Airborne Lidar has revolutionised area-wide 3D data for topography, vegetation, buildings and infrastructure. This article is a good overview of the evolution of sensors and aircraft technology. It also highlights how continued advancements have led to new applications for Lidar technology and the resulting ultra-high-resolution 3D point clouds now utilised by companies worldwide.
Key topics discussed include:
- From Single to Multiple Pulses in the Air
- From Multi-photon to Single-photon Lidar
- From Single-purpose Scanners to Hybrid Sensor Systems
- From Manned to Unmanned Platforms
Further improvements in the fields of sensors, aircraft technology, robotics, automation and miniaturisation will lead to ever higher point densities and industry use-cases. We are now starting to see Lidar and image sensors mounted on multi-rotor and fixed-wing UAV platforms. This is a big deal for the forestry sector. New developments in wireless networks and data transfer will also add more timely data to the management of forestry inventories. The future looks bright.
Click here for the full story (GIM)
Image credit: Sean McBride
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