Laser Scanning

Laser-scanning (LiDAR) is an efficient technology for the acquisition of large areas of digital terrain and surface models (DTM and DSM). Digital Terrain Models (DTM’s) can be generated at a high resolution with considerable detail, making the technology more cost efficient when compared with photogrammetric methods. Blom group operates both helicopter-based and fixed-wing LiDAR systems, supporting detailed corridor mapping for engineering applications and wide-area DTM’s for environmental, land use and mapping activities.

Both helicopter and fixed-wing LiDAR systems scan the surface below the aircraft collecting the vegetation coverage and penetrating to the ground, providing considerable information on the terrain, achieving height accuracies up to 4 cm. Depending upon system, the scan rates can vary from 50,000 to 100,000 pulses per second, producing a dense cloud of 3-dimensional points. Using additional information such as laser intensity values, the surface type can be determined, such as ground, vegetation and buildings.

Applications for laser-scanning include,

• Electrical transmission and distribution lines
• Embankment condition monitoring (roads, rivers and railways)
• Engineering design
• Floodplains
• Forestry inventory and condition management
• Topographic mapping
• Urban modeling and planning
• Visualization and simulation