What is LiDAR?
Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) is a remote sensing method that works by firing 50k-2 million or more lasers per second. By keeping track of which direction the laser was fired, timing how long each pulse takes to reflect back, and measuring its return strength combined with GPS and Inertial Momentum Unit (IMU) data allows software to digital reconstruct a 3d point cloud representation of the real world environment.
LiDAR Advantages
01
Vegetation Penetration
LiDAR laser beams are narrow, ranging between .02-.5mm. This allows for penetration between trees and leafs to the forest floor or through grass to capture the true surface.
03
Accurate
LiDAR system is made of a laser unit, Inertial Momentum Unit (IMU), GPS, along side
02
Flexible
LiDAR units have come down in size drastically in the past few years. Dependent on the project there is many options in mode of capture including manned aircraft, UAV, vechicles, or even hand held.
04
Rapid Data Collection
A quality LiDAR system with robust drone based data capture procedures is unrivaled in coverage speed and accuracy for capturing 3d point clouds.
LiDAR Project Steps
01.
Planning
Defining project requirements, and acquiring any necessary permits or equipment.
02.
Data Capture
Setting ground control and performing data capture.
03.
Pre Processing
Taking the raw data from the LiDAR unit, IMU, and GPS alongside ground control and processing into a point cloud that is an accurate digital representation of the real world.
04.
Deliverables
From point cloud to deliverables. Digital surface models (DSM), digital terrain models (DTM), countour lines, feature extraction,