LiDAR Mapping & Surveys

First used during NASA’s Apollo 15 lunar landing mission to map the moon’s surface, Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging, or LiDAR, is the golden standard of point cloud mapping. Sometimes called 3D laser scanning, LiDAR sensors emit an array of invisible laser beams. Each beam functions as a range finder, similar to radar. The density of lasers allow LiDAR to “see through” objects such as tree canopies or power lines to terrain below, effectively creating a map with three-dimensional layers. Low-light or night surveys will not reduce quality because LiDAR sensors do not require visible light to operate.

Rhino Environmental offers small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) LiDAR solutions including:

• Tree canopy height and biomass density studies
• Geological terrain mapping
• Structural geological surveys such as fault plane or geologic hazard mapping
• Flood and fire behavior models
• High resolution topographic maps
• Volumetric surveys such as landslide
• Cut and fill
• Mining ore volume calculation