The Complete Lowdown on Aerial LiDAR Surveys

Introduction

Welcome to our comprehensive guide giving you the lowdown on aerial lidar surveys.

Here at Pinpoint Mapping we pride ourselves on delivering accurate and efficient surveying services and aerial lidar surveys are one of our specialties.

In this article, we will cover the basics of how lidar  work, the advantages of using this technology and some common applications for this type of survey.

What is Aerial LiDAR Surveying?

Surveying and mapping are essential in construction and infrastructure development. Traditional methods of surveying, such as using a total station or a theodolite, have been around for many years. However, with the advancement of technology, new methods have emerged to make the process more efficient and accurate. One of these methods is aerial lidar surveying, a technology combining aerial drone platforms and 3D laser scanning sensors. With the two combined, the system whilst in flight can generate laser pulses to measure distances and create precise 3D point clouds of terrain, buildings and other objects.

LiDAR stands for Light Detection and Ranging and it works by emitting thousands of laser pulses per second, which bounce back to the lidar receiver after hitting objects in its path.

Advantages of Aerial LiDAR Surveys:

There are several advantages to using this technology over traditional surveying methods:

• High accuracy: it can produce high-resolution point cloud data with centimetre-level accuracy, which makes it ideal for creating detailed 2D plans and 3D models.
• Large coverage area: it can cover large areas quickly and efficiently, which saves time and resources compared to ground-based surveying methods.
• Safety: it can be conducted from a safe distance, which eliminates the need for surveyors to work in hazardous or hard-to-reach areas. Especially useful for surveying large areas that are difficult to access, such as forests, mountains or inaccessible terrain.
• Cost-effective: it can be more cost-effective than traditional surveying methods, especially for large-scale projects.

How Aerial LiDAR Surveys Work:

Aerial lidar surveys typically use a combination of aerial drone-mounted sensors and ground-based GPS to collect data. The drone flies over the area to be surveyed and the lidar sensor emits laser pulses towards the ground. These pulses bounce back to the sensor after hitting objects on the ground and the time it takes for the pulse to return is used to calculate the distance between the sensor and the object.

The lidar sensor collects millions of data points per second which are used to create a visual 3D point cloud of the terrain or object being surveyed. This data can be used for a variety of applications, including topographic surveys, land cover classification, vegetation analysis and more.

Common Applications of Aerial LiDAR Surveying:

Aerial lidar surveying has a wide range of applications that help serve numerous industries including:

• Land surveying and mapping
• Environmental monitoring and management
• Urban planning and development
• Transportation infrastructure planning and management
• Floodplain mapping and analysis
• Archaeological and cultural heritage mapping
• Forestry and natural resource management

FAQs about Aerial LiDAR Surveys

Conclusion: