Five StreetMapper’s Take to the Roads in Japan

StreetMapper, the mobile laser mapping system, has announced delivery of its fifth system to Japan in less than a year.  The StreetMapper equipped vehicles enable 3D laser scan surveys to be undertaken at normal road traffic speeds and are being used for a range of mapping projects across Japan.  StreetMapper, a joint development between the UK’s 3D Laser Mapping and German navigation specialist IGI, is distributed by Japanese company Mirukuru.

“Feedback from our client’s show the StreetMapper systems are mainly being used in road mapping projects,” commented Shinji Inaba of technical consultancy company, Mirukuru. “Using StreetMapper they can achieve greater accuracies of measurement and a much denser and more complete point cloud cover. All at a fraction of the price of more traditional airborne or terrestrial surveys.”

Asia Air Survey were the first company in Japan to adopt the highly accurate mobile mapping system, making headlines with their use of StreetMapper to assess the damage caused by the earthquake in March 2011. Building on this successful application the specialist surveying company has recently purchased a second system. The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, the national organisation for surveying and mapping, has also recently taken delivery of a StreetMapper Portable system, while construction consultants ASCO are already operating two similar solutions.

“As well as the high profile use of the StreetMapper system assessing the structural damage caused by the earthquake and tsunami last year, we have also had reports of StreetMapper systems being used for power line mapping, 3D city modelling as well as road profile and section measurement and asset data collection,” continued Inaba.

StreetMapper has been specifically designed for the rapid 3D mapping of highways, runways, railways, infrastructure and buildings. Using vehicle-mounted lasers offering a 360-degree field of view, StreetMapper enables high precision mapping to a range of 300 metres, a capacity of 550,000 measurements per second per sensor and recorded accuracies in independent real world projects of better than 10 millimetres.

Utilising StreetMapper 360 technology StreetMapper Portable combines flexibility and ease of use with
proven performance and accuracy. StreetMapper Portable is small enough to check in as standard luggage at the airport and designed to be installed in a matter of minutes on virtually any vehicle making it ideal for rapid deployment in inhospitable or inaccessible environments.

StreetMapper has been developed by UK based 3D Laser Mapping in conjunction with German based guidance and navigation specialist IGI mbH. The system employs the latest laser scanning technology for improved field performance and accuracy, precision navigation including a solution for reduced GPS coverage in urban areas, combined with a flexible, modular configuration and increased ease of use and deployment.


3D Laser Mapping is a global developer of laser scanning solutions for sectors such as mapping, mining and manufacturing. 3D Laser Mapping specialises in integrating laser scanning hardware with their own software and peripherals to create solutions at the cutting edge of technology. Through a worldwide network of distributors 3D Laser Mapping is able to provide frontline support and service for a growing international client base. 3D Laser Mapping is also the Riegl Premier Distributor for the UK, Ireland and sub-Saharan Africa and the leading distributor of TerraScan software.


Mirukuru is a technical consultant company for 3D measurement. A business partner of 3DLM and IGI in the Japanese market their technical background is Photogrammetry and Laser measurement. Mirukuru is also working in the 3D City model business. The achievement of Mirukuru always expands since the company establishment in 2003.