Blom is a European service provider within acquisition, processing and modelling of geographical

information Information is an Abstraction, abstract concept that refers to something which has the power Communication, to inform. At the most fundamental level, it pertains to the Interpretation (philosophy), interpretation (perhaps Interpretation (log ...

. Blom maintains European databases with collections of map, images and models. With particular focus on online services, Blom provides data and services to customers in government, enterprise and consumer markets and enables partners to create applications using Blom’s databases, location-based services and navigation systems. Blom has more than 600 employees and subsidiaries in 10 countries. The company

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

is in Oslo,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The parent company NRC Group is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange ().

History

Blom ASA was founded in 1954 by hydrographer Ole H. Blom. By 1988 the company was listed on Oslo Stock Exchange. In 2015, the company merged with Team Bane and Svensk Järnvägsteknik to create NRC Group, making Blom a subsidiary of the new company.

Operations

The primary business areas are

aerial photography Aerial photography (or airborne imagery) is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other flight, airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography. Platforms for aerial photography include fixed-wi ...

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laser scanning Laser scanning is the controlled Deflection (physics), deflection of laser beams, visible or invisible. Scanned laser beams are used in some 3-D printers, in rapid prototyping, in machines for material processing, in laser engraving machines, i ...

(LiDAR), mapping and modelling,

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and a ...

s and database applications, GIS services and online map services (BlomURBEX). Blom uses large format cameras mounted in twin-engined fixed-winged

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

or rotor wing helicopters assisted by

Global Positioning System The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide ge ...

(GPS) with

Inertial Measurement Unit An inertial measurement unit (IMU) is an electronic device that measures and reports a body's specific force, angular rate, and sometimes the Orientation (geometry), orientation of the body, using a combination of accelerometers, gyroscopes, an ...

s (IMU) to perform oblique and vertical aerial photography. In addition, the company capture map data using survey cameras, laser scanners (LiDAR) and Hyperspectral scanners. Blom maintains a large database of oblique and vertical aerial photography, laser data, map models such as 3D city models, digital surface models and digital terrain models, and digital orthophoto images .

References

{{reflist Business services companies of Norway Companies based in Oslo Business services companies established in 1954 Companies listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange Norwegian companies established in 1954