The OpenTopography Portal is reporting that it appears Google is making use of bare earth terrain models derived from LiDAR. They provide a couple of examples of where the high resolution LiDAR data has been patched into the terrain layer.
It is no wonder that ESRI is concerned about these guys. It’s hard to compete with free.
Autodesk Labs has recently announced the availability of a new “Point Cloud Shape Extraction Plug-in for AutoCAD”. This is a potentially very important development, particularly if Autodesk has been able to solve some of the difficult problems that surround this critically important issue.
My son and I were discussing this very topic with Jarlath O’Neill Dunne from the University of Vermont and the Spatial Analysis Lab today over lunch. Jarlath has done a lot of thinking and hands on research into automated feature extraction, as have many others including the US military. This is the “search for the Holy Grail”.
If Autodesk has something new and exciting it certainly has the potential to be a game changer for the laser scanning industry. Kudos to all involved and please let me know what you think of the software.
A research team from NASA Ames is on Devon Island, Canada exploring the Haughton Crater with the goal of understanding how humans and robots can work better together. The K 10 robot is equipped with an Optech ILRIS – 3D laser scanner, which is capable of making 3D measurements with a precision of 5mm at 500 m.
It may not be Mars or the moon, but as the video demonstrates, it looks something like it. Truly an exciting research project.
The Transportation Research Board has issued a research report that “explores the readiness of LIDAR technology as a cost-effective alternative to the traditional methods for collecting the data required to prepare airport obstruction surveys that meet government requirements.”
The report also examines a sample specification that agencies might use to procure the work. This is must reading.
This research looked at the potential benefits of fusing hyperspectral imagery with LiDAR data to better understand urban runoff and planning. The title was misleading to me as I thought structure monitoring was related to structural engineering – go figure. The authors were referring to the “structure” of objects within a scene. The better the structure of an object is understood the better the classification methodology – aha.
The idea is to use the LiDAR to identify the geometry and use the hyperspectral to identify the type of material. Sounds like a powerful combination, but as we know in both cases the promise of the technology is often greater than the ability to deliver. However, it is once again in the fusion of the 2 data streams where 1+1>2.
The technique appears to hold some promise.
With the ability to collect full-waveform signals from airborne LiDAR systems researchers from the Vienna University of Technology wanted to see if the distribution of amplitude and echo width could be used to predict whether a point was terrain or “other”. This could lead to more automated data processing and increased DTM accuracy.
Their research examined different ground cover conditions to insure that their approach would not be biased. Using the full-waveform methodology they were able to accurately label 92% of the terrain echoes correctly. However, they concluded that amplitude and echo width were not sufficient to completely identify terrain points, but that this processing could be used as part of a larger classification methodology.
Automating LiDAR data processing is the key to opening up the use of this data.
This is the title of a new text book edited by George Vosselman and Hans-Gerd Maas, published by Whittles Publishing. After presenting the basics in the early chapters the authors and editors devote the remainder of the text to discussing the major applications such as digital terrain modeling, forestry, engineering and cultural a heritage. The final chapter is on mobile mapping.
I am sure this is a valuable addition to what is an all too short list of reference texts on the subject.
It might be hard to imagine, but there isn’t a single, high-resolution topographical map of the complete California shoreline generated at the same time using uniform standards. By the end of the year that will have changed.
NOAA will supervise the $3.3 million effort to LiDAR map California’s entire coastline. “We need a better sense of what’s out there. We need a modern map. And with a modern map we’ll have the knowledge to make better decisions,” said Doug George, a project manager with the Ocean Protection Council, a state agency in Oakland that approved $2.75 million toward the project last month.
Complete coverage of the the entire US coastline is soon going to become a reality.
