LiDAR, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges (variable distances) to the Earth. A continuously rotating LiDAR system sends thousands of laser pulses every second which collide with the surrounding objects and reflect back creating a 3D representation by measuring the speed of light and the distance covered by it. This helps to determine the vehicle’s position with other surrounding objects.
As well as being a useful component in mobile mapping systems, LiDAR technology will also be key to the development of autonomous vehicles.

A mobile mapping system enables the collection of 3D  geospatial information from the safety of a vehicle on land, sea or rail. Systems range in sophistication from a more basic system such as KOREC’s KlearView 360 which comprises a 360deg vehicle mounted camera, fully hosted portal and asset inspection app which is ideal for pavement or roadside asset inspections to a top of the range system such as the Trimble MX9 which typically mounts on the roof of a vehicle and rapidly captures laser scans and images – both panoramic and multi-angle – as you drive.
The advantages of mobile mapping systems are many and include the provision of a rich dataset with a very high data density for close range acquisition so nothing is missed. They are ideal for covering larger lengths of road that it would not be cost-effective to survey using traditional methods and above all remove surveyor from working in time pressurised environments or where safety maybe compromised such as on live roads. No active traffic management is required and data is collected at traffic speeds.

LiDAR, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges (variable distances) to the Earth. Mobile LiDAR systems are frequently used for 3D mapping applications along various corridors because of their extreme ease in capturing comprehensive high-resolution 3D topographic data at normal speeds. Because of this they are often a part of a more complex system, for example, Trimble’s MX9 Mobil Mapping system which combines a vehicle-mounted mobile LiDAR system, GNSS, multi-camera imaging and field software. This combination delivers efficient, precise and high-volume data capture for a broad range of mobile mapping applications such as road surveys, topographic mapping, 3D-modeling and asset management.