LiDAR uses and applications
Today, we will list 15 LiDAR uses and applications, and focus on answering the following questions:
How do we use LiDAR technology today?
What are the uses and applications of lidar?
How is it different from other types of sensors?
Let us go directly to the topic.
1 Topographic mapping
Lidar displays the landform by revealing subtle elevation changes on the ground. Its biggest advantage is that it is a high-speed "sampling tool". Lidar emits hundreds of thousands or even millions of pulses from the air to the ground every second. It is this dense point cloud that enables us to obtain the true topography.
2 Construction quality control
Using LiDAR for building scans can ensure that the building matches the building information model (BIM).
Comparing the point cloud from the ground scan with the BIM design can ensure the quality of the construction and proceed as planned. The biggest advantage of LiDAR is real-time scanning, which can detect defects early in the project. Otherwise, any defective structure rework will waste time and money.
3 Underwater topographic survey
We usually use sounding sounding (or sonar) for underwater surveys. The sonar bangs and receives echoes. Similar to LiDAR, it calculates the distance by measuring the elapsed time of the echo.
The depth sounding lidar is different from the airborne lidar in that it uses a green wavelength. By using this wavelength, underwater surveying and mapping can be measured all the way to the bottom.
Similarly, river and bathymetric surveys can map terrestrial and aquatic systems.
4 Precision Agriculture
Farmers choose precision agriculture because it can reduce the amount of fertilizer applied in the field, which is just one of many GIS applications in the agricultural field.
Because spraying is targeted at specific locations, farmers can save input costs, so how can farmers see their results in precision agriculture? By connecting LiDAR to the tractor, biomass, height and volume can be accurately measured.
5 Forestry mapping
The visualization of tree structure and height in the forest is an area where LiDAR applications are truly successful. But can lidar really "penetrate" trees?
Imagine you are standing in the middle of the forest and looking up. Can you see the sun? If you can see the light passing through, so can LiDAR.
When you know the height of the tree and the height of the ground, you will get a true vertical profile. If you really want a 3D vegetation structure, ground LiDAR can also generate a realistic 3D model.
In fact, the Earth Science Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) is the first laser ranging (LiDAR) instrument to map forests from space.
6 Driverless cars
Self-driving cars use 360° LiDAR sensors installed on the vehicle to fully understand the surrounding environment. For every action of the car positioning itself, it will continue to scan obstacles to improve safety.
7 Flood warning
By using LiDAR to measure the surface, hydrologists can build digital elevation models. From here, users can map out areas that are prone to inundation before flooding occurs.
In this regard, lidar can provide a flood warning system to protect the lives and property of residents. Insurance companies can also use this data to charge higher premiums. This is just one of many GIS applications used in the insurance industry to assess risk.
8 Determine land use
Lidar classification codes include ground, vegetation (low, medium, high), buildings, overhead lines, roads, railways, and water, etc. Each classification definition comes from reflected laser pulses. Even through multi-period data monitoring, we can steadily understand the dynamic changes of our planet, including climate change.
9 Restoration of the accident scene
In criminal cases, lidar narrows the search for missing or unmarked graves. Similar to archeology, lidar can locate subtle topographical anomalies on the ground. LiDAR is also used in crime scene reconstruction to scan crime or car accident areas.
10 Slope monitoring
For landslides, lidar scans can better represent the surface of vegetation areas. From shadow landforms, slopes and terrain contours, common morphological features of landslides can be identified.
In these densely-vegetated hilly areas, topographicalists can create a list of landslide-prone sites, which can predict landslide events and better assess safety risks.
11 Atmospheric measurement
For atmospheric research, there are several technologies that have been developed:
Doppler Lidar-The technology that uses light to measure wind speed instead of Doppler radar.
Raman Lidar-measures water vapor and aerosols.
Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL)-measurement of ozone and water vapor.
For local and global environmental issues, environmental remote sensing is addressing these types of changes in the atmosphere.
12 Manage assets
Urban management is using mobile LiDAR to manage assets and ensure safety and standards. For example, everything from road conditions, damaged bridges, utilities, billboards and street signs.
After the data is collected, the scan results will be sent to the geospatial database. In this way, each infrastructure asset can be stored, analyzed, and visualized-this is the main function of a geographic information system (GIS).
13 Frozen Zone Surveying and Mapping
As LiDAR expands its scope to various research fields, measuring the depth of snow in frozen areas has become a key area.
Because snow has significant volumetric scattering, light of different wavelengths can successfully penetrate the depth to varying degrees.
Once the modeling of this type of LiDAR is improved, it may be valuable in hydrology and avalanche prediction.
14 Augmented reality
As LiDAR becomes more and more common in smartphones, integration into games is now a reality. For example, augmented reality technology allows you to interact with the outside world by using the display of your smartphone.
LiDAR adds depth sensing, but this is not only applicable to games. It can also be used for the location of power transmission towers, wind turbines and solar panels.
15 Power inspection
LiDAR can detect the encroachment of trees that may cause the interruption of the transmission line system. By using the dense point cloud classification of lidar data, it can distinguish overhead lines and vegetation. It can also help reduce the risk of trees falling into nearby utility pipelines.
More LiDAR uses and applications
Military-The military uses airborne LiDAR to map the battlefield and build a field of view.
Lunar terrain-Lidar was used as early as 1971 to estimate the height of the lunar surface.
Geology—Geologists use it to measure and map slope, aspect, and elevation changes and study topography.
Coastline erosion-Time studies along the coastline can quantify the amount of erosion in the floodplain.
Now, LiDAR is not just used for autonomous vehicles. It has developed so fast that your smartphone is equipped with LiDAR sensors.
