Faq

Topographic surveys can be planimetric, altimetric or planialtimetric. The first is defined by measuring the horizontal projections of an area in order to define the perimeter.

Altimetry focuses on surveying the elevations of a piece of land in order to characterize its slope. It is in the altimetric survey that we find the famous contour lines.

Planialtimetric surveying, on the other hand, consists of combining all the other information into a single plan.

Surveyor is the name commonly given to the professional responsible for topographical surveys.

Most of these professionals are qualified to operate total stations, topographic levels and GNSS receivers. October 17th is Surveyor’s Day.

Surveyors are engineers whose functions lie in the sciences of surveying and cartography.

There are records that this profession began at the dawn of civilization, in ancient Egypt. Surveyors are the technicians responsible for topographical surveys and various measurements.

It is celebrated on June 4th.

Geodetic landmarks are physical instruments with known coordinates assigned to a geodetic system.

They are used to reference a given topographic survey to the desired geodetic system. In the mining topography project carried out by Mirante Engenharia, you can see a geodesic landmark trace.

Discover our success stories in surveying and other services.

Topographic landmarks are physical markings just like geodetic landmarks, but they are linked to a local or arbitrary coordinate system and not geodetic like the latter.

Learn more about conventional surveying.

Cartography is the science dedicated to the representation of geographical space through the study, analysis and production of maps.

Its products, however, are not limited to maps: blueprints, sketches and the globe are other direct results of the application of cartographic knowledge.

Where there’s a need for measurement, there’s surveying. We serve practically all areas in need of these specialized services, precisely because we have a wide range of measurement technologies, as you can see in our measurement services.

Topography is commonly found in the following industries: mining, metallurgy, sanitation, energy, transportation, oil and gas, logistics, civil, industrial, rural, among others.

Visit our portfolio and see our engineering cases.

Any topographic and cartographic survey carried out using sensors on aerial vehicles is known as aerial mapping.

Among the sensors currently available are RGB cameras, which are responsible for aerogrammetric surveys, and LiDAR sensors, capable of capturing more than 1 million geolocated points per second (find out more in this article about the advantages of drone lidar surveys).

Both sensors are commonly used in manned aircraft such as airplanes and helicopters and, very recently, they have already been used in drones, adding dynamism to projects.

In addition to these sensors, we also have thermal cameras and multispectral cameras.

The etymology of the word photogrammetry means “measurements by light”. In this technique, sequenced and superimposed photos are captured.

In aerophotogrammetry, these images are captured from sensors on board manned aircraft or drones(UAV LiDAR).

The results generated are an orthomosaic, a point cloud and a Digital Surface Model (DSM).

UAV stands for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and is the term used to refer to any equipment that accesses the airspace without a human being on board.

The term “drone” is the colloquial term used to refer to these vehicles. Its origin comes from English and means “drone”, referring to the noise it makes when it is in the air.

However, the drone is a type of UAV, the multi-rotor. We also have the fixed-wing, which is shaped like an aircraft, and the VTOL, which is a fixed-wing with vertical take-off and landing.

Mirante uses LiDAR technology together with the drone, which adds precision and agility to the service. See more about aerial mapping.

The Laser Scanner is a very useful piece of equipment for measurements that require high productivity.

They are equipped with LiDAR (“Light Detection And Ranging”) sensors, which are active sensors capable of emitting a beam of invisible high-frequency light.

When the light beam encounters any obstacle, it returns with geolocated information about the point.

The end product is a dense point cloud, from which we can model objects, stockpiles, parts and entire civil structures.

The result is fantastic and brings enormous productivity and a huge amount of information.

Learn about the applications of the Terrestrial Laser Scanner and the Industrial Laser Scanner.

Laser trackers are devices that use laser pulses to determine the position of a given point with submillimeter precision and in real time.

This equipment is operated by positioning a mirrored sphere (SMR) over the point to be measured.

The Laser Tracker robotically follows the path of the sphere and marks the spatial location of the point.

With this, it is possible to apply a series of studies to equipment, the most common of which are: dimensional analysis, parallelism, alignment, concentricity, cylindricity, among others. Find out more in our article on Laser Tracker.

Bathymetry is a method of surveying underwater surfaces such as rivers, lakes, seas and other bodies of water.

Bathymetry is basically subdivided into topobathymetry and ecobathymetry. Topobathymetry is bathymetry carried out using conventional equipment such as GNSS receivers and total stations.

The latter consists of a more sophisticated method using an echo sounder, a device that emits acoustic waves that are converted into depth information.

Ecobathymetry is bathymetry carried out using echo sounders.

The echo sounder is a device that produces inaudible sound waves. These waves return to the sensor when they encounter the bed of the watercourse.

The time taken for the wave to travel is computed by the equipment, which makes it possible to infer the depth at that point.

The echo sounder is used in conjunction with geopositioning equipment, such as GNSS RTK receivers.

At the end of the survey, two pieces of information are associated to generate the bathymetry plan: the depth of the point and its location.

See more about Bathymetry.

The topobathymetric survey consists of the bathymetric survey collected by conventional equipment such as total stations and GNSS receivers.

In this method, the boat moves in lines (sections) and the technician positions the pole on the river or lake bed. When using a total station, another technician located on the banks then takes a reading using the equipment.

This survey is widely used in shallow bodies of water with a gentle current. For more complex projects, echo sounders are ideal.

See more in our article on what Bathymetry is.

The three-dimensional arm is a contact measuring device.

This device can be equipped with several axes and its internal software can precisely calculate the angulation of each of its axes, allowing the exact calculation of the contact tip on a reference plane.

This measurement can provide submillimetre precision and is widely used for parts inspection, reverse engineering and design adherence verification.

From the English “Building Information Modeling”, BIM is a concept and methodology for creating a virtual model with technical information about the building in each of its disciplines.

The BIM system promises to generate a collaborative environment in which the various managers of the design and execution phases communicate on the same interface, thereby gaining time efficiency, synergy between communications, greater use of materials, reduction of design conflicts, increased savings in materials and greater clarity of the schedule.

Even existing buildings that have not been designed to BIM standards can be adapted to this model by scanning them, what we call “Scan-to-BIM”. With equipment such as drones and laser scanners, this task is now easily performed. Learn more about the advantages of BIM.

Reverse engineering is the set of techniques used to virtually reconstruct a particular piece of equipment in order to understand how it works, what its dimensions are and how it is constructed.

Laser scanners are an allied technology in reverse engineering. These sensors record the three-dimensional features of components with a very high level of detail and precision, allowing the construction of the component or the entire piece of equipment to be replicated using methods such as machining, CNC or 3D printing.

See reasons to invest in reverse engineering.

The term “As Built” literally means “as built”.

It therefore refers to the situational survey of a given structure after its construction stages. Through As Built, it is possible to understand deviations from the project and adherence to the technical specifications designed.

Laser scanners are a great ally for As Built.

This equipment has a high data collection capacity and faithfully reproduces the building’s situation.

Check out our case where we did an As Built of fluid systems.

“As Is” literally means “as is”.

Unlike the As Built, which shows the situation after construction, the As Is aims to represent the current situation of the building at a certain point in time.

For example, imagine a ball mill. As Is could be used to check the condition of its lining, pointing out the wear points and how much it has worn.

The Laser Scanner is the most appropriate equipment for this type of survey, as it offers an immense volume of information with precision and fidelity.

Find out more in our article on the Industrial Laser Scanner.

Take the opportunity to see our case where we did the As Is of silos and the As Is of the Pampulha Church.

The MDS is an altimetric thematic map and represents all the elements from the ground, whether natural or not.

Therefore, we will have the representation of the ground itself, as well as buildings, trees and others.

The MDT, on the other hand, is essentially intended to show the altimetric variation of the terrain, free of any other elements. Therefore, when you want the altimetry of terrain under dense forest, it is impossible to get a good result using drone photogrammetry, because the camera is not capable of capturing terrain information.

In these cases, the most suitable technology is LiDAR on drones.
Learn more about the advantages of drone-based LiDAR surveys.

Contour lines are graphical lines that represent a given elevation.

They are used in Altimetric Surveys and their purpose is to show the slope information of the terrain on a 2D plan.

Check out an example of contour lines in an erosion survey carried out by Mirante Engenharia.

The point cloud is the product generated by laser scanning.

Laser scanners are sensors with a high capacity for capturing three-dimensional information, generating a veritable point cloud.

From this cloud, measurements can be extracted, volumes can be cubed, studies can be carried out and models can be made.

This video from Mirante Engenharia’s YouTube channel shows exactly how laser scanning works.

An orthophoto, or orthomosaic, is nothing more than a set of photographs arranged together in a scaled, distortion-free map format. When you access Google Earth, you are faced with an orthophoto.

Here’s an example of an orthophoto in a project that Mirante carried out using a drone to survey a dam.

The orthomosaic is the map composed of the union of the various photographs captured in an aerophotogrammetric survey process, as if it were a jigsaw puzzle. The orthomosaic can be georeferenced using ground control points.

Find out more about Aerophotogrammetry.

Absolutely! Initially, it’s important to have the models of the equipment that will be assembled and the environment in which it is inserted.

If we don’t have these models ready, we can scan them with a laser scanner, model them in a virtual environment and then simulate their assembly.

This type of activity is of the utmost importance for assembly planning, avoiding wasted time and safety risks.

Find out how we do this type of virtual assembly simulation with a 3D Laser Scanner.

One of the biggest challenges for mines and stockyards is controlling the volume of their ore stockpiles.

To meet this demand, we have several methods capable of cubing the volume.

The total station was the first piece of equipment to be used for surveying piles, but over time it has lost ground to laser scanners and UAVs.

The latter equipment is able to quickly cover a large area of piles, generating point clouds from which triangular meshes are generated and, subsequently, the cubing results.

Check out our case, where we see the product of a Laser Scanner survey for battery inventory.

Georadar is one of the most practical solutions for identifying underground interference with extreme accuracy.

Georadar or GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) is widely used before excavation phases, in the detailing of engineering projects, in the characterization of landfills, among other activities.

Geotechnologies are a set of technological solutions used to collect, process and analyze geographic information.

These solutions were developed using geoprocessing, a science that uses mathematical and computational techniques to process geographic data.

Learn more about Geotechnologies.