Saturday, June 18, 2016

LIDAR - How does LIDAR technology work

After archaeologists in Cambodia discovered, previously undocumented vast medieval cities hidden beneath the jungle, everyone starts to pay much attention on LIDAR technology. It was used to reveal this hidden city that is not far from the ancient temple city of Angkor Wat.

In this post, knowledge hub kh will introduce you what the LIDAR is and how it is data collected.

What is LIDAR?
LIDAR, standing for Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote sensing technology that measures ranges (variable distances) to the earth by illuminating a target with a laser light and analyzing the reflection. 

The basic technology has been around since the 1970s but it had limited application due to its size, cost, complexity. With dramatic enhancement in laser, and detection technology, computational speed, and memory storage have broaden a wide range of applications.

LIDAR systems allow scientists and mapping professionals to examine both natural and manmade environments with accuracy, precision, and flexibility.

SOURCE: ASPRS

How is LIDAR data collected?
As an airborne laser is illuminated a targeted area on the ground, the beam of light is reflected by the surface it encounters. This reflected light, recorded by a sense, will be used to measure a range.

Laser ranges are merged with position and orientation data which is generated from integrated GPS and Inertial Measurement Unit systems, scan angles, and calibration data to generate "point clouds". Each point in the point cloud consists of three-dimensional spatial coordinates which include latitude, longitude, and height corresponding to a particular point on the Earth’s surface from which a laser pulse was reflected.

Applications of LIDAR:
  • Agriculture, Archaeology, Autonomous vehicles
  • Biology and conservation
  • Geology and soil science
  • Atmospheric remote sensing and meteorology
  • Law enforcement, Military, Mining, Physics and astronomy
  • Robotics, Spaceflight, Surveying, and Transport
  • Wind farm optimization
  • Solar photovoltaic deployment optimization

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