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Airborne LiDAR

High-density geospatial acquisition: airborne LiDAR with synchronised multi-sensor imaging

Multi-platform LiDAR and photogrammetric acquisition services

Sixense’s Helimap service delivers high-resolution helicopter-based LiDAR and aerial imaging surveys, providing precise and comprehensive data coverage for large or complex project environments. Designed to support infrastructure development, asset management, and environmental assessment, Helimap’s services enables teams to capture accurate topographic, structural, and terrain information rapidly, even in challenging, remote, or inaccessible areas. The result is a reliable, detailed digital representation of the real world that informs better planning, safer construction, and more effective long-term decision-making.

Using advanced LiDAR scanning technology mounted on helicopters, Sixense Helimap captures millions of survey-grade data points in each pass, producing highly detailed 3D point clouds and digital terrain models. This airborne approach allows for rapid surveying of long linear corridors such as railways, highways, transmission lines, pipelines, rivers, and coastline boundaries. Because the survey is conducted from the air, it avoids many of the safety and access risks associated with ground surveying, while significantly reducing operational and project disruption.

Sixense Helimap’s services also integrate aerial photography and high-resolution imaging with LiDAR datasets, allowing surface features to be visualised in context. This combined dataset supports accurate mapping of natural and built environments—including buildings, vegetation, utilities, and landforms—making it ideal for feasibility studies, route selection, environmental assessments, and engineering design. The resulting deliverables can be used directly in GIS, CAD, and BIM environments, ensuring seamless integration with client workflows.

The service is highly flexible and can be tailored to the specific needs of each project. Different flight altitudes and scan configurations can be used to optimise resolution, coverage, or data density. Sixense’s experienced aviation and survey teams plan and execute each mission carefully to account for terrain, weather, safety zones, and regulatory permissions. This ensures reliable, consistent, and accurate acquisition, even across sensitive or complex project environments.

Once captured, the data is processed using advanced modelling and quality control workflows to produce accurate terrain surfaces, contour models, asset maps, and 3D visualisations. Sixense’s specialists analyse the datasets and provide interpretation and reporting tailored to engineering, planning, or environmental requirements. The high precision and clarity of the data enable stakeholders to detect ground movement risks, optimise infrastructure design, monitor change over time, or assess asset conditions from a safe distance.

Helimap forms part of Sixense’s integrated digital services, allowing helicopter-acquired data to be combined with ground monitoring, InSAR satellite data, and geotechnical investigations. This integrated approach supports a complete understanding of the built and natural environment, enhancing project assurance and reducing risk. With Helimaps, Sixense delivers a powerful, efficient, and scalable solution for capturing the real world in exceptional detail—enabling informed decisions at every stage of the project lifecycle.

Sixense Helimap Brochure

Our solutions

Digital twins or corridor mapping

We offer optimized corridor mapping services for planning and maintenance of infrastructures, digital twin generation and BIM modelling:

  • Performance of around 200 km/day
  • Up to 1000 m coverage in a single pass
  • Multiple surveys (LiDAR, imagery, inspection and NIR or thermal) in the same flight
  • Up to 5 mm resolution and a LiDAR density of 800 points/m²

Reality mapping

We provide versatile and effective LiDAR and digital photogrammetry services in all environments, including cities, renewable energy sites and mountainous areas.

We transform high-precision data into tailor-made geospatial solutions to meet your needs, whatever your industry.

LiDAR mobile tunnels and bridges

 

  • Kinematic LiDAR and very high-resolution cameras on board land vehicles (cars or trains)
  • High-precision and high-density dynamic surveys for detailed scanning, photorealistic 3D modelling, and infrastructure analysis (tunnels, subways, etc.)
  • The perfect complement to aerial surveys (e.g. tunnels and bridges), operational day and night

Mapping and monitoring of natural environments

 

  • Accurate and reliable surveys in complex environments and inaccessible areas. A unique approach thanks to oblique helicopter surveys that avoid shadows and distortion
  • Over 15 years’ experience in coastal areas, mountain, valley and glacier surveys
  • Expertise and the ability to mobilize urgently to monitor sensitive areas

Visual inspection of infrastructure

 

  • Customized Nadir and oblique surveys for optimum visual inspection and high-resolution orthophotography
  • Exclusive data capture techniques and cutting-edge technologies for specific inspections, thermal imaging, near-infrared (NIR) imaging, 360° imaging and other applications

Planning and building new infrastructure

We help construction companies around the world to plan and build new infrastructures using high-precision LIDAR data and our highly advanced sensors.

  • Precise 3D modelling compatible with PLS-CADD
  • BIM integration for optimum project planning and management

Our advantages

  • Efficient data capture
  • Over 20 years of multidisciplinary experience in the LiDAR market
  • Modularity thanks to a combination of cameras and customized sensors
  • Performance thanks to our expertise and the use of the latest technology
  • A team of expert engineers to support your projects
  • International deployment
  • More than 30,000 km of experience corridor mapping projects worldwide

Our key figures

30'000

km of experience corridor mapping projects worldwide

25

years of experience

9

active sensors

Our areas of expertise

Powerlines

Risks & resilience, geology & mining, renewables

Railways

Mountain development and glaciology, hydrology and coastline, urban areas & infrastructure

Roads

Forestry, pipelines, virtual reality

To find out more about our expertise,
visit the Sixense Helimap website.