History

Robert “Bobby” Tuck formed Tuck Engineering, Inc. in 1985 with a mission to provide engineering services to coal mining companies in southwest Virginia. This new venture followed Bobby’s service to coal mines in the area after his graduation from Virginia Tech University with a degree in civil engineering.

While working with these companies, Bobby saw a need for reliable and dependable surveying services. Tuck’s transition to surveying and mapping services began in the late 80’s and has advanced along with the technology of surveying and mapping.

Tuck Mapping has become a leader in the aerial mapping industry and is recognized for innovation and creativity in providing solutions to client needs. Today, Tuck’s services extend far beyond coal mining companies and the borders of Virginia extending across the United States and into some foreign countries.

Tuck provides surveying and mapping solutions to clients with an emphasis on aerial applications. Tuck’s staff of trained professionals have completed more than 25,000 projects delivering services such as digital and conventional aerial photography, orthophotography, volumetric calculations, conventional and GPS surveys, cross-section surveys, aerial triangulation, digital elevation models, and LiDAR acquisition and processing.

Almost 25 years ago, Tuck Mapping was one of the first mapping companies to recognize the potential of LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) for quickly, accurately and cost-effectively acquiring survey data. Tuck was one of the first to use a helicopter-mounted LiDAR unit and helped pioneered the use of low-altitude flight for laser data acquisition. Based upon this early experience and understanding of how this new technology should be applied to client mapping needs, Tuck developed and launched the proprietary eagleeye® mapping system in 2005.

Eagleeye was one of the industry’s first integrated LiDAR and digital camera systems. It dramatically revolutionized how survey data was acquired and analyzed for many applications. The system’s high accuracy and speed of data acquisition make it ideal for highway corridors, transmission lines, site development and other applications that formerly could be done only with expensive and/or time consuming ground surveys. Tuck currently operates one helicopter equipped with this revolutionary mapping system.

Building on this revolutionary thought, in 2016, Tuck Mapping gained the capability of acquiring large format digital imagery and full waveform LiDAR data simultaneously from their twin-engine aircraft. The combination has yet again revolutionized Tuck Mapping and created an entirely digital workflow. This not only improves accuracy but efficiency as well.

Although Tuck Mapping has huge capabilities, it has official designation as a Virginia “small business” and is located in a Small Business Administration certified HUBZone area.