Aerial photographs from Bluesky are being used to market a stunning range of new apartments in London. The high resolution, full colour images of London have been used with dramatic effect to create an Eastenders’ style floor in the marketing suite of Bellway Homes’ Equinox development in Poplar. Produced by Printed Space on behalf of property marketing agency Think BDW, the images clearly show the proximity of the development to landmarks such as the River Thames and the City as well local facilities.

The original image file supplied by Bluesky was nearly 2Gb in size and this was manipulated by Printed Space to exactly fit the available space and the design requirements of the project. The real world view of the development and surrounding area also includes 3D style depictions of famous landmarks including the old Millennium Dome, now the O2 Arena, and Canary Wharf.

The Bluesky images were printed onto Floorink, a hard wearing, 4m wide vinyl cushion floor. Developed by Forbo, in partnership with Printed Space, Floorink provides a unique design solution for any space. “Floorink allows people to get creative with their floor space, rather than having to choose from a standard range or set pattern. The high quality of the print allows clients to have very intricate designs and detailed photographs reproduced to fill their floor area,” commented Michelle Holt, Director of Printed Space.

“Bluesky aerial mapping is a perfect choice to have printed for commercial, educational and exhibition floor spaces. For this particular installation, the aerial photography gives the prospective buyer a large scale visual guide to the area they would be moving to – you can clearly see bus stops, parks, where traffic builds up etc. I think it is such an invaluable tool for this marketing suite, and it really makes them stand out from their competitors.”

The Bluesky image was reproduced from an original aerial survey of London flown in 2010, captured at a height of 3,400 metres with a large format DCX digital survey camera. The resulting images were processed into a map accurate digital data set covering 1,539 square kilometres of Greater London at 25cm resolution.

Bluesky's Hasselblad camera

Aerial survey company Bluesky is accelerating the digitisation of its archive of historically important aerial photographs following the acquisition of a new camera from the same range used by NASA on the Apollo space missions.

The high end DSLR Hasselblad camera is being used to photograph original survey films dating back to the 1940s in order to make the images available to view and purchase online at www.oldaerialphotos.com. Using the new camera Bluesky can capture high resolution images in a fraction of the time it currently takes to scan each frame meaning they can be offered at the lowest ever price.

“Using the Hasselblad we can process an entire film in a matter of minutes compared to the many hours it would take to scan,” commented James Eddy, Technical Director of Leicestershire based Bluesky. “This means that we can make more images instantly available for visitors to the Old Aerial Photos website to preview and offer them for sale at a reduced price. While this production method is suitable for 90 per cent of customers we can still offer scanned images for more technical applications as well as hard copy prints together with letters of authenticity and other professional services.”

Hasselblad cameras are considered market leaders and almost all of the still photographs taken during the Apollo space missions, including the first man on the moon, used modified Hasselblad cameras. The H4D-50MS being used by Bluesky has an extra large sensor – measuring twice the physical size of the largest 35mm DSLR sensors, as well as True Focus with Absolute Position Lock (APL) for accurate composing at close range with shallow depth-of-field. Combined with a high performance lens – the Hasselblad HC Macro 4/120mm – and a dedicated Apple iMac computer, Bluesky is achieving ultimate image quality and maximum performance.

“Each frame of film produces a photograph that is about 150Mb,” continued Eddy. “Our first priority is those films already referenced on the OldAerialPhotos website and we estimate these films will result in approximately 70Tb of data. The entire archive – currently over 1.5 million images dating back as far as 1917 – will be about 250Tb, more than four times the volume of all the images for Google Earth!”

The films being photographed using the Hasselblad camera and lens form part of an historically important archive that includes some of the earliest commercial aerial survey images. Offering a record of most major UK cities and towns, transport and utility infrastructure and commercial property developments, the images being made available on www.oldaerialphotos.com are an invaluable resource for anyone with a personal or professional interest in local studies, genealogy, boundary disputes, environmental land use research or town planning.

“As we will be updating the site with images on a regular bases we recommend visitors check in from time to time to see if their area of interest is covered,” concluded Eddy.

goo.gl/r3RSr

Bluesky Solar Maps are helping businesses in the South of England benefit from free or low cost electricity. Working with Tidebank Energy, Bluesky has identified commercial properties across Hampshire, Dorset and West Sussex that have suitable roofs for arrays of solar panels. Qualifying businesses can enjoy free Solar electricity in exchange for renting their roof space to Tidebank Energy – who install, manage and maintain the solar array with no cost to the property owner.

“Bluesky’s Solar Maps offered us a quick yet highly effective method of identifying commercial properties that would be suitable for solar panels. The alternatives – walking the streets or trawling through online mapping portals such as Google Earth – simply weren’t viable,” commented Kevin Jones, Partner of Tidebank Energy LLP. “The maps were easy to use and have helped us locate a huge number of previously unknown properties with real potential. The Bluesky maps also help us pre qualify our approach to prospective clients.”

Using the Bluesky Solar Maps, Tidebank can identify commercial properties with optimum conditions for solar panel arrays. Following agreement with the property owner Tidebank install a photovoltaic (a method of generating electrical power by converting solar radiation) system, which they pay for and retain ownership of. The property owner can then use as much of the generated electricity as they wish with the remainder being fed back to the National Grid generating income for Tidebank under the Government’s Clean Energy Cash Back scheme.

Bluesky has a unique method of generating solar potential maps using photogrammetric techniques to accurately measure and record factors that may contribute to the suitability for solar power. Bluesky calculates the energy potential using high resolution aerial photography combined with 3D data to determine the size, aspect and gradient of individual properties. The suitability of each roof element is then considered taking into account roof shape and other impediments such as sky lights or dormer windows, as well as potential obstructions such as neighbouring properties or trees. Bluesky can also provide measurements for other environmental energy projects such as wind turbines, micro hydro and heat pumps.

A computer-generated 3D model of Warrington Town Centre is supporting ambitious regeneration plans as part of the Borough Council’s Town Centre Urban Design Masterplan, which is currently in development. Created by aerial mapping company Bluesky the highly accurate model will be used to show how proposed town centre regeneration schemes would look after development.

The Bluesky model was supplied ready for use in the Council’s Computer Aided Design software application – AutoCAD and in Google SketchUp. The highly accurate and detailed 3D model, derived from the most up to date stereo aerial photography, includes the surface of the earth or terrain together with all buildings and trees in the urban centre. Using existing software Warrington Borough Council can model proposed works or new developments in order to visualise, communicate and assess their impact on the urban environment.

“The Bluesky model gives a unified spatial vision of the structures within and the extent of the current town centre,” commented Zuned Vorajee, Urban and Rural Designer at Warrington Borough Council. “Using existing software we can add or remove buildings or public amenities in order to model the impact of proposed regeneration schemes and other outcomes of the Council’s Town Centre Urban Design Masterplan and the model is excellent tool for communicating ideas and plans to Councillors and members of the public.”

According to the Warrington Town Centre Public Realm Strategy Document the ‘vision for the town centre builds upon it’s existing and historic assets, modern development and contemporary and innovative design to create a high quality, legible and coherent public realm that binds the town centre together creating a distinct identity’ it is hoped that ‘by 2030, Warrington will be recognised as one of the best places to live and work in the UK where everyone enjoys an outstanding quality of life’.

Bluesky Building Models are created from the most up to date, high-resolution, stereo aerial photography. Accurate to +/- 25cm in most urban areas the Bluesky city models also include road detail and an underlying Digital Terrain Map (DTM) to place the urban representation in its true world context. The standard Bluesky 3D city model can be enhanced with the addition of vertical, oblique or ground photography to deliver additional detail and real world visual impact.

“Oliver brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the existing Board of Directors and will prove invaluable as we continue to develop our already extensive range of environmental data products – such as the UK’s first solar energy maps, heat loss mapping and night time aerial surveys,” commented Bluesky’s Managing Director Rachel Tidmarsh. “His management experience, Chairmanships and charitable works make Oliver a powerful ambassador in our target markets both at home and overseas.”

Oliver Rothschild was formerly Senior Vice President of American General Investments amongst a range of Chairmanships that span a wide variety of industries including sustainable energy, corporate strategy, cloud computing, media and the arts. Rothschild has also held a Board-level position with the Carbon Advice Group, an organisation that engages with individuals and businesses to combat climate change.

“This appointment is extremely exciting as it combines two of my great interests – IT and the green agenda, I hope that my experience and expertise will complement the skills already present and that by working with Bluesky we can, together, continue to develop and bring to market innovative geographic data solutions,” commented Oliver.

Oliver Rothschild has joined the board of Bluesky

Aerial surveying company Bluesky has secured 2.4 million Euros to fund research into the development of a web based renewable energy rating platform. Working with partners from across Europe Bluesky will investigate the use of geographic data to assess the suitability of individual properties for solar energy generation and create a web based portal to deliver this data online. On completion of the research project Bluesky will retain the rights to the ‘engine’ that is used to analyse the raw data as well as the web portal and backend systems.

“This is a tremendous achievement for Bluesky and is recognition of the pioneering work we have already undertaken into green energy mapping,” commented Rachel Tidmarsh, Managing Director of Leicestershire based Bluesky International. “We are proud to be working with some of the leading organisations in this field from across Europe and we are looking forward to the challenges this research project will present.”

The title of the research project is “Development and demonstration of a dynamic, web based, renewable energy rating platform” and is funded by the Commission of the European Communities under Framework Programme 7. Framework Programmes (for Research and Technological Development) are funding programmes created by the European Union to support and encourage research. The total fund awarded is 2.4 million Euros commencing from the project start which will before the end of 2011.

Bluesky will be working with a number of prestigious organisations from across Europe including the Solar Trade Association in the UK, Svensk Solenergi of Sweden, Solar Macedonia, Alemanys Saludes Asociados from Spain as well as the Universities of Leicester, Karlsruhe in Germany and Selcuk in Turkey. The project will be coordinated by the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) with Bluesky acting as lead for the technical aspect.

The research will initially focus on the exploitation of geographic data, such as aerial photography and LiDAR, for the automatic extraction of information relating to the suitability of a property for renewable energy production. This will in turn look at ways to include a variety of other types of data from across Europe and potentially globally. The second element of the project is to create a web based portal to deliver this information to energy companies, government organisations, installers and even individuals providing unbiased information on every property in the EU. Initially focused on solar generation it is expected the project will also encompass other types of renewable energy such as wind, hydro and ground source heat, making it the primary renewables portal and placing Bluesky firmly at the forefront of this technology.

Working with leading carbon reduction company Sustain, Bluesky is helping a number of Housing Associations across the UK make the most of their housing stock’s solar energy potential. Using high resolution aerial photography combined with detailed 3D models Bluesky are able to measure the potential for solar energy generation for individual properties based on a number of contributing factors such as roof size and aspect. These measurements are helping the Housing Associations produce income from Feed-in Tariffs, reduce energy bills for householders and decrease carbon emissions.
“To date, working with Bluesky, we have calculated the potential solar energy yield of nearly 15,000 properties across the UK,” commented Antony Scott, Senior Associate at Sustain Ltd. “Using the data supplied we are able to calculate the potential yield on a roof by roof basis. This can then be amalgamated into a value for the entire stock. We then work with the individual Housing Association to offer advice on funding options and on procurement, as well as management of the installation programme.”

Bluesky calculate the energy potential using high resolution aerial photography combined with 3D models of the earth’s surface to determine the size, aspect and gradient of each roof in the study area. The suitability of each roof is also considered taking into account sharp angles and other impediments such as sky lights or dormer windows. Potential obstructions such as nearby buildings or trees can also be identified and mapped. This data is combined with a given panel size to determine the number of potential panels and an estimate of solar irradiation.

Using the Bluesky generated measurements Sustain calculate the potential yield of each property based on the number of panels, provided by Bluesky, and the recorded roof aspect and slope. The algorithms used by Sustain also take into account the location of the property to normalise the calculation from optimum or maximum to a realistic ‘expected’ or average yield.

Bluesky has a unique method of generating solar potential maps using photogrammetric techniques to accurately measure and record factors that may contribute to the suitability of a property for photovoltaic (a method of generating electrical power by converting solar radiation) systems. Bluesky’s experienced photo interpreters are trained to identify and record potential obstructions such as neighbouring properties or trees and can provide measurements for other environmental energy projects such as wind turbines and heat pumps.

Aerial surveying company Bluesky has supplied nearly 4,000 square kilometres of detailed 3D height data to Kent County Council. Covering the whole of Kent the Digital Terrain Model (DTM) and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) show heights above sea level and can be used to create 3D visualisations of the earth’s surface and structures that cover it in order to provide real world detail. Kent Council plan to use the data for a range of applications including viewshed analysis of major works, feasibility studies, planning applications and site investigations.

“We previously had access to height data as part of the Mapping Services Agreement (MSA) but this was not included within the Public Sector Mapping Agreement (PSMA). We therefore needed to source replacement data in order to continue with a wide range of projects and applications that had come to depend on these type of models,” commented Ben Holmes, Senior GIS Technician for Kent County Council. “We selected the Bluesky data as they were able to provide the accuracy and coverage we required with a competitive price and quick turnaround. The in-perpetuity licence also made it very attractive.”

Kent County Council plan to use the Bluesky data in a wide range of application areas including prediction of archaeological sites, support for highways planning works, viewshed analysis of major works – for example an incinerator at Aylesford and production of ‘walk profiles’ to give ramblers a more accurate representation of difficulty. The data will also provide context for other types of mapping and will support feasibility studies and public consultations such as a proposed cable car system in the Dover area.

“The Bluesky data will be used in similar projects as those already completed and as there are no restrictions on the use of the data in relation to flooding, we hope to investigate it’s use in this area as well,” continued Holmes.

The Bluesky height models are available in a range of formats suitable for use in Geographical Information System (GIS), Computer Aided Design (CAD) or 3D visualisation software and are designed for applications that require a real world representation of the earth’s surface and the vegetation and buildings that cover it. From simple identification of ground surface features to more complex projects including flood risk assessment and mobile network planning, the data is offered free of Crown Copyright with flexible licensing terms.

Several websites are also offering samples of the imagery including  www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk