Quality Control of Outsourced LiDAR Data Acquired with a UAV: A Case Study

Abstract

Over the last few decades, we witnessed a revolution in acquiring very high resolution and accurate geo-information. One of the reasons was the advances in photonics and LiDAR, which had a remarkable impact in applications requiring information with high accuracy and/or elevated completeness, such as flood modelling, forestry, construction, and mining. Also, miniaturization within electronics played an important role as it allowed smaller and lighter aerial cameras and LiDAR systems to be carried by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). While the use of aerial imagery acquired with UAV is becoming a standard procedure in geo-information extraction for several applications, the use of LiDAR for this purpose is still in its infancy. In several countries, companies have started to commercialize products derived from LiDAR data acquired using a UAV but not always with the necessary expertise and experience. The LIDAR-derived products’ price has become very attractive, but their quality must meet the contracted specifications. Few studies have reported on the quality of outsourced LiDAR data acquired with UAV and the problems that need to be handled during production. There can be significant differences between the planning and execution of a commercial project and a research field campaign, particularly concerning the size of the surveyed area, the volume of the acquired data, and the strip processing. This work addresses the quality control of LiDAR UAV data through outsourcing to develop a modelling-based flood forecast and alert system. The contracted company used the Phoenix Scout-16 from Phoenix LiDAR Systems, carrying a Velodyne VLP-16 and mounted on a DJI Matrice 600 PRO Hexacopter for an area of 560 ha along a flood-prone area of the Águeda River in Central Portugal.

Disentangling LiDAR Contribution in Modelling Species–Habitat Structure Relationships in Terrestrial Ecosystems Worldwide. A Systematic Review and Future Directions

“…Although our search has not yielded any studies relating habitat structure to any of our taxonomic groups, this technology has been already satisfactorily tested (see the review by [14]). Several reasons may discourage ecologists from using UAS LiDAR: (i) Its strong dependence on GPS signals, which may not be available when flying under forest canopy [118]; (ii) The safety and privacy regulatory drawbacks for UAS flights, that are expected to be overcome soon [119]; (iii) Their autonomy limitations [120]; (iv) The not always desired experience and expertise by companies that commercialize UAS products [121]. Nonetheless, we encourage ecologists and LiDAR practitioners to incorporate this technology in their studies, especially those aiming to describe fine-grained habitat characteristics required for small mammals, steppe-land birds, arthropods, amphibians and reptiles, or BLF.…”

Development of Drone-Mounted Multiple Sensing System with Advanced Mobility for In Situ Atmospheric Measurement: A Case Study Focusing on PM2.5 Local Distribution

“…For this study, we used a large industrial drone (Matrice 600 Pro; SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, China) as a platform to measure atmospheric phenomena using the mounted MSS. Because of its advanced functionality, versatility, and scalability, this drone model has been applied in numerous studies and research projects [ 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 ] in various application fields. According to the official specifications provided by the manufacturer, the total weight and the maximum payload are, respectively, 10 kg and 6.0 kg.…”

Revealing Archaeological Sites under Mediterranean Forest Canopy Using LiDAR: El Viandar Castle (husum) in El Hoyo (Belmez-Córdoba, Spain)

“…As a development of Geographic Information Technologies (GIT), LiDAR has shown great potential in the field of archaeology [7] (p. 1). The use of LiDAR is becoming increasingly more frequent in archaeological research, with technical advances in the field [8][9][10][11][12]. This non-invasive method facilitates archaeological surveys of sites that would not have been possible by means of a geophysical survey or aerial photography [13] (p. 27).…”

“…In the Istrian Peninsula, both in Croatia and Slovenia, hillforts dating from the Bronze and Iron Ages have been found [21] (p. 6) [22] (pp. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. Other examples are the LiDAR surveys performed in France in the Forest of Tronçais and the Garonne Valley.…”

“…In the Forest of Agre, Gallo-Roman structures, a potential fortified medieval enclosure, and a medieval church were found [24] (pp. [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. In Colophon, Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), LiDAR was used to locate and map the wooded hills around the town, providing rich and detailed data of the terrain [25] (pp.…”