LIDAR scanner reccomendations

[Anonymous]

Hi all,

I have a very rough TIN surface I've generated with a PNEZ point group, but it's not accurate enough alone to do what I want.

I would like to laser scan the property in question, but I'm not sure what the best product for my need is.

• I considered using a drone since I have access to one, but the terrain is quite hilly and there are a lot of trees.
• The areas I'd like point clouds for aren't very big, and have a low tree canopy so a handheld/tripod supported device seems like the way to go.
• Does anyone have any affordable recommendations for equipment that is relatively easy to use? I am comfortable spending in the low hundreds USD. 
• I'm not sure I'll use it a lot, and so would consider renting. Does anyone know if it's easy to find LIDAR scanners for rent? 
• Finally, there seems to be a lot of problems with establishing "work flows" around point clouds. I would appreciate any recommendations for direction in bringing the point clouds into C3D. How do I incorporate them into my existing TIN surface? 

Many thanks!

[dgorsman · Accepted solution]

You *might* get away with a Lecia BLK360, but for any substantial area you want a "real" scanner.  Check for a local Leica or FARO rep, they usually have equipment rentals.  It's not something you can just "plug in and go" with, so you'll need some training as well.  Might be better to look at outsourcing this.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the info!

What about ground based photogrammetry solutions?

I know I've seen some 360 degree cameras, but I don't know if they're just for panoramic photos, or if they would be capable of building a realistic model. 

I am concerned about getting useful info from the Mavic I can use. The terrain doesn't lend itself to easy UAV photography and I already have flown a drone into a tree before 😕

[dgorsman]

For photogrammetry what you're looking for is a set of high quality images of the same area, from different directions, with a lot of overlap between them.  That can be done with dedicated cameras but a high quality digital, like you'd mount on a drone, would also work. 

You'll still need to get those images processed into a mesh and/or point cloud, which will try to reconstruct *everything* in those images.  If there's a lot going on (lots of trees, bushes, etc.), you could be looking at a lot of processing time or an outright "fishbone" where it just can't figure out that two trees are the same object (branches waving in the wind between shots, for example).

With a LIDAR scan you have a set of direct measurements rather than interpolated ones, to the accuracy of the scanner.  You can quickly snip out the bits you aren't interested in and selectively decimate before you construct a surface from the remainder.  Plus, scanners can capture images along with the scans.