Fugro adds that the 1000-T is the only system of its type to provide both a hydrographic and topographic mode of operation within the same airborne sensor, which is configurable in mid-flight at the switch of a button. Readily installed on suitable fixed-wing aircraft of opportunity, the system is additionally fitted with a co-registered digital camera for provision of high quality images at one frame per second.

A similar entry into the airborne lidar bathmetry market was announced earlier this year with the establishment of Admiralty Coastal Surveys, a joint venture between the UK Hydrographic Office and Airborne Hydrography and Topeye of Sweden involving future deployment of a comparable laser-based system, Hawkeye 2.