Building a Successful LiDAR Technology Business

Building a Successful LiDAR Technology Business

Editor’s Note: This is an interview with Rob Dannenberg, Chief Operating Officer at Phoenix LiDAR Systems.

1. Can you please provide a brief overview of your professional background (s) and experience, particularly with 3D laser scanning/LiDAR technology, and/or a brief history of the growth of the company and its use of 3D technology? Please include an idea of the timelines where possible.

Phoenix LiDAR Systems has celebrated our 10th year in business. We were the first to market with a commercial solution for UAS system-based LiDAR. We started and had the first cloud-based LiDAR processing software. We were the first RIEGL USA Sensor Integrator, and have expanded to provide everything from turnkey solutions for UAS, backpack, mobile, and airborne-based systems, in addition to SLAM capabilities. Two of our core competencies are making multiple types of deployment systems and assisting our customers with reaching an ROI faster than single-use type systems. We also provide custom-built systems for our higher-end products. All of our Phoenix offerings integrating RIEGL sensors are NDAA Compliant and USA built. We are also known for having some of the best support in the industry for our clientele. 

2. Can you provide an inventory of some of the primary 3D surveying and mapping hardware

and software that your company currently uses, as well as any other related products? Please

include an idea of the timeline of purchases.

We currently provide five lines of products, with our RANGER line including everything from the miniVUX-1UAV, miniVUX-3UAV, VUX-1UAV²²/-LR²², VUX-120²³, VUX-160²³, VUX-240²⁴, and VQ-840-G as the base LiDAR system. We are the only company offering SLAM assistance for RIEGL scanners for GPS-denied environments. We have been a strategic collaborator with RIEGL USA for more than seven years, and see ourselves as offering an enhancement, and different options for customers looking for premiere durable scanners capable of some of the highest precision in the industry. Not only do we offer RIEGL products as integrated into our systems, but we also offer other LiDAR manufacturer’s products as well which puts us in a unique space of offering everything from handheld SLAM all the way through professional mobile and manned aircraft solutions. 

3. What attracted you to the use of RIEGL hardware and software? Did you look at other

products? Why did you choose RIEGL? 

When evaluating other product offerings, we saw that RIEGL was one of the fastest innovating companies for professional-grade LiDAR in the lighter-weight category. Since becoming an integrator, RIEGL has expanded this innovation cycle and has been key to continued growth at Phoenix LiDAR. 

4. How do you integrate RIEGL products into your workflows? What were some of the challenges with that? What were some of the best practices and lessons learned? 

(100-150 words)

We use RIEGL systems as a base LiDAR unit of our entire RANGER line and embed their Multiple Time Around (MTA) processing into our software workflow. This allows us to rapidly release new software updates and upgrades, giving the public more options within the RIEGL architecture. 

5. Can you provide more detailed information on a few of your systems?

#1 RANGER-U160²³

As the level of detail required by utility infrastructure projects grows and complex digital twins become a regularly expected capability of datasets, the hardware systems tasked with collection are evolving to meet the challenge. This high-resolution power plant scan was collected from a helicopter. The RANGER-U160²³ utilized Nadir/Forward/Backward (NFB) scanning perspective for both LiDAR scan data and imagery, by integrating RIEGL’s VUX-160²³ with a full frame triple, dual-oblique plus nadir, camera configuration. This ability to see and measure the target from multiple angles resulted in a very detailed and accurate colorized point cloud.

#2 miniRANGER-3 LITE

Mobile mapping is the usual go-to for Department of Transportation (DOT) and other highway infrastructure mapping. However, for small to medium sized projects, where efficiency and turnaround time are desired, the miniRANGER-3 LITE has proven to be an invaluable tool. This 1 km stretch of 6 lanes was mapped in a single UAV flight, processed in about 1 hour within LiDARMill, and resulted in a calibrated colorized and ground classified point cloud with 0.04 ft RMSEz compared to surveyed checkpoints.

#3 RANGER-UAV²²

The RANGER-UAV²² system can be utilized from a variety of platforms. When conducting a mobile mapping project, there is often a challenge of maintaining accuracy through GNSS denied environments. This hundreds of meters long tunnel under the city of Los Angeles presented that exact challenge. Phoenix LiDAR Systems can utilize an auxiliary multi-channel LiDAR scanner and a sophisticated SLAM implementation to help keep a trajectory on track during post processing and mitigate IMU drift for the high precision point cloud collected by a VUX-1UAV²² scanner.

6. What do you see in the future for the use of 3D technology on your projects? Are you investigating other advanced technologies that will create new business opportunities? 

That question can really be summed up by looking at the unique integrations that make our systems multi-faceted and allow our clients to pursue unique applications and environments. Our new RANGER-UAV²² FLEX is a VUX-1UAV²² based scanner paired with the new FlexPack, our newest generation of ultra-integrated rover.

We have spent the past year designing and testing our most ambitious LiDAR accessory to date, the RANGER-UAV²² FLEX DUAL MOBILE SYSTEM. This is a dual-head rack-mounted mobile solution finely tuned to meet the high standards of demanding survey-grade mapping applications.

The RANGER-UAV²² FLEX is intended to be highly adaptable. LiDAR hardware is a major investment, and our goal was to make this entire system quickly reconfigurable for various applications. For instance, in the base package one of the LiDAR heads can be detached from the DUAL MOBILE SYSTEM via a quick release and snapped directly onto a UAV. And then from there moved to a backpack mount. Then right back to the dual head mount. All without recalibration.

The entire dual head accessory can be quick released from the roof rack for storage, service, or transportation as an entire dual head unit.

In terms of additional options to further increase accuracy and functionality, we offer a quick release Ladybug 5+ with SLAM-assist, fiber IMU-60 upgrade, an additional FlexPack rover for the second scan-head, and even a DMI wheel sensor to aid and improve trajectory results in GPS denied environments. The RANGER-UAV²² FLEX is really an amazing advancement in enhancing the value and versatility of survey grade LiDAR.

As Phoenix LiDAR continues to innovate and stay at the forefront, we expect the RIEGL product line to continue offering industry-leading precision, accuracy, point density, and compact form factors.

For more information on Phoenix Lidar CLICK HERE.

For more information on RIEGL CLICK HERE.

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