- The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center’s Forest Ecology Lab has developed a portable, low cost 3D mapping system.
- This allows 3D mapping of the forest canopy, and is an example of a more intelligent sensor design.
- There is a lot of opportunity for the 3D imaging industry to develop more integrated hardware/software solutions.
The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center – SERC has developed a portable 3D laser mapping system that allows them to create 3D maps of the forest canopy. Although the system is not a scanner in the strict sense, this is the kind of innovation that I was referring to in yesterday’s blog.
The folks at the Forest Ecology Lab could not find a commercial instrument that was reasonably priced and would work over a spatially significant region. They were forced to develop their own light weight system that uses a laser rangefinder to determine the height and density of the foliage.
I was trying to think of other applications – perhaps caves, and/or tunnels where this design could also be applied. In any case I think the important point is the matching of the tool or technology to the need. I think the laser scanning industry has a lot of opportunity to work more closely with end users to develop complete solutions, where the hardware and software are much more integrated.
Thoughts?
