Lidar Activities and Research Priorities in the Commercial Sector

Laser altimetry, more commonly referred to in the commercial sector as LiDAR mapping, is becoming a