(Heerbrugg, 19th May 2006)  With the Leica ALS50-II, Leica Geosystems presents the Airborne Laser Scanner with the highest pulse rate available for any airborne LIDAR system. The Leica ALS50 Airborne Laser Scanner allows data capture at pulse rates up to 150kHz, while offering improved accuracy.

With the Leica ALS50-II, users can enjoy the tightest possible planimetric spacing while achieving accuracy of 11cm (including GPS errors) at all pulse rates. The Leica ALS50-II is the only compact LIDAR system in the market that offers this combination of pulse rate and accuracy.

Leica ALS50-II is the second generation of the Leica ALS50 and features other notable improvements, including:
• Expanded flying height envelope (200m – 6000 m AGL) and faster scan rates to 90 Hz
• Simplified operation with all functions now controlled via advanced graphical user interface, and no need for discrete laser attenuators
• Incorporation of Leica Geosystems’ new IPAS GPS / inertial measurement engine
• Redesigned Control Electronics for a 54% reduction in volume and 33 kg reduction in weight while improving reliability.

Most advanced LIDAR system
The Leica ALS50-II is a compact, airborne LIDAR system designed to acquire topographical and return signal intensity data from numerous airborne platforms. The system computes this data using laser range and return signal intensity measurements recorded in-flight, along with position and attitude data taken from airborne GPS and inertial subsystems.
“We are pleased to offer the industry’s top performing system for all key LIDAR system metrics – pulse rate, accuracy, flying height, field of view and collecting aperture size,” says Juergen Dold, Vice President of Leica Geosystems’ Imaging and Scanning Business Area. “Our engineering team has worked diligently to ensure that the Leica ALS50-II delivers our customers the most advanced LIDAR system and best value.”

Double productivity
Ron Roth, Product Manager for Leica Geosystems Airborne LIDAR states: “This second generation of the Leica ALS50 is designed to change the conventional thinking about airborne LIDAR by simultaneously providing both high pulse rates and industry-leading accuracy.  The Leica ALS50-II represents a doubling of productivity over that offered by previous systems.”

Leica Geosystems – when it has to be right
With close to 200 years of pioneering solutions to measure the world, Leica Geosystems products and services are trusted by professionals worldwide to help them capture, analyze, and present spatial information. Leica Geosystems is best known for its broad array of products that capture accurately, model quickly, analyze easily, and visualize and present spatial information.

Those who use Leica products every day trust them for their dependability, the value they deliver, and the superior customer support. Based in Heerbrugg, Switzerland, Leica Geosystems is a global company with tens of thousands of customers supported by more than 2,400 employees in 22 countries and hundreds of partners located in more than 120 countries around the world. Leica Geosystems is part of the Hexagon Group, Sweden.