Reporter No 60, May 2009, English (PDF 2,58 MB) - Leica ...
Reporter No 60, May 2009, English (PDF 2,58 MB) - Leica ...
Reporter No 60, May 2009, English (PDF 2,58 MB) - Leica ...
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On its banks will be hills and valleys – a new topography<br />
for Dubai – and a modern, sustainable city.<br />
Supplied with water from the Gulf, Arabian Canal<br />
will have marinas, promenades, beaches, and public<br />
transport on the canal. Construction costs for the<br />
waterway – the most complex civil engineering project<br />
ever undertaken in the Middle East – are estimated<br />
at US$11 billion.<br />
For a project of this magnitude it is crucial to use<br />
resources as economically as possible. “The project<br />
involves moving large amounts of earth each day,<br />
which requires a highly efficient system,” explains<br />
Dr. Nedal. “The basis for the system is a model of<br />
the terrain that is constantly kept up to date with<br />
the aid of a complex interaction between total stations,<br />
GPS/GNSS, HDS scanners, airborne digital sensor<br />
cameras with LIDAR, reference stations, and to<br />
some extent custom software.”<br />
Continuous support<br />
Several <strong>Leica</strong> Geosystems instruments for static and<br />
dynamic measurements are used in this process. A<br />
high definition scanner, <strong>Leica</strong> ScanStation 2, provides<br />
point clouds of the terrain, while <strong>Leica</strong> SmartPoles<br />
are used for the surveying. A dedicated GNSS reference<br />
station network with five stations and <strong>Leica</strong><br />
GNSS Spider software provide the necessary RTK<br />
correction data for the entire area. Soon a further<br />
reference station will be added.<br />
Before appointing <strong>Leica</strong> Geosystems as a supplier, a<br />
number of possible systems were put through their<br />
paces, explains Nedal Al-Hanbali. “We organized<br />
a ‘competition’ between the various providers to<br />
obtain the best possible instruments for our requirements.<br />
Important factors included speed, efficiency,<br />
accuracy, the integration of software and workflows,<br />
and also the customer support and people behind<br />
these products. During this process all companies<br />
offered their equipment for several days of testing in<br />
the Arabian Canal pilot excavation. The regional sales<br />
partner for <strong>Leica</strong> Geosystems, Geco, was very cooperative,<br />
offering their scanner for three consecutive<br />
tests to explore all possible scanning and processing<br />
possibilities. As a result we could check on-site that<br />
the instruments – and service – met our requirements.<br />
Geco now also provides us with continuous<br />
support during the construction phase.”<br />
Limitless LLC<br />
Global Real Estate Developer<br />
Business unit of Dubai World,<br />
one of Dubai's leading business groups<br />
Set up in July 2005<br />
CEO: Saeed Ahmed Saeed<br />
Vision: “To enhance and enrich lives through the<br />
delivery of distinctive, sustainable developments.”<br />
Geco – General<br />
Enterprises Company<br />
<strong>Leica</strong> Geosystems’ Partner<br />
in the United Arab Emirates for 32 years<br />
Distribution, training, and service<br />
30 employees<br />
Projects:<br />
Al Garhoud Bridge, Dubai<br />
Reference station network Abu Dhabi<br />
Burj Dubai [see <strong>Reporter</strong> 56]<br />
Abu Dhabi Airport<br />
The Global Magazine of <strong>Leica</strong> Geosystems | 11