In This Issue: • Tips for Planning a Mobile Lidar Project • Global Satellite Mapping Contract for Air Force • TDS Telecommunications Corporation and Continental Mapping • Surveying for USACE Tulsa • Welcome New Employees • Upcoming Conferences

1. Mobile lidar scanning is an evolution of lidar acquisition, filling the void created
from aerial lidar collection and terrestrial static scanning methods. Mobile lidar
utilizes the ground level perspective of terrestrial scanners with mobile capabilities
used by aerial lidar. Mobile lidar can better serve demanding transportation design
and engineering projects, as well as provide a solution to collecting lidar data when
aerial methods aren’t possible or don’t meet the accuracy standards. It also offers
faster acquisition and less personnel risk.
Are you considering a mobile lidar project? Continental Mapping can help you
conceptually plan and execute a project. Below are some key questions to think
about when considering mobile lidar.
The United States Air Force Central Command
(AFCENT) is the primary force provider of
combat airpower to America’s warfighting
commands. With many Air Force Bases around
the world, it is important for AFCENT to have
high accuracy mapping of all bases, including
facilities and airports, for future planning,
expansion or combat purposes. With many Air
Force Bases and air fields being in dangerous
fly-over countries, traditional fixed-wing or
helicopter collection methods are not possible.
Through a competitive process, the US Air
Force chose Continental Mapping to provide
ortho satellite mapping of 87 sites over the
span of two years.
The worldwide reach and sub-meter accuracy
make mapping from satellites a viable solution
for very large or international projects.
DigitalGlobe’s WorldView satellite offers half
meter resolution with both ortho and stereo
collection on a single pass. This variety allows
Continental Mapping to produce orthoimagery
and other datasets. As project lead, Continental
Mapping had to ensure the coverage of the
See “Satellite Mapping” on page 3…
In This Issue:
• Tips for Planning a Mobile Lidar Project
• Global Satellite Mapping Contract for Air Force
• TDS Telecommunications Corporation and
Continental Mapping
• Surveying for USACE Tulsa
• Welcome New Employees
• Upcoming Conferences
For further information or general
inquiries, please contact:
Continental Mapping Consultants, Inc.
All Offices
888.815.3327
Headquarters
121 S. Bristol Street, Suite 201
Sun Prairie, WI 53590
Branch Offices
Indianapolis, IN
Kansas City, KS
info@continentalmapping.com
www.continentalmapping.com
See “Mobile Mapping” on page 3…
How dense of a
point dataset do
you need?
What type of
features are your
interested in?
How important is
the system’s
image data to you
and your project?
How quickly do
you need the
data?
How do you get
features from a
point cloud?
There are numerous systems on the market and Continental Mapping
has access to almost all of them. We utilize the appropriate sensor
for the job. Some have two cameras, others have six, while others
have 360 degree panoramas. Camera units time-stamp their imagery
so it can be easily associated with the lidar.
Point density is determined by application such as a highly accurate
roadbed model or extracting features in an urban area. Density
comes at a cost, sometimes requiring multiple passes or narrower
field of view with slower collection.
If you are interested in overhead structures like utility lines, then
focus on systems with a 360 degree field of view. If you are
interested in collecting ground features like ditches or curbs, then a
directed configuration offers better collection.
Quick turnaround is feasible but timeline depends mostly upon the
project workplan (e.g. acquisition at night, permissible weather
conditions, project areas-of-interest, GPS coverage/IMU usage, plan
for recapturing data voids and end deliveries).
Typical features extracted include buildings, power lines,
transportation features, and contours. Map features are collected
using a combination of manual and automated methods to extract
features from the point cloud.
US Air Force Chooses Continental
Mapping for Global Satellite
Mapping IDIQ
Tips for Planning a Mobile Lidar Project
Mapping from Earth, Sky, and Space
Newsletter from Continental Mapping Consultants, Inc. Issue 1 2012

2. Continental Mapping
Provides Boundary Survey
for USACE Tulsa District
Survey Department Continues To
Grow
As mentioned in last spring’s newsletter,
Continental Mapping now offers land surveying
out of our Kansas City Office. Managed by Steve
Roberts, PLS, this department has proven to be
a valuable capability that we are pleased to
offer in-house. Throughout the last year we’ve
completed numerous projects, trained survey
crew members, and purchased new equipment
to better serve our clients.
