR across different environments, from complex urban settings to expansive race circuits.
Spanning over 5,000 miles in just seven days, the route covered Brussels, Paris, Valencia, and Brugge, demonstrating how mobile LiDAR could be deployed rapidly, across borders, and with minimal disruption to the general public and the surrounding environment. The project required detailed logistics, technical precision, and agile data management, setting a benchmark at the time for large-scale mobile surveys.
While the technology has evolved significantly since then, this project reflects the early foundations of our mobile mapping expertise. Revisiting it now highlights how the core principles, careful planning, minimal disruption, and high-accuracy data capture, continue to inform how we deliver advanced geospatial solutions across the UK and internationally.
Client Brief
The client commissioned Severn Partnership to evaluate the Leica Pegasus:Two mobile mapping system across a range of varying terrain and architectural complexity, specifically to assess its performance in both dense urban areas and open infrastructure settings. Key requirements included:
- Rapid, high-accuracy data capture with minimal disruption
- Generation of fully georeferenced 3D point clouds and panoramic imagery
- Compatibility with existing CAD and GIS systems
- Meeting defined accuracy thresholds of ±20mm global / ±10mm internal
- Supporting outputs for BIM integration, asset management, and digital twins
Survey Scope
The scope included mobile mapping of roads and infrastructure across four major European cities. The aim was to capture high-density point cloud data and panoramic imagery to a global accuracy of +/-20mm and internal accuracy of +/-10mm, without the need for traffic management or extended mobilisations.
Challenges and Solutions
This high-speed, multi-national operation presented several logistical and technical challenges:
- Border crossings and stakeholder coordination: Navigating international borders with specialist equipment required meticulous planning and clear communication, not only with customs and landowners, but also with the client to ensure alignment on routes, access permissions, and project timelines.
- Language and local engagement: Working across multiple countries introduced language barriers, which we overcame through respectful, proactive engagement with local authorities and stakeholders to secure access and maintain workflow continuity.
- Data transfer and backup in the field: With large volumes of data captured daily, we established a workflow that allowed us to compress and securely upload datasets from hotel WiFi while maintaining robust local backups to prevent data loss.
Deliverables
- High-density colourised point clouds
- Panoramic 360° imagery
- Edited video footage of all mapped routes
- All data delivered with global and internal accuracies of +/-20mm and +/-10mm respectively
Project Outcome
By completing the survey in just seven days across four countries, the project delivered exceptional value to the client. This approach helped establish a delivery model, rapid, accurate, and non-disruptive, that remains central to how we deliver complex urban and international surveys today.
- High-accuracy data captured in a compressed timeframe
- No traffic management required, avoiding disruption and additional cost
- Significant project savings achieved by operating under a single, efficient mobilisation
Interested in how Mobile Mapping could support your next project?
Get in touch with our Mobile Mapping Project Manager, Luke Blakemore, or connect with him on LinkedIn to start the conversation.