A Brief Tutorial on Solid-State LiDAR

Solid -State LiDAR: The beginning of new era of 3D Scanning

Over the past few years, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) has become more popular as well as affordable than it was once. In a simple language, LiDAR calculates the distance of things from you. LiDAR is a surveying method that measures the distance to a target by highlighting the target with laser lights and measures the laser reflections with a sensor to get an accurate distance. With the evolution of modern technologies, LiDAR also has seen advancements. Solid-State LiDAR has come up with a small and cheap tool enough for everyone to use. A new era of LiDAR is approaching very soon. Here is everything you need to know about Solid-state LiDAR.

Solid-State LiDAR

Also read: A Complete Guide To What Is Lidar: Light Detection And Ranging

Solid-State LiDAR: Check the real heck here

Solid-state LiDAR is nothing but a LiDAR on a microchip. You all are aware of computer microchips. Right? A microchip is an integration of working with the separate transistors and capacitors. Solid-State LiDAR does the same thing. It integrates the different mechanical parts into a single microchip.

By eliminating the mechanical parts, Solid-State LiDAR gains a lot of benefits. Firstly, it is amazingly small in size. The researchers have managed to develop Solid-state LiDAR chips that are only of hundred microns in size, pretty much smaller than the diameter of a human hair.

The DARPA Program Manager explains “We’ve been able to transform what currently is the largest and most expensive part of laser-scanning systems into something that could be inexpensive, robust and fabricated using the same manufacturing technology as silicon microchips.”

Uses and Benefits of using Solid-State LiDAR

The solid-State LiDAR is a big deal for the customers as it likely makes the technology omnipresent. The technology can be easily implemented in cell phones, self-driving vehicles, and many more places that are far from its reach. However, it will also be a big deal for the commercial users regarding following points:

Speed

Besides of cost and compact size, the solid-state LiDAR has the significant advantage of speed which allows fast building plans, security scans, drone mapping and so on.

Better SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping)

The solid-state LiDAR will be able to make use of SLAM efficiently than the terrestrial scanner. The device will be excellent at creating a map of space and can simultaneously use that map to figure out its location within that space.

Live-Mapping

The Live Mapping will also be possible by using Solid-state LiDAR. It will undoubtedly allow project teams to stream data back to the office in real time. Thus, the data process will be rapid as well as viewed right to perform the mapping.

Breaking the Point Boundary

Up till now, it was difficult for scanners to cross “1 Million Point boundary” with one laser and one sensor. Thus, with the introduction of Solid-state LiDAR, the next logical step would seem to be of multiple sensors, laser scanners, etc. would be a considerable leap indeed!

To conclude, the solid-state LiDAR scanners will certainly lead to a whole new era of 3D Imaging for customers and commercial users.

Source: https://blog.nibt.education/2018/03/what-is-solid-state-lidar/

Do you know Why Use Photogrammetry for Surveying and Mapping?

There is the long History of Photogrammetry use in the field of surveying and mapping. Photogrammetry can also use for measuring points as well as to generate point-clouds.

Point-clouds which generates from Photogrammetry is portable, cost-effective, and also versatile as compared to its LiDAR-Laser Imaging, Detection & Ranging and Chief rival. Thus, it has always had a faithful following among practitioners.

In the previous years, however, interest in the concept of Photogrammetry among surveying professionals are enjoying a higher boom in the industry. This recent trend has catalyzed because of the rise of low-priced and affordable, aerial drones, or UAVs (Unman Aerial vehicle). The UAVs provide many benefits which make Photogrammetry not only friendly but also more accessible. Thus, this has driven to a revitalized interest in the technology.

Furthermore, to understand why? Let’s first check what makes the Photogrammetry so impressive for some of the kinds of Photogrammetry in ground-based surveying.

The Benefits of Photogrammetry in Ground-Based Surveying are-

• Photogrammetry is the method which generates a 3D model with the help of a set of 2D photographs.
• In the surveying, by using two or more than that images of the similar point from the several different angles. Furthermore, these images are then loaded and placed into Photogrammetry software like Photo Modeler; this relocates the images by a baseline. And also it uses that data to differentiate the elevation of that point. To create a detailed mesh model of the entire area, you can take and also use enough of these images

What is LiDAR in Photogrammetry?

LiDAR is the essential technological choice to Photogrammetry for dense point cloud modeling. And it also usually called laser scanning. LiDAR works and operates by transmitting a pulsed laser along the point, and it also measures the time it needs to reflect back. Thus, unlike Photogrammetry, it requires merely a single direction, i.e., “line of sight.” And it can perform it better satisfied for specific applications like mapping vegetation-heavy areas.

However these technological differences, Photogrammetry have presented continuously a very remarkable “business proposition,” for numerous reasons:

Let’s check more-

1. It’s cost-effective- LiDAR equipment ore device is costly, and it also requires specialized expertise to operate it correctly. Photogrammetry needs only a DSLR camera and the software that can work on a standard computer machine.
2. It’s easily accessible & available- Due to the requirement for the specialized device, equipment tools, and operators, LiDAR resources are usually difficult to secure on short-term notice. Photogrammetry equipment can fit and match in the back of any surveyor’s truck, and also you can operate it efficiently yourself.
3. It is versatile- Photogrammetry technology has emerged to the point where it’s tremendous global-purpose imaging engine. LiDAR has further specific use cases due to technological constraints. Such as the majority of the equipment, and difficulty in acquiring high-resolution images.

Hence, these benefits present Photogrammetry an appealing prospect for certain kinds of ground-based surveying. While ground-based LiDAR has its place, accessibility and broad application of Photogrammetry have made it a natural “default” option in multiple situations.

Aerial surveying, yet, is another different story. While several of the above strengths still apply. Aerial Photogrammetry has historical one clear bottleneck: the aircraft itself. Renting an airplane with a techno-scientific aerial camera could often negate photogrammetry’s key powers – they are quite expensive, inconvenient to mobilize, and limited in the levels of elevation and angles they can capture. Because of this, the decision between aerial Photogrammetry and LiDAR has conventionally been less clear-cut.

Conclusion

Photogrammetry has always been a critical technology for mapping and surveyors, and the rise of new technologies have merely taken it to the next level.

A Complete Guide To What Is Lidar: Light Detection And Ranging

Ever imagined that you can calculate how far everything is away from you? Yes, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) does this for you. Excited to know what is LiDAR? What are its types and what magic it can perform in this era of modern technology? Let’s have a quick look!

What is Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging)?

Basically, LiDAR is a distance technology. It is the latest disruptive technology having its use in various fields and now in the construction industry as well. From an aircraft or a helicopter, the lidar system actively sends light energy to the ground. The signal hits the ground and returns to the sensor.

It measures the time for the emitted light to return back to the sensor, and in the end, it gets a changeable distance to the Earth.

What are the types of Lidar?

There are basically two types of Lidar: Airborne and Terrestrial Lidar systems.

Let’s take a close look at each type one-by-one.

 

1    1. Airborne Lidar

The Light Detection and Ranging is an exciting technology to know. In the Airborne Lidar, the system installs on the wing of an aircraft or helicopter. The infrared lights are emitted towards the ground, and it returns to the moving airborne lidar sensor. There are two main types of airborne sensors: Topographic and Bathymetric Lidar

2    2. Topographic Lidar

The Topographic Lidar marks its presence to obtain surface models that are useful in many applications such as forestry, urban planning, landscape ecology, coastal engineering as well as survey assessment, etc.

3  3. Bathymetric Lidar

Bathymetric Lidar is a type of airborne lidar that is water penetrating. Many of the bathymetric lidar systems use in collecting elevation and water depth which provides an airborne lidar survey of the land-water interface.

Traditionally, in Bathymetric Lidar systems, the infrared light reflects back to the aircraft from the land and water surface. While the additional green laser travels through the water column and therefore measures the exact distance. To establish water depths and shoreline elevations it uses the analysis of two different pulses. 

The Bathymetric information has its significance near coastlines, in harbors and near shores and boundaries of rivers. The Bathymetric information is also helpful in locating objects on the ocean floor.

Now let’s move on to the next type of Lidar: Terrestrial Lidar

4     4.Terrestrial Lidar

In this Lidar system, there are two main types: Mobile and Static

In the case of mobile, as the name suggests, the lidar system is fixed on a moving vehicle. Whereas, in the case of static, the lidar system is fixed on a tripod or on a stationary device. Both the lidar sensors comprise eye-safe lasers.

The Terrestrial Lidar compiles very dense and highly exact points which allow accurate identification of objects. These compact point clouds are used to manage facilities, conduct highway and railway surveys and even use in creating 3D city models for exterior and interior spaces.

Following is the brief look at Mobile and Static Lidar

5    5.Mobile Lidar

It is the collection of lidar point clouds from a moving base. Mobile Lidar systems include any number of lidar sensors fixed on a moving vehicle. These types of systems mounts on vehicles, trains and even on ships. The Mobile systems consist of a Lidar sensor, cameras, GPS (Global Positioning System), and an INS (Inertial Navigation System) same as like of Airborne Lidar systems.

The Mobile Lidar data is not only useful in analyzing the road infrastructure but also helps in locating the trespassing overhead wires, light poles and various road signs near roadways or rail lines.

6     6. Static Lidar

It is the gathering of lidar point clouds from a static location. Typically, in static lidar, a portable laser-based imaging and ranging sensor are placed on a tripod. These systems collect the lidar point clouds from inside as well as the exterior of the building. The typical application of static lidar systems is engineering, mining, surveying, and archeology.

Lidar Data is precious GIS resource

The Light Detection and ranging, i.e., LiDAR is accurate and covers the large areas on the ground. You can also visualize bare ground elevation, canopy heights, light intensity and much more. Anyone who is looking for understanding landscape topology should, therefore, use LiDAR.

With its tremendous working capabilities, LiDAR is a behemoth of a data set to work with. It uses LAS file format to store the LiDAR files as a point cloud data and hence, streamlines smooth exchange between vendors and customers with no loss of information.

LiDAR Applications

The Light Detection and Ranging make use of lasers to measure the elevation of features like forests, buildings as well as of the plain earth.

It is somewhat similar to sonar (Sound waves) or radar (Radio Waves) as it also sends a pulse and measures the exact time it takes to return. LiDAR is difficult from sonar and radar as it uses light to measure the accurate time as well as distance.

The LiDAR applications are impressive and are undoubtedly growing in GIS systems.

Following are some LiDAR Applications:

Forestry, Archaeology, land use mapping, flood modeling, transportation planning, architecture, oil and gas exploration, public safety, automated vehicles, military, and conservation also make use of Lidar.

We try our best to explain the Light Detection and Ranging. Hope this guide is helpful for you.