Phoenix LiDAR Systems Announces Three Lidar Solutions

Phoenix LiDAR Systems, an industry leader in commercial UAV Lidar systems, has announced its three newest Lidar solutions. The Pioneer P10, Phoenix SLAM and AIR NavBox are all designed to increase flexibility, range and efficiency in customers’ Lidar acquisition workflows. The three products are headlined by the Pioneer P10. Scheduled for a US-release in late 2018, the long-range laser sensor weighs 3.8kg and is a purpose-built, UAV Lidar mapping system with a high-power 1550nm laser. The Pioneer P10 also allows users to fly at the maximum regulation AGL of 120m (400ft) and scan more area per flight due to its... (read more)

2018-10-23 10:09:02

International LiDAR Mapping Forum

Geomatics Word From January 25-31, 2019, the industry will descend on Denver for a geospatial gathering like no other. For mapping professionals, there’s no better place for technical education, networking and sourcing geospatial solutions than at ILMF, taking place as part of Geo Week 2019! With the new addition of MAPPS Winter Meeting, you’ll get to connect with more high-level geospatial professionals than ever before. This will give geospatial professionals a one-stop shop for the most current commercial and technical education. As a valued reader of Geomatics World, register here to take 25% off an All Access Pass. (read more)

2018-10-10 07:31:39

The Evolution of Lidar

Ron Roth of Leica Geosystems and Marcos Sirota of Sigma Space Corp explain how this technology will bring benefits through faster pulse rates and denser point clouds. Current airborne Lidar systems, such as the Leica ALS series, capture one million points per second. Increasing the pulse repetition rate is the best way to achieve dense point clouds at lower costs, as the flying speed can be increased. However, the pulse frequency is constrained by parameters such as energy consumption and eye safety. Single photon Lidar enables a much higher pulse rate to be achieved, since much less energy is needed... (read more)

2017-04-28 05:51:12

Velodyne LiDAR Partners with YellowScan for Integrated UAV LiDAR

Velodyne LiDAR Inc, the world leader in 3D vision systems for autonomous vehicles, has announced a partnership with YellowScan to integrate its VLP-16 Puck and VLP-16 Puck LITE LiDAR sensors into YellowScan’s Surveyor for a turn-key and reliable LiDAR system for demanding UAV applications. By combining YellowScan’s LiveStation app with the real-time 3D data capture capabilities of the VLP-16 sensors – both of which feature a 360° horizontal field-of-view (FoV), 100-metre range, and weigh in at 830 grams and 590 grams, respectively – they can deliver a turn-key Surveyor system that can be mounted to any drone for short-time data... (read more)

2017-11-13 11:19:36

Global Mapper LiDAR Module Released with LiDAR Transformation Options

Blue Marble Geographics is pleased to announce the release of the LiDAR Module for Global Mapper version 15.2. This interim release features added support for the transformation (shift/rotate/scale) of LiDAR point clouds and the option to filter selected LiDAR points to a specified elevation and/or colour range. Blue Marble's geospatial data manipulation, visualization and conversion solutions are used worldwide by thousands of GIS analysts at software, oil and gas, mining, civil engineering, surveying, and technology companies, as well as governmental and university organizations. The LiDAR Module is an optional add-on for Global Mapper, an affordable and easy-to-use GIS application that... (read more)

2017-01-06 11:05:06

Velodyne Lidar Open Huge Factory

Since releasing the $8k VLP-16 puck lidar, Velodyne Lidar has adapted the sensor for autonomous vehicles, UAVs, and hi-res jobs. It has also gone big on SLAM, landed $150 million in funding from Ford and Baidu, and announced a $50 solid-state lidar chip that could bring down the cost of every lidar sensor in the portfolio. Moves like these require changes behind the scenes. Why? Solid-state lidar, which is integrated onto a microchip, requires specialized facilities to produce. On top of that, auto manufacturers buy sensors at a much larger scale than geospatial customers—in the millions rather than the low thousands. This means Velodyne had to make a big manufacturing... (read more)

2017-01-19 05:03:35

9 Revolutionary Lidar Survey Projects

The history of Lidar goes back to the early 1960s. In 1969, a laser rangefinder and a target mounted on the Apollo-11 spacecraft was used to measure the distance from the Earth to the Moon. Now, more than four decades later, Lidar has become a fundamental technology in the geospatial sector. GIM International has compiled a list of nine inspiring and spectacular Lidar projects that show the almost unlimited possibilities Lidar offers the geomatics world. Airborne Lidar in Rainforest At the experimental forest site Paracou in French Guiana, a range of data is being collected to enable the short-term dynamics within... (read more)

2016-07-25 02:18:53

YellowScan LiDAR for Drone 2016

For the Drone 2016 User Conference which will be held June 22-23 in Château Flaugergues, Montpellier, France, YellowScan has put together a diverse and exciting agenda proving the broad usage of their LiDAR equipment in applications such as archeology, forestry, powerlines, surveying, mining, civil engineering and more. We are extremely excited to be working with renowned international partners and speakers from Applanix, TerraSolid, ECA Drone, Carbomap, Dielmo3D, BRGM, GeoLux, L’Avion Jaune, and more, focusing on LiDAR technologies and its applications. As part of the event, YellowScan will be demonstrating the 5-cm accuracy of its new Surveyor LiDAR system for UAV... (read more)

2017-01-14 02:59:56

NASA Funding Flash Lidar Research

NASA has announced the latest recipients from its Small Business Technology Transfer program, which functions as a R&D program for the agency. This year, 19 small research projects received up to $125,000 each, with the promise of up to $725,000 if the projects survive to a second phase. The list includes such projects as a cardboard drone, improved image processing for landers and rovers, and multispectral imaging. The big project comes from a research company named Fibertek, who are angling to build a FLASH Lidar that will be “an innovative synthesis of key technologies that results in a >3x reduction in the size and >2x... (read more)

2017-08-16 11:36:12

Kaarta Releases Stencil 2 Compact Mobile Lidar

Kaarta has announced a new version of its Stencil real-time 3D scanning system with better hardware, improved accuracy, and an easier workflow. It has double the onboard storage capacity for easier storage and reduced need to connect to an external drive. The system also records GNSS data for loop closures and geolocation, which helps correct drift when you use the system in large spaces, improving the results of Kaarta’s SLAM algorithm. Kaarta’s head of marketing Kathy Pattison told SPAR that the device now ships with an iPad, a move that signals a big change in the user interface. Where once... (read more)

2018-11-07 10:18:29