Mapping from Earth, Sky, and Space Mapping from Earth, Sky, and Space
Continental Mapping Consultants, Inc. Headings • Issue 1 2012
After experiencing shoreline erosion at Council
Grove Lake in Kansas, the US Army Corps of
Engineers Tulsa District needed more space to
maintain the lake and initiated a land exchange
with the White Memorial Church Camp. This
exchange required Continental Mapping to
establish boundary corner monuments for nine
tracts which included new parcels deeded to
the US Government and three tracts deeded to
the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference of the United
Church of Christ. This survey involved
monumenting two segments of the lake and
Welcome New Employees!
Continental Mapping is
pleased to welcome four new
faces to our headquarters
location in Sun Prairie,
Wisconsin. Joining our team
in late 2011 and early 2012,
Jon Arndt, Benny Rockweiler,
and Shannon Erb will be
applying their skills and
experience to our federal and
commercial mapping
production departments, and
Todd Thies will be supporting
our business development
department.
2 3
Continental Mapping Builds Nationwide Geospatial Data for TDS Telecommunications
TDS Telecommunications Corp (TDS), located in Madison, WI, is the
seventh largest telecom provider in America. TDS has grown
extensively and now serves customers across 30 states. Continental
Mapping is assisting TDS in the automation and migration of
primary geospatial data for rural exchanges throughout the United
States.
Over the last 40 years TDS has embraced existing and developing
technologies to better manage their infrastructure and service their
customers. This mindset presents some challenges to TDS, including
the collection of a great deal of geospatial data in various formats,
accuracies, lineage, quality, and currency. Diverse geospatial
datasets makes proactive management difficult for individual
phone exchanges as well as the overall infrastructure holdings of
TDS.
To assist in addressing this issue, TDS enlisted the aid of Continental
Mapping Continental Mapping is providing a variety of geospatial
data development efforts including CAD to GIS data migrations,
paper to digital data automation, and a broad review of mapping
technologies and capabilities. All Continental Mapping efforts and
deliverables are done in the context of a fast paced, cutting edge
enterprise GIS deployment, including their recent deployment of a
modified version of Esri’s telecom geodatabase model.
Migration of existing CAD data to TDS’s GIS is a critical initiative.
One such example includes over line miles of infrastructure
spanning several counties in Wisconsin. Continental Mapping’s
technicians moved and scaled existing digital CAD drawings and
checked the location of overhead lines and poles using what
imagery and data was available. At the end of the project,
Continental Mapping delivered an Esri’s geodatabase with phone
lines, conduits, poles, and miscellaneous utilities tied to a
georeferenced base map. Data automation for rural exchanges is
also critical to TDS as they own many rural phone exchanges. This
project involved strict adherence to their customized data model
and converting hand drawn light and utility field notes into a digital
format that could be loaded into their geodatabase.
Our cooperation is allowing TDS to better manage their service
areas, expand product offerings, and improve overall network
management. By using photogrammetric methods and creating
consistent GIS data, TDS can perform key business functions such as
trace route analysis for outage management, network strategy
planning for line expansion, and utilize enterprise data models to
house all geospatial data in one environment. With the
telecommunications industry continuing to grow through web
based TV, advanced mobile devices, and high speed internet, these
changes lead to the consumer getting better services and faster
solutions.
TDS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems,
Inc. a Fortune 500 company providing wireless, local, and long-
distance telephone and broadband services to approximately 7
million customers.
included resetting all
destroyed or missing
corner monuments.
Pictured above from left to right; Jon Arndt, Todd
Thies, Shannon Erb, and Benny Rockweiler.
Mobile Mapping continued…
Mobile lidar is a staple data collection tool in the geospatial data development
industry. Many of our clients have worked with lidar data directly or finished
products that came from processed lidar data. Applications range widely across
numerous industries from 3D modeling, contour mapping, change detection, and
volumetric studies, all of which Continental Mapping has experience providing for our
clients. The methods of collecting lidar data continue to evolve to address higher
accuracy requirements and multiple collection methods.
By mounting a mobile lidar sensor to the top of a vehicle, lidar data can be acquired
along roads and railroads at fast speeds during the day or night. This data is tied to
GPS control, allowing lidar specialists to then create an accurate 3D model of the
area, displaying data that is usually not visible from aerial derived lidar data such as
undersides of bridges or the sides of overpasses and ditches. Mobile lidar is also
valuable for high accuracy urban mapping, allowing detailed collection of buildings,
alleys, power lines, and other features. As the geospatial industry continues to evolve,
Continental Mapping is eager to explore how mobile lidar collection methods can
save our clients time and money in the planning and execution of future projects.
SAME Joint Engineer Training
Conference & Expo
May 22-25, St. Louis, Missouri
MAPPS Summer Conference
July 10-14, Aspen, Colorado
ASPRS Annual Conference
March 19-23, Sacramento, California
MAPPS Federal Programs
Conference
March 27-28, Washington, DC
TNGIC Conference
March 28-29, Burns, Tennessee
MAGIC Symposium
April 22-26, Kansas City, Missouri
Indiana GIS Conference
May 8-9, Bloomington, Indiana
Upcoming Conferences
Continental Mapping will be attending several conferences in the
coming months, look for us at the following:
Satellite Mapping for AFCENTcontinued...
Example orthophoto with mapping features collected for TDS Telecom project
imagery was extensive enough to drape on the DTM for orthoproduction.
Additionally, proper control, often difficult across large areas, was paramount. The
delivered imagery also presents AFCENT with the option to acquire feature data at a
later date if this becomes needed.
As demand for satellite imagery services has increased, Continental Mapping
provides worldwide stereo and mono imagery services including orthophotography
and photogrammetrically derived elevations datasets to both public and private
sector clients. Continental Mapping is pleased to add AFCENT to our growing list of
clients.
Land Survey
Licenses
Photogrammetric Survey Licenses
Office Locations

3. Continental Mapping
Provides Boundary Survey
for USACE Tulsa District
Survey Department Continues To
Grow
As mentioned in last spring’s newsletter,
Continental Mapping now offers land surveying
out of our Kansas City Office. Managed by Steve
Roberts, PLS, this department has proven to be
a valuable capability that we are pleased to
offer in-house. Throughout the last year we’ve
completed numerous projects, trained survey
crew members, and purchased new equipment
to better serve our clients.
Mapping from Earth, Sky, and Space Mapping from Earth, Sky, and Space
Continental Mapping Consultants, Inc. Headings • Issue 1 2012
After experiencing shoreline erosion at Council
Grove Lake in Kansas, the US Army Corps of
Engineers Tulsa District needed more space to
maintain the lake and initiated a land exchange
with the White Memorial Church Camp. This
exchange required Continental Mapping to
establish boundary corner monuments for nine
tracts which included new parcels deeded to
the US Government and three tracts deeded to
the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference of the United
Church of Christ. This survey involved
monumenting two segments of the lake and
Welcome New Employees!
Continental Mapping is
pleased to welcome four new
faces to our headquarters
location in Sun Prairie,
Wisconsin. Joining our team
in late 2011 and early 2012,
Jon Arndt, Benny Rockweiler,
and Shannon Erb will be
applying their skills and
experience to our federal and
commercial mapping
production departments, and
Todd Thies will be supporting
our business development
department.
2 3
Continental Mapping Builds Nationwide Geospatial Data for TDS Telecommunications
TDS Telecommunications Corp (TDS), located in Madison, WI, is the
seventh largest telecom provider in America. TDS has grown
extensively and now serves customers across 30 states. Continental
Mapping is assisting TDS in the automation and migration of
primary geospatial data for rural exchanges throughout the United
States.
Over the last 40 years TDS has embraced existing and developing
technologies to better manage their infrastructure and service their
customers. This mindset presents some challenges to TDS, including
the collection of a great deal of geospatial data in various formats,
accuracies, lineage, quality, and currency. Diverse geospatial
datasets makes proactive management difficult for individual
phone exchanges as well as the overall infrastructure holdings of
TDS.
To assist in addressing this issue, TDS enlisted the aid of Continental
Mapping Continental Mapping is providing a variety of geospatial
data development efforts including CAD to GIS data migrations,
paper to digital data automation, and a broad review of mapping
technologies and capabilities. All Continental Mapping efforts and
deliverables are done in the context of a fast paced, cutting edge
enterprise GIS deployment, including their recent deployment of a
modified version of Esri’s telecom geodatabase model.
Migration of existing CAD data to TDS’s GIS is a critical initiative.
One such example includes over line miles of infrastructure
spanning several counties in Wisconsin. Continental Mapping’s
technicians moved and scaled existing digital CAD drawings and
checked the location of overhead lines and poles using what
imagery and data was available. At the end of the project,
Continental Mapping delivered an Esri’s geodatabase with phone
lines, conduits, poles, and miscellaneous utilities tied to a
georeferenced base map. Data automation for rural exchanges is
also critical to TDS as they own many rural phone exchanges. This
project involved strict adherence to their customized data model
and converting hand drawn light and utility field notes into a digital
format that could be loaded into their geodatabase.
Our cooperation is allowing TDS to better manage their service
areas, expand product offerings, and improve overall network
management. By using photogrammetric methods and creating
consistent GIS data, TDS can perform key business functions such as
trace route analysis for outage management, network strategy
planning for line expansion, and utilize enterprise data models to
house all geospatial data in one environment. With the
telecommunications industry continuing to grow through web
based TV, advanced mobile devices, and high speed internet, these
changes lead to the consumer getting better services and faster
solutions.
TDS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems,
Inc. a Fortune 500 company providing wireless, local, and long-
distance telephone and broadband services to approximately 7
million customers.
included resetting all
destroyed or missing
corner monuments.
Pictured above from left to right; Jon Arndt, Todd
Thies, Shannon Erb, and Benny Rockweiler.
Mobile Mapping continued…
Mobile lidar is a staple data collection tool in the geospatial data development
industry. Many of our clients have worked with lidar data directly or finished
products that came from processed lidar data. Applications range widely across
numerous industries from 3D modeling, contour mapping, change detection, and
volumetric studies, all of which Continental Mapping has experience providing for our
clients. The methods of collecting lidar data continue to evolve to address higher
accuracy requirements and multiple collection methods.
By mounting a mobile lidar sensor to the top of a vehicle, lidar data can be acquired
along roads and railroads at fast speeds during the day or night. This data is tied to
GPS control, allowing lidar specialists to then create an accurate 3D model of the
area, displaying data that is usually not visible from aerial derived lidar data such as
undersides of bridges or the sides of overpasses and ditches. Mobile lidar is also
valuable for high accuracy urban mapping, allowing detailed collection of buildings,
alleys, power lines, and other features. As the geospatial industry continues to evolve,
Continental Mapping is eager to explore how mobile lidar collection methods can
save our clients time and money in the planning and execution of future projects.
SAME Joint Engineer Training
Conference & Expo
May 22-25, St. Louis, Missouri
MAPPS Summer Conference
July 10-14, Aspen, Colorado
ASPRS Annual Conference
March 19-23, Sacramento, California
MAPPS Federal Programs
Conference
March 27-28, Washington, DC
TNGIC Conference
March 28-29, Burns, Tennessee
MAGIC Symposium
April 22-26, Kansas City, Missouri
Indiana GIS Conference
May 8-9, Bloomington, Indiana
Upcoming Conferences
Continental Mapping will be attending several conferences in the
coming months, look for us at the following:
Satellite Mapping for AFCENTcontinued...
Example orthophoto with mapping features collected for TDS Telecom project
imagery was extensive enough to drape on the DTM for orthoproduction.
Additionally, proper control, often difficult across large areas, was paramount. The
delivered imagery also presents AFCENT with the option to acquire feature data at a
later date if this becomes needed.
As demand for satellite imagery services has increased, Continental Mapping
provides worldwide stereo and mono imagery services including orthophotography
and photogrammetrically derived elevations datasets to both public and private
sector clients. Continental Mapping is pleased to add AFCENT to our growing list of
clients.
Land Survey
Licenses
Photogrammetric Survey Licenses
Office Locations

4. Mobile lidar scanning is an evolution of lidar acquisition, filling the void created
from aerial lidar collection and terrestrial static scanning methods. Mobile lidar
utilizes the ground level perspective of terrestrial scanners with mobile capabilities
used by aerial lidar. Mobile lidar can better serve demanding transportation design
and engineering projects, as well as provide a solution to collecting lidar data when
aerial methods aren’t possible or don’t meet the accuracy standards. It also offers
faster acquisition and less personnel risk.
Are you considering a mobile lidar project? Continental Mapping can help you
conceptually plan and execute a project. Below are some key questions to think
about when considering mobile lidar.
The United States Air Force Central Command
(AFCENT) is the primary force provider of
combat airpower to America’s warfighting
commands. With many Air Force Bases around
the world, it is important for AFCENT to have
high accuracy mapping of all bases, including
facilities and airports, for future planning,
expansion or combat purposes. With many Air
Force Bases and air fields being in dangerous
fly-over countries, traditional fixed-wing or
helicopter collection methods are not possible.
Through a competitive process, the US Air
Force chose Continental Mapping to provide
ortho satellite mapping of 87 sites over the
span of two years.
The worldwide reach and sub-meter accuracy
make mapping from satellites a viable solution
for very large or international projects.
DigitalGlobe’s WorldView satellite offers half
meter resolution with both ortho and stereo
collection on a single pass. This variety allows
Continental Mapping to produce orthoimagery
and other datasets. As project lead, Continental
Mapping had to ensure the coverage of the
See “Satellite Mapping” on page 3…
In This Issue:
• Tips for Planning a Mobile Lidar Project
• Global Satellite Mapping Contract for Air Force
• TDS Telecommunications Corporation and
Continental Mapping
• Surveying for USACE Tulsa
• Welcome New Employees
• Upcoming Conferences
For further information or general
inquiries, please contact:
Continental Mapping Consultants, Inc.
All Offices
888.815.3327
Headquarters
121 S. Bristol Street, Suite 201
Sun Prairie, WI 53590
Branch Offices
Indianapolis, IN
Kansas City, KS
info@continentalmapping.com
www.continentalmapping.com
See “Mobile Mapping” on page 3…
How dense of a
point dataset do
you need?
What type of
features are your
interested in?
How important is
the system’s
image data to you
and your project?
How quickly do
you need the
data?
How do you get
features from a
point cloud?
There are numerous systems on the market and Continental Mapping
has access to almost all of them. We utilize the appropriate sensor
for the job. Some have two cameras, others have six, while others
have 360 degree panoramas. Camera units time-stamp their imagery
so it can be easily associated with the lidar.
Point density is determined by application such as a highly accurate
roadbed model or extracting features in an urban area. Density
comes at a cost, sometimes requiring multiple passes or narrower
field of view with slower collection.
If you are interested in overhead structures like utility lines, then
focus on systems with a 360 degree field of view. If you are
interested in collecting ground features like ditches or curbs, then a
directed configuration offers better collection.
Quick turnaround is feasible but timeline depends mostly upon the
project workplan (e.g. acquisition at night, permissible weather
conditions, project areas-of-interest, GPS coverage/IMU usage, plan
for recapturing data voids and end deliveries).
Typical features extracted include buildings, power lines,
transportation features, and contours. Map features are collected
using a combination of manual and automated methods to extract
features from the point cloud.
US Air Force Chooses Continental
Mapping for Global Satellite
Mapping IDIQ
Tips for Planning a Mobile Lidar Project
Mapping from Earth, Sky, and Space
Newsletter from Continental Mapping Consultants, Inc. Issue 1 2012