Introduction
to LiDAR Technology
Say you're a famous archaeologist and
trying to find a lost ancient city deep in the South
American forests. Sending out search parties with a
general location would not necessarily be a smart
use of your time or money and you could potentially
risk the lives of those involved. But then you hear
of this upcoming technology that has the ability to
scan right through the dense growth and see
everything beneath with a precise clarity.
This technology is called Light Detection and
Ranging, or LiDAR for short. How it works will be
gone into more depth in the following pages but a
simple definition of LiDAR is as follows from the
NOAA:
"LiDAR is a remote sensing method
that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to
measure ranges (variable distances) to the Earth."
(1)
If this sounds complicated, its because it is! But
the results that come from such processes are truly
fascinating and very helpful in mapping the world
that we live in!
There are also different techniques to use this
technology such as terrestrial (tripods) and
airborne (planes, drones or satellites). (2) Of
these, we're going to talk about the airborne
technique. In a very brief description of how it
works, there are basically three systems at play
when using LiDAR to produce these 3D
representations. Each are vital in the success of
interpreting the data collected by the scanners and
lasers. Below is a list of these systems:
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