Airborne LiDAR
Geiger Mode vs. Traditional Linear
Mike Fuller
Geospatial Account Manager
Michael.Fuller@Harris.com
harris.com
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The Linear System
Approximately 500KHz for single scanner designs
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Limitations of existing technology
• Cost prohibitive for high resolutions
• Has inherent data occlusions
• Foliage penetration is limited
• Limited-range resolution (target separation)
• Low-sensitivity, high-power system
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The Geiger-mode System
200MHz vs. 500KHz
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Geiger-mode vs. today's technology
Geiger-mode sensors sample the same spot on the ground multiple times
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Geiger-mode superior capabilities
High-sensitivity
Low-power system
Higher-resolution
More accurate data
Large-aperture Palmer scanner
Multi-pulse-in-the-air
Automatic range gate control
Geiger-mode flies higher and collects faster than current sensors
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Why is Geiger-mode superior?
• Improves speed of collection
• Increased data density (resolution) at lower cost
• Improves foliage penetration
• Reduces shadows/voids
• Higher accuracy with robust bundle adjustment
• Improved range resolution (separation)
Large-area, high-density collection leads to new users and opportunities
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Speed of collection metrics @ 8PPM
8 points/m2 Collection
Altitude (AGL)
Field of View
Flight Speed
Laser Power
PDE
Pulse Width (Resolution)
Timing Jitter (Precision)
Pulse Repetition Frequency
Detector Count
Ground Samples/Second
Return Surface(s)
Area Coverage Rate (w/
desired overlap)
Operational Maturity
Current Linear Mode
Flash (Linear Array)
Photon Counting PMT Harris Geiger-mode Sensors
150 - 1500m
45-60o
50-100 kn
200-500mW
N/A
1 - 10 ns
50-500ps
100 - 800kHz
less than 10
100k-800k
1,4,Full Waveform
500-2000m
5-10o
200-250 kn
120-400mW
N/A
5 - 10 ns
50-500ps
20-30Hz
16k
325k-500k
1, Multiple
1000-8500m
10-40o
100-200kn
1-2W
10-15%
700-900ps
50-100ps
20-35kHz
100
200-350k
Multiple
4000-11000m
30o
200-450kn
20-40W
25-40%
300-600ps
250-500ps
50-90kHz
4096
200M-400M
Multiple
50-180km2/hour
40-160km2/hour
170-500km2/hour
1000-1600 km2/hour
20-25 years of
airborne operation;
Evolutionary
Improvements
5-10 years in defense
Limited operations in
< 5 years in
operations mapping
airborne mapping;
experimental mapping
hundreds of thousands of
Technology
operations; Emerging
km2; Over 15 years in
undergoing
technology undergoing experimental use; Emerging
incremental
rapid improvement technology undergoing rapid
improvement
improvement
Geiger-mode sensors can collect 5x,10x, etc. with increased density
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Reduced Cost at Higher Resolutions
Collection Cost
Current
Systems
IntelliEarth™ Geospatial
Solutions Geiger-mode
1
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
60
70
80
90
100
Collection Density (points per square meter)
Efficiency gains keep costs down at higher collection densities
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Collection example comparison at 8 ppm
17X
Higher the density greater the payback
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Why do higher densities matter?
Infrastructure
details better
defined
8 pts/m2
2 pts/m2
Improves
foliage
penetration to
better sample
bare earth
8 pts/m2
2 pts/m2
20 pts/m2
8 pts/m2
20 pts/m2
Improves accuracy and enables a high level of automation
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Why oversampling and 360° look matters
Shadows (occlusions)
from linear scanners
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Why oversampling and 360° look matters
Vegetation Shadows (occlusions) from linear scanners
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Eliminates the accordion effect
Accordion effect from linear
scanners
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Solution 360° look and oversampling
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How to improve accuracy?
Aggregating data requires accurate swath alignment
Utilize latest INS/GPS
Utilize horizontal and vertical ground control points
50% overlap swaths
Perform bundle adjustment via data tie points correcting both horizontal and
vertical alignment from multiple look angles.
Note: (This is both sensor and process specific)
True photogrammetric bundle adjustment to provide higher accuracy
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Accuracy improves with rigorous bundle adjustment
Multi-Swath Alignment via Sensor-Based
3D Photogrammetric Bundle Adjustment
Enables Rigorous
Accuracy Statements per Point
Sensor-based adjustment enables per point accuracy statements
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What to do with all this data?
• Not for the workstation in raw form
• Terabytes to petabytes in data management and
processing
• Requires high-speed, distributed, multi-core processing
• System has been highly evolved over 15 years
• Sorties are processed in <24 hours
• Total solution requires innovations in both hardware and
software
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Automated GmAPD LiDAR ProcessingC
Ground Processing Workflow
Point Cloud Processing
Data Finishing
Hydro
Enforcement
Clean Up
QC Analysis
Preprocessing
& Calibration
Point
Cloud
Generation
Noise Filter
Single
Swaths
Match Point
Filter
QC
Products
Sensor
•ToF Data
•Pointing Data
•GPS/INS Data
•Flight Logs
Sensor Based
Swath
Registration
Noise Filter
Cross Swath
Aggregate
Point Cloud
Generation
Final
Product
Point Cloud Products
Attributed LAS
• L4 Point Cloud (PC3)
QC Products
QC Graphic
& Metric
Generation
Manual Registration
Aggregate Chips to
Ground Survey
Raster Products
Batch Gridding,
Re-Tile &
Format
•Ground Survey
Ingest &
Project
Setup
• Anomaly Mask
• Interpretation Mask
• Height Map
Point Cloud
Auto
Classification
Intermediate
Point Clouds
Control
GeoTIFF & PNG
GeoTIFF
• L4 Intensity Image (RII)
• L4 Reflective Surface (DSM)
• L4 Bare Earth Surface (DTM)
Data Management &
Archive
Increased ground automation is critical for reducing production costs
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IntelliEarth™ Geospatial Solutions Geiger-mode LiDAR
Geiger-mode is the key to reduced cost and higher quality data
Geiger-mode Sensors
to Increase Acquisition
Rates
Automated Production
to Reduce Hands-on
Analyst Time
Improved Registration
and Quality Control for
Accurate Products
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Higher Altitudes
Wider Swaths
Lower Laser Power
Higher Density
Decreased Shadowing
•
•
Large Areas
LiDAR Production
Management
Point Classification
Value-Added Products
•
Automated QA/QC
Swath Alignment via
Bundle Adjustment
Integrated Ground
Control Locking
Built on Harris’ 15 year Geiger-mode production legacy
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IntelliEarth™ Geospatial Solutions
Geiger-mode (GmAPD) LiDAR sensor
INTELLIEARTH™ GEOSPATIAL
SOLUTIONS
Geiger-mode
GmAPD
LiDAR Sensor
Built specifically for wide-area, high-density collection
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Examples
Proven workflows have produced hundreds of thousands of kilometers of high-quality data
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Applications
Exploration & Production
Pipeline
• Seismic Survey Planning
• HCA and Class Location Analysis
• Seismic Processing
• Right of Way Encroachment
• Well Site Planning
• Overland Spill Modeling
• Logistics
• Design & Cost Estimates
• Design & Construction
• Route Planning
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Questions
Questions?
Mike Fuller
Geospatial Account Manager
Michael.Fuller@Harris.com
321.984.5699
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