Pushing the Boundaries of Survey

By Cyn Whitfield, Senior Marketing Specialist

Michael Frecks knows he is a restless soul and will be the first to tell you he is always looking for the next technology to "advance" the survey profession. It was that restlessness that started his LiDAR survey journey.

Michael was one of the first four users to adopt LiDAR technology, but seeking out new technologies and a better, more efficient way of surveying has always been his mode of operation. When a client contacted him to help move a church with intricate roofing trusses, Michael knew traditional survey documentation would not fit the bill. In order to reassemble the structure in its new location, a highly detailed as-built would be needed. So, he started searching for a better way. What he found in 2000 was LiDAR technology.

"That’s when I found Cyrark’s Ben Kacyra and Jerry Dimsdale. Their technology of capturing multiple laser returns from what can only be considered a total station on steroids was just the solution." Michael convinced his company to purchase one of the first 2400 static scanners, which was quickly updated to the 2500 model. That’s how fast the technology was moving.

Later, that same company was hired to document 46 miles of fiber optic cables across southeast Nebraska. As the project surveyor, the standard approach of documenting along a route that was inaccessible by foot using existing technology seemed inefficient. At the time Leica debuted their long-range vector binoculars so Mike bought the only existing pair in the United States. The integration of a RTK solution on an all-terrain vehicle with information from the vector binoculars cut the project time by a third.

Throughout his 43-year career, Michael has educated and introduced thousands of surveyors to LiDAR technology, working in 38 states and six countries while using many of the first surveying prototypes. He founded three start-up LiDAR companies and advanced the survey departments of two others until he and his team landed at TREKK in 2018.

Those that know Michael will tell you that he speaks his mind when it comes to advancing the technology. But what truly sets Michael apart from other users is that Leica and other major manufacturers have sought out his expert opinion as a land surveyor for decades. He is known for pushing the technology to its limits, and his findings are respected across the industry.

“You have to see what it can’t do so you know the limitations of what you want to do," confirms Frecks. "I knew the banks of the Missouri River from the Kansas / Nebraska border to Ponca State Park from setting monuments every two tenths of a mile for the US Army Corp of Engineers hydrographic studies. I spent three years walking rail from Denver to Omaha, to Kansas City, to St Louis, to Chicago. Only surveyors that have been in these kinds of situations, who know the roar of a tunnel survey, or the alertness needed in traffic on a highway survey, long for a safer way of doing this work."

In 2005, he began exploring LiDAR from ground level moving platforms. "If airborne can do it, why can’t we do it from a moving truck that is out of harm’s way?" Michael wondered. He spent two years seeking out innovators and beta testing prototypes. Then, in 2007, a UK company founded by Dr. Graham Hunter offered to send him its StreetMapper mobile LiDAR system. It’s not often someone is entrusted with a $1 million piece of technology from across the pond, but Michael’s reputation preceded him. After putting it through the test, Michael had found his system. It was on that confidence that Michael formed Terrametrix in 2008 as a safer way to acquire civil transportation data. By the time Terrametrix joined TREKK in 2018, the StreetMapper had morphed into the multi-platform ROBIN mobile LiDAR system used by TREKK today.

"I’ve worked through the advancement in technology and know fad from proven. As surveyors, each new advancement has us questioning the longevity of our profession. Yet, each new step, if we embrace it, creates unique challenges, new opportunities for land surveying and a more efficient way of mapping the land," said Frecks.

From the chain to the electronic distance measurement device (EDM), total station, robotic total station, GPS, static scanning and now terrestrial mobile LiDAR scanning (TMLS), Michael has walked the walk. Because technology is constantly changing, so must a surveyor’s tools. Ever the visionary, Michael continues to look toward the future of TMLS technology, wondering what is next. And it’s a good chance that whatever is next for the survey profession, Michael will continue to be on the forefront.