In the article “What is a LiDAR Payload?”, drone technoloy provider WISPR Systems explores the applications of LiDAR and the types of data that it can provide, discussing its partnership with Inertial Labs to create a wholly integrated drone LiDAR solution.
WISPR Systems detail how LiDAR, short for Light Detection and Ranging, has gained significant traction in the past decade as a cutting-edge technology. LiDAR technology finds widespread use in surveying, mapping, and inspection, delivering meticulous and precise point clouds of any environment.
A comprehensive LiDAR payload typically includes a GNSS-aided Inertial Navigation System (INS) in conjunction with a LiDAR scanner. This integration is pivotal for georeferencing, a process that converts LiDAR’s relative data into individual geographic coordinates. By continuously recording orientation, position, velocity, and timing (OPVT) in a global reference frame, the GNSS-aided INS complements LiDAR ranging data.
Combining this recorded data with LiDAR’s ranging information generates a directly georeferenced point cloud. This powerful dataset delineates the absolute location of every point within the point cloud, constituting what’s termed as geospatial data.
The article goes on to detail how LiDAR provides actionable data, including:
- Point Cloud Classification
- DEM
- Hillshade Models
LiDAR is a powerful technology that allows users to capture an environment in detail and with high accuracy while saving man-hours and reducing the safety risk of the survey team. WISPR Systems provide a wholly integrated drone-LiDAR system and has the expertise to support users in getting the most out of their data.
WISPR & Inertial Labs
Inertial Labs and WISPR partnered to create a wholly integrated drone LiDAR solution using the Ranger Pro with the RESEPI XT-32 and RESEPI M2X.
The drone and the navigation system of each complete solution remained the same; the only change was the LiDAR scanner. WISPR completed a comparison study of both scanners, testing the performance of both systems by flying the same route at three different AGLs: 50 meters, 100 meters, and 150 meters.
The RESEPI-M2X is the higher-end model of the scanner comparison. It provides dense models and impressive vegetation penetration, allowing users to fly at various AGLs while maintaining a high-quality data precision and density standard.
The XT-32 is a cost-effective model that can still provide dense, accurate point clouds of many environments, penetrate vegetation, and provide accurate, actionable deliverables to customers.
