RIEGL Unveils Products at INTERGEO 2016

RIEGL has revealed the new VQ-1560i Dual Lidar Channel Airborne Laser Scanning System that is the advancement of the high altitude airborne mapping system LMS-Q1560 that is in current operation worldwide.

The improved VQ-1560i is a cutting-edge tool with fully integrated high-performance Applanix IMU and GNSS receiver perfectly suited for a variety of airborne surveying missions from an ultra-wide area, high altitude mapping to mapping of complex urban environments and city modelling. Two linear Lidar channels, each enabling the recognition of several targets per laser pulse, provide a radically increased laser pulse repetition rate of up to 2MHz and deliver up to 1.33 million measurements per second on the ground! The system allows data acquisition at a wide range of point densities from 2pts/sqm up to more than 60 pts/sqm at operating flight altitudes of up to 15,500ft AGL.

The VQ-1560i is the first RIEGL Lidar System that provides online data processing as well as smart and full waveform recording similarly and enables Multiple-Time-Around (MTA) processing the incredible amount of up to 20 pulses in the air simultaneously! Additionally, the optional system configuration consists of a fully integrated, easy accessible Phase One medium format camera and is prepared for the integration of a secondary camera (e.g. monochrome or infrared).

Another exciting announcement made at INTERGEO was the new RIEGL miniVUX-1UAV Lidar Sensor, an entry-level addition to RIEGL’s state of the art UAV-based Lidar portfolio. The miniVUX-1UAV is a very compact miniaturized 360 degrees field of view Lidar sensor with only 1.6 kilograms and especially developed for the implementation of emerging survey solutions by small UAS/UAV/RPAS.

The new sensor offers multi-target capability and accuracy using echo digitization and online waveform processing for data acquisition, RIEGL said. The sensor is capable of 100,000 measurements per second and offers an operating altitude of 100+ metres. Its small size and very low weight make it well suited for mounting under limited weight and space conditions. Thus, this user-friendly and cost-efficient device allows UAV based acquisition of survey-grade measurement data from agriculture & forestry, archaeology and cultural heritage documentation, to glacier and snowfield mapping and landslide monitoring.

Finally, after a year of intensive developing and testing, RIEGL has announced their BathyCopter, equipped with the new RIEGL BDF-1, a compact and lightweight bathymetric depth finder optimized for UAV-borne operation. It is ideally suited for generating profiles of inland water bodies. The topo-bathymetric depth finder comprises tilt compensation, an IMU/GNSS unit with antenna, a control unit, a data storage unit, and can be equipped with up to two external digital cameras. RIEGL’s new hydrographic full waveform processing delivers highly accurate, reliable and informative data; pre-detection averaging allows essential performance improvement at adverse conditions.