LIDAR technology and elevation survey

[Deepwater]

I could not find much usable LIDAR information in the threads.

Could someone please let me know if any of the LIDAR manufacturers are working on a kit for the Mavic 2 Pro or if we see a LIDAR kits for the Mavic in the near horizon.

Would be great if they could get the weight down and the interface right to allow switching from the Hasselblad camera to a LIDAR application.

My need is to survey a ski slope (appr. 1,200 acres), create an elevation map and confirm elevations. The area is combined pine forest, open, rocky and wet land.

Any advise would be highly appreciated.

 

[53-63-6f-74-74]

I would say that it's very unlikely in the near future. I don't think the Mavic will be recognized as suitable for that particular purpose, and I would not personally trust it to carry high-cost equipment. It's a consumer hobby drone, not an industrial load-carrying platform with multiple redundant systems and fail-safes. An effective LIDAR platform is extremely expensive and if you are not a very large commercial company that is using it and billing for it regularly then it will never be cost-effective. You didn't say what your background is or where you are, but I would first check for a local on-line GIS repository and see if any publicly available LIDAR exists. I am able to freely download (as of last year) local one-meter LIDAR that is suitable for creating accurate one-foot contours, and I have verified with RTK GPS that it is accurate to within a few inches on average. If you require very recent data this of course won't work. A 1200 acre site will also accrue an enormous amount of data and you would need the appropriate software and hardware to process it and turn it in to a usable end product.

 

[Deepwater]

Thanks a lot for a detailed reply.

It would definitely require new technologies to make a LIDAR unit that could replace a Mavic 2 Pro camera and interface with the drone system.

I am surveying a ski-in ski-out large cabin development project in Norway and I need access to a detailed survey for the area, either through my own drone or through publicly available databases. Thanks for your suggestion to check if LIDAR surveys are already available. I will check.

Any suggestion on a LIDAR / drone system that would work and not cost an arm and a leg?

 

[Keule]

Any suggestion on a LIDAR / drone system that would work and not cost an arm and a leg?

Given the fact that all LiDAR systems require external power and sometimes additional equipment like SSD drives for storage you most likely need a heavy lift drone.
A Matrice 600 or an Alta 8 Pro will be good choice, even a M200 series craft will do the job.

As it comes to LiDAR sensors, there are many on the market and a few are good to go for aerial use.
Here a quick overview:
Velodyne has some lightweight sensors and are not too expensive, but are known to produce some noisy point clouds.
The RIEGL VUX-1UAV is one of the top sensors today.
Also worth mentioning is Teledyne Optech
DJI also offers cheap sensor arrays: Livox MD-40 or the MD-100

 

[53-63-6f-74-74]

Thanks a lot for a detailed reply.

It would definitely require new technologies to make a LIDAR unit that could replace a Mavic 2 Pro camera and interface with the drone system.

I am surveying a ski-in ski-out large cabin development project in Norway and I need access to a detailed survey for the area, either through my own drone or through publicly available databases. Thanks for your suggestion to check if LIDAR surveys are already available. I will check.

Any suggestion on a LIDAR / drone system that would work and not cost an arm and a leg?

The short answer is no; You're looking at tens of thousands of dollars to get into a commercial LIDAR setup.