A researcher uses the backpack-mounted Artec Jet scanner on an ice mapping expedition in Norway;
Credit: Deri Jones & Associates Ltd
On Friday 6 November 2026, Luxembourg-headquartered developer and manufacturer of professional 3D hardware and software Artec 3D reported that it had recently supported a team of researchers from Aberystwyth University on an ice mapping expedition to Norway.
According to Artec 3D, it loaned the expedition party its Artec Jet scanner along with the software to map 128,000 m² of melting Arctic ice. The researchers wore the scanner mounted to a backpack, so that they could cross the ice on foot. In only two hours, the scanner captured 51,500 m² of terrain, a job that would have taken days with conventional tripod-based equipment.
The project involved scanning large areas of snow and ice in remote locations, including one site which was a two-and-a-half hour trek from the road and at an elevation of over 1,500 m, making it susceptible to rapid changes in weather. Artec 3D said this required a lightweight, portable scanner capable of capturing large areas with high accuracy, such as its Artec Jet.
Over the course of ten days in the field, the team surveyed three different snow patches, laser scanned around 128,000 m² of snow patch, 180 m of ice tunnel, and 3.4K m of GPR transects then carried down some 120 kg of ice and biological samples.
Artec 3D said that using the data gathered, researchers should be able to measure how much the snow patch has shrunk and how much further it has to go before disappearing.
About Artec 3D
Artec 3D were recently involved in the creation of a bronze bust of Luxembourg’s Grand Duke Guillaume, sculpted by artist Serge Ecker for the Official Portraits exhibition marking the monarch’s accession to the throne.
Caption: Researchers set up the Artec Jet on a backpack at the forefield of the snowpatch in Norway
Credit: Deri Jones & Associates Ltd
