LiDAR system and aerial camera stabilized by GSM 4000

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3D cartography of complete French territory

GSM 4000 contributes to LiDAR HD program

The LiDAR HD program, initiated by IGN, aims to revolutionize national territory mapping through innovative approaches. Tasks encompass acquiring airborne LiDAR data, processing to meet specifications, and automatic classification using a Deep Learning model. These efforts, in conjunction with ground control point measurements, aim to produce comprehensive 3D maps of France by 2025. IGN, a public institution under ecological and forestry ministries, spearheads this project. As part of the France Relance plan, IGN’s LiDAR HD program endeavors to create a comprehensive three-dimensional map of France, excluding French Guiana, by 2025. This « Référentiel à Grande Echelle » (RGE) facilitates data sharing, access, and utilization, addressing various public stakeholders’ needs.

GSM 4000

Advantages for Lidar and Imagery Products

  • Crystal clear aerial imagery

    through precise sensor stabilization during flights
  • Saving of time and money

    time spent on aerial triangulation can be reduced by 20%
  • Flexibility and compatibility

    GSM 4000 is adaptable to any sensor and camera system

Central to IGN’s program is LiDAR technology, which emits high-frequency laser pulses to precisely determine geographical points’ positions. The project is structured into four phases: data acquisition, processing, hosting and distribution, and user support. Ground control points validate aerial data, ensuring mapping accuracy.

Data classification transforms raw point clouds into meaningful information, aiding in disaster prevention, sustainable forest management, energy transition, urban planning, and biodiversity conservation. GEOFIT and SINTEGRA contribute significantly to data collection and processing.

The project’s culmination involves 7,000 planned flight hours over five years, extending beyond conventional 3D cartography. It signifies a future of informed land management, where detailed environmental understanding and access to accurate data play pivotal roles in decision-making.

About IGN

The National Institute of Geographical and Forestry Information (IGN) is a public administrative organisation under the authority of the Ministries of Ecology and Forestry. As a public reference operator, IGN provides geographical and forestry information in France. The mission of the Institute is to produce, visualise, qualify and disseminate the geographic and forestry data that are essential for the implementation of public policies. To this end, IGN develops partnerships in order to focus energies that guarantee rich, comprehensive and up-to-date information.The Institute is a recognised scientific and technical Center thanks to its advanced expertise.

About SOMAG

SOMAG AG Jena is a global specialist for high-precision gimbal systems. The company focuses since 2004 on the development and manufacture of Gyro Stabilization Mounts for data acquisition and surveillance applications in the air, on land and at sea. The airborne product portfolio comprises three different Gyro Stabilization Mounts for large format, multiple medium format and single medium format sensors. All aerial camera stabilizers are designed for operation inside airplanes, helicopters or UAVs.

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Special Trade-In Offer

Save Up to 15,000 Euros!

As previously announced, our support for the GSM 3000 series is ending. Effective January 1, 2025, we will no longer offer maintenance and repair services for the GSM 3000. If you still own a GSM 3000 device, we have an exciting offer for you.

To make this transition easier, we have prepared an unbeatable offer for our customers: trade in your current GSM 3000 for its successor, the GSM 4000, and and save up to 15,000 euros! This limited-time offer is available to our valued customers who want to stay ahead with the latest technology.

Why upgrade to the GSM 4000?
The GSM 4000 sets the benchmark for large format cameras and scanners, offering unparalleled stability and performance for airborne surveying. The Gyro Mount adapts to any sensor and camera on the market, providing maximum flexibility in equipping your aircraft. Its high level of stabilization is critical for achieving the best results in mapping, surveying, and remote sensing projects. By significantly enhancing the efficiency and precision of both airborne imagery and LiDAR data collection, the GSM 4000 ensures that your projects meet the highest quality standards.

How to take advantage
Ready to elevate your surveying technology? Contact our sales or support team directly to learn more about this offer and begin your trade-in process. Our experts are here to answer your questions and assist you every step of the way.

Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to be at the forefront of surveying technology. The GSM 4000 is waiting for you!

We are here to help

Sales and Support

Sören Lieske
Sales Manager
Phone: +49 3641 633 68 18
E-Mail: s.lieske@somag-ag.de
Let’s connect on LinkedIn

Johannes Dreyer
Support Manager
Phone: +49 3641 633 68 17
E-Mail: j.dreyer@somag-ag.de
Let’s connect on LinkedIn

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Grand Prix for medium-sized businesses

SOMAG AG Jena Wins Prestigious Mittelstand Award

Jena-based SOMAG AG has been recognized as a 2023 recipient of the prestigious “Großer Preis des Mittelstandes” for its exceptional contributions to high-precision technology in aerial photography and data collection. Founded in 2004, SOMAG AG specializes in the development and manufacturing of Gyro Stabilization Mounts for various payloads, serving customers in over 50 countries.

The award ceremony, held on Saturday, 16th September 2023, saw company founder Konrad Steps receive the award, accompanied by former SOMAG engineer Bernhard Krauße at the award ceremony in Würzburg, Bavaria. SOMAG AG Jena congratulates Konrad Steps for his life’s work, highlighting his dedication and innovative spirit.

The company is also notable for its commitment to sustainability, innovative employee programs, and community support initiatives. This award highlights their significant impact on both the industry and the local community.

About the award: The Grand Prize of Medium-Sized Enterprises is a prestigious award in Germany that honors outstanding medium-sized companies. It is annually awarded by the Oskar Patzelt Foundation and recognizes exceptional achievements in areas such as innovation, commitment to the region, and job creation. The award promotes awareness of the economic and social significance of medium-sized businesses. Recipients are determined through a comprehensive selection process based on recommendations and submitted applications.

For more details, visit the official encomium (in German).

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GSM 3000

Service & Support ending in 2024

The support period of GSM 3000 ends. This means that from 01.01.2025 we no longer offer maintenance and repair for GSM 3000. If you own an old GSM-device and feel addressed we have good news:

  • Your GSM 3000 is still working smoothly? Contact now our support team and check if you can place a last maintenance order!
  • Time for something new? Take advantage of our trade-in offer for your scrapped GSM 3000 when ordering a brand new GSM 4000!


We look forward to hearing from you!


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SOMAG AG Jena

New company building

On 22.05.2023, SOMAG AG Jena celebrated the topping-out ceremony in the completed shell of the new company building. With the expansion of the space, the company lays the foundation for personnel growth. The space was already acquired at the end of 2016.

The new building offers decisive advantages, explains Schreiber: “We can optimize our entire processes, as we can completely configure the building to our needs and design the workplaces to suit specific tasks.”

Particular attention is being paid to expanding the test capacities of the Gyro Stabilization Mounts. Previously, SOMAG had to use external resources for this. The disadvantages – renting in test laboratories is associated with high costs and waiting times.

“With the expansion of our product portfolio, the frequency of tests has also increased. With the acquisition of a hexapod and the establishment of an in-house EMC laboratory, we are more flexible and can consistently increase the quality and performance of our stabilization platforms,” says Schreiber, explaining the layout of the new space.

The fact that this project could be started despite the pandemic is due on the one hand to the good economic management of the last few years, and on the other hand to the fact that the company has come through the Corona period without any damage: “We have been able to maintain our production and generate constant sales. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our entire team, who have shown great commitment in supporting all the necessary measures to contain the pandemic”, says Schreiber.

CEO Andreas Steps is certain that the new building will also have a positive impact on the sense of community within the company: “At present, some of the staff work in the main building and the rest in an adjoining building. It is important for the spirit of innovation and teamwork to unite all employees under one roof again, where they will find optimal working conditions. At the same time, we are creating the conditions for further growth in terms of personnel in order to meet the constant demand for our devices”, Steps concludes.


Once all the construction work has been completed, a total of 1700 square meters will be available for up to 50 employees – twice as many as before. As with all SOMAG AG Jena company buildings, the aspect of environmental protection has been considered from the very beginning.A generously dimensioned photovoltaic system on the roof of the new company building will enable an almost self-sufficient power supply in the future.

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SOMAG AG Jena launches

Nautical / Nimble Gyro Stabilization Mount NSM 500

SOMAG announces the launch of the new NSM 500, a medium-sized Gyro Mount between the smaller RSM 50 and the larger OSM 5000. With the launch of the NSM 500, SOMAG has now advanced all three devices of the marine and land product line to series 5.

Reliable Gyro Stabilization for Surveillance Sensors

The NSM 500 was primarily designed for the stabilization of surveillance sensors on medium to large maritime vessels and on mobile ground vehicles. Non-stabilized systems follow the movement of the water caused by the swell or the movement of the vehicle driving over uneven terrain, which adversely affects the detection and threat-tracking capabilities of the sensor. Using a Gyro Stabilization Mount ensures a stabilized field of view and high-resolution images by compensating the movements of the vessel or vehicle. This allows EO/IR systems to scan their environment without interference even in extreme sea and land conditions, in order to best detect, track and classify asymmetric air and surface threats. The NSM 500 is the perfect gimbal for IRST (infra-red search and track) and other surveillance systems to ensure 360° protection for surface vessels of naval forces or mobile land vehicles of land forces.

Reliable stabilization performance proven in long-term test

In 2022 an unprecedented long-term test was conducted with the NSM over a total period of 7 months (March to September). For this purpose, the NSM was installed on a frigate that was on a mission in the Mediterranean Sea. The Gyro Mount was placed in an elevated position on a mast high above the ship’s pivot, which represents a typical but also challenging case of application for the gyro gimbal, since this pivot offset causes the angular movements to result in tangential accelerations, to which additional sway, heave and surge accelerations add up. The task of the gimbal was to stabilize a panoramic, long-range, wide area surveillance sensor system.

Sebastian Schreiber, CTO at SOMAG comments: “The NSM is a real workhorse. The data we got from the test shows that the gyro gimbal delivers the best stabilization performance even over a long period of time and under different weather and water conditions, providing exceptionally sharp data and comprehensive situational awareness.”

The white line in the data sample shows the excitation of the ship, which moved in the roll axis up to almost +15°. The sensor on the other hand (yellow line) remained stable during this time and showed a residual deviation from perpendicular of just 0.11°. The use of the Nautical Gyro Stabilization Mount reduced the existing movements of the sensor system by about 45 times in this mission data example.

Data example

Long-term test NSM

 

Quality and improvement

In addition to this long-term test, further quality tests have been performed and successfully passed with the NSM in recent months, including a temperature test, an IP class test and a vibration test. The evolved NSM 500 features advanced control algorithms, enhanced diagnosis possibilities and an Ethernet communication interface that allows integration into existing networks as well as control and monitoring of multiple Gyro Mounts within the network.

NSM 500 now available

The new NSM 500 is commercially available as of now. For further questions and prices please contact SOMAG sales team.
In order to give you the best possible assistance, please include the following information in your request:

  • Where should the Mount be installed (floating platform, ship etc.)?
  • Dimensions (length/width/weight) of the platform or vessel
  • How many meters above the waterline should the Mount and the payload be installed?
  • Center of gravity and weight of the payload
  • Further information you consider important

The more information we get about the planned application, the better we can support you.

Find out more

NSM 500 – Marine

NSM 500 – Marine

NSM 500 – Land

NSM 500 – Land

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