#17 - Philippe Simard

Philippe Simard is CEO of SimActive, the Montreal-based supplier of photogrammetric software, which he founded in 2003 with his brother, Louis, who is CTO. We explore how the company began with a successful Canadian defense procurement and has focused consistently on both ease of use and speed. SimActive’s flagship Correlator3D product has evolved over 22 years and supports imagery acquired by UAVs, aircraft and satellites, with pricing dependent on image size. It is installed in over 100 countries, indicating the company’s steady growth. The brothers’ college degrees are in computer vision, so the podcast touches on this approach to photogrammetry as opposed to the classical one taught in geomatics programs over the years.

In this episode, Dr. Steven Woolven, president of Trimble Applanix, manufacturer of GNSS-aided inertial technologies for mobile mapping and positioning, talks about the foundation of the company and how he was tempted to join shortly after completing his PhD. He describes the rapid growth experienced during early years, the benefits of being acquired by Trimble in 2003, and the impressive number of employees who have remained with the Toronto-area firm for decades. The transformation of the business from a few high-end units per annum to large numbers of modestly prices systems for UAVs and other applications is highlighted, including the recently launched APX RTX product line and the PX-1 for UAV navigation.

NavVis unveiled its new MLX handheld laser scanner for reality capture at INTERGEO in September 2024. The MLX complements the VLX2 and VLX3 wearable systems and answers customer requests for a smaller, more nimble product at a lower price-point. In this episode, NavVis co-founder and CEO Dr. Felix Reinshagen talks about the new product as well as intriguing implications, such as the tipping point at which vast amounts of data from mobile reality capture systems, supported by powerful software, become the norm. He delves into the transition from tripod-based to mobile systems. Felix cut his teeth at McKinsey and provides fascinating insights into how his career took a geospatial turn and how he uses his strong background in computer science, economics and business to guide NavVis skillfully. NavVis is healthy, successful and growing, but the decisions on investment, distribution model, markets, and adoption of new technology retain their fascination.

Mike Zoeller and Adam Mosbrucker play key roles within the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Volcano Hazards Program. Both Mike and Adam rely heavily on the use of lidar and its derivative products to support applied science projects related to the specific volcanology of their respective regions, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) and the Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO), respectively. In this episode, we chat about some of the exciting and novel applications of lidar within their work such as locating landing zones for helicopters and finding ideal placement locations for telemetry and solar power systems for GNSS instrumentation. We also discuss how lidar is utilized to constrain lava flow, develop geophysical models of underlying volcanic mechanics and get a handle on long-term sediment storage and basin yields.

The substantial achievements of UAV-lidar integrators have featured frequently in LIDAR Magazine’s articles and posted press releases. Dr. Tristan Allouis, co-founder and CEO of YellowScan, based in beautiful Montpellier, France, talks about why he started the company in 2012, only a year after completing his PhD. He explains the YellowScan product lines and is particularly proud of the in-house development of the Navigator system, which uses YellowScan’s own topobathymetric lidar sensor. With the arrival of Navigator, YellowScan is not just an integrator, but a manufacturer too. Tristan emphasizes YellowScan’s focus on service and explains how a company with roots in the magic of France competes effectively in the global UAV-lidar market-place.

Many of us have marveled at NASA’s spaceborne lidar systems, ICESat-2 and GEDI. The technical challenges of detecting returning photons and generating accurate elevation data are considerable. An Orlando start-up, NUVIEW, is planning a constellation of 21 lidar smallsats, each about the size of a dishwasher. The first one, “Mr. Spock” or space proof of concept, is in an advanced stage of preparation. In this episode, Clint Graumann, CEO and co-founder of NUVIEW, answers our questions about the company, its technology and proposed constellation, the leadership and the business aspects. NUVIEW emerged from stealth mode in 2023 and counts award-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio among its investors. NUVIEW has fomented considerable excitement in the geospatial world and has already won several awards.

Katreen Wikstrom-Jones and Jill Nicolazzo work at the Alaska Department of Natural Resources: Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (DGGS). Within the geohazards department, they utilize field measurements, remotely sensed data products, and numerical models to glean a better understanding of climate and cryosphere hazards.  In this episode, we chat about how the team utilizes airborne lidar data to study landslides and avalanches and how these events affect humans and critical infrastructure within the State of Alaska. We also discuss what it’s like to undertake fieldwork up north (hint: bears)!

In this episode, we introduce Austin Madson, associate editor of LIDAR Magazine and co-host of the podcast. An Earth scientist by trade, Austin has research interests that intersect the hydrosphere, cryosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere. Currently a professor at the University of Wyoming School of Computing, we discuss how he became involved with geospatial technology. We also address his drone lidar venture, Mad Nadir Mapping.

McKim & Creed is an engineering and surveying firm with 24 offices in the southeastern US. In this episode, Matt LaLuzerne, National Director of BD & Geospatial Services, and Ravi Soneja, UAS Program Manager, talk about their careers and why they joined McKim & Creed. We discuss the firm’s characteristics, capabilities and approach to project management. The conversation broadens to consider the evolution of the industry and how it has been influenced by the high cost of sensors mounted in crewed aircraft and the arrival of highly performant UAV-photogrammetry and UAV-lidar systems.

In this episode, Dr. Austin Madson interviews Chris Crosby, the co-principal investigator and director of operations and strategy for the OpenTopography project. OpenTopography facilitates efficient access to topographic data, tools, and resources to advance our understanding of the Earth’s surface, vegetation, and the built environment. Funded by the National Science Foundation, it’s arguably the most comprehensive source of topographic data on the internet. During our session, we review the different resources available at OpenTopography.org (and who can/can’t access them) as well as the varied landscape of modern topographic data access and management.