Lidar

This issue of GIM is largely devoted to emergent Lidar technology. We have a feature on 3D-visualisation of Lidar data co-authored by new contributing editor Dr Bharat Lohani of IIT Kanpur India, and no fewer than two product surveys, one on Airborne Lidar Systems, the other on Lidar software. Two regular features, Technology in Focus and Company’s View, this month address processing the product of Lidar survey, point-clouds. Lidar is without doubt a most successful data-acquisition technique. As an acronym of Light Detection and Ranging - some prefer to read Lidar as Laser Imaging Detection And Ranging - the term... (read more)

2007-01-19 12:00:00

Airborne Lidar

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2017-01-05 08:56:47

LiDAR Compressor

LizardTech has released the LizardTech LiDAR Compressor. This product enables users to turn giant point cloud data into efficient MrSID files that retain 100% of the raw data at just 25% of the file size. Unlike raw LAS or ASCII data, LiDAR files compressed to MrSID are easily managed resources from which derivatives can be extracted over and over again. One of the key features of LiDAR Compressor is its ability to reduce LiDAR file sizes by 75% while retaining all of the points and all of the point precision and accuracy of the original file. If users... (read more)

2009-07-14 09:49:29

Lidar Map of Nigeria

The Enugu State has awarded a contract to a South African company to conduct aerial surveys of the state which is situated in the Eastern part of Nigeria. The creation of an accurate Geographical Information System or GIS is crucial to many government programs. The purpose of the survey is to provide the local municipality with accurate maps and surveys to be used for planning, development and infrastructure maintenance. Southern Mapping Company will be partnering with The Digital Map Company (DMCo) in Nigeria and share their knowledge, resources and expertise. SMC will be delivering a set of digital... (read more)

2009-07-06 10:34:59

Finnish National Lidar Survey

Blom has been awarded a contract to provide Lidar data for the National Land Survey of Finland (NLSF). The total contract value is approximately NOK34 million over a period of four years. The contract is expected to be signed in January 2010, with start-up of the project at the beginning of second quarter of 2010. NLSF is responsible for production and maintenance of geographic- and real estate information in Finland. The purpose of the project is to create a new and accurate national height model covering an area of app. 120 000 sq.km.The dataset will also provide valuable information for... (read more)

2009-12-18 03:04:04

Capturing Scenes with Lidar

Technology in Focus has on three occasions (February 2005, 2006 and 2007) addressed laser and terrestrial Lidar, also called 3D-laser mapping. The first two articles treated the laser component, and the last was on software processing to extract meaningful object models from point-clouds. This fourth article focuses on precautions required when capturing scenes. Terrestrial Lidar: I know what it is, I know what it does, but how do I capture a scene? Vendors of terrestrial Lidar scanners often proudly present the operation of their instruments in the field as “a piece of cake”. And they are right; it is convenient.... (read more)

2007-07-07 12:00:00

Lidar-based Survey Solutions

Optech Incorporated

Optech Incorporated focuses on the development, manufacture and support of advanced, lidar-based survey solutions. Established in 1974 as a privately held, Canadian-owned research and development firm, Optech was originally an offshoot of research into light detection and ranging ('laser radar') conducted by its founder, Dr Allan Carswell, at York University in Toronto. In the 1980s Optech airborne lidar systems produced the world's first nautical charts based on airborne lidar data. In the early 1990s, ground-based Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) systems were installed at several Arctic sites to monitor stratospheric ozone. At the same time, the company developed the compact, versatile... (read more)

2005-03-21 12:00:00

Lidar Quality Assurance

Open-source Software for Processing Lidar Point Clouds

Basic tools for processing Lidar point clouds, which can be extended depending on needs, provide a flexible platform for service providers and users alike. The companies Dielmo 3D, Spain, and Water Management, Australia, have demonstrated how a publicly available open-source application with basic tools for visualising, editing and analysing Lidar point clouds has been extended into a compliant platform that serves diverse applications including mapping of power-line corridors, land uses and riverbeds. By José Carlos Garcia and Rafael Torró (Spain), and David Hine (Australia) The platform, called DielmoOpenLiDAR and released under the GNU GPL licence, enables management and display of... (read more)

2015-06-01 11:39:59

Mapping with Mobile Lidar

High Speed, Accuracy and Density

The use of Mobile Lidar systems enters the scene when large areas have to be surveyed at accuracy and resolution exceeding those available through aerial photogrammetry, and when using static Lidar is impractical. The Lynx Mobile Mapper captures high-accuracy, high-density points, allowing easy and precise identification of objects. In 2006 Sineco S.p.A, an Italian engineering firm belonging to the ASTM Group, began collaborating with Optech Incorporated, the Canadian manufacturer of laser-based imaging systems, to develop a mobile Lidar system. The first prototype, ready in early 2007, combined two ILRIS-3D laser scanners with a position-and-orientation system (Applanix POS LV 420). This... (read more)

2009-04-02 12:00:00

European Lidar Mapping Forum

The ELMF team are taking the show to Salzburg, Austria from 29th to 30th November 2011. In four weeks time, since the launch of the second event, old and new exhibitors are taking stands with 60% of the floor plan already allocated. The organisers are also enjoying a very positive response to the Call for Papers that was announced recently with many abstracts already submitted. The deadline for online submission is 25th July 2011. The ELMF conference is a platform on which to launch the latest concepts from commercial or academic research, leading-edge innovations in technologies, improved operating practices, reports... (read more)

2011-06-30 02:39:04