01/10/2021
LiDAR for Public Safety
UAV lidar is one of the newest solutions available for drone platforms. Competing with photogrammetry-based drone solutions, lidar has a number of advantages. First it can be used in low light and even no-light conditions as the laser pulses are not dependent on an external light source. Secondly, the speed at which the data is processed is significantly quicker than that from photogrammetry, taking only minutes rather than hours. In addition, the data size is much lower, allowing for easier storage and transfer. Lidar is also particularly useful for vegetated areas, as the sensor can reconstruct the ground beneath the vegetation, as well as the canopy, which photogrammetry cannot. Lidar is better able to capture fine detail, for example on complex objects, whereas photogrammetry would tend to smooth these objects down. Finally, as the nature of lidar is laser pulses rather than photographs, this is a great benefit concerning privacy, as faces and personal information are not captured, meaning there are less restrictions on flying.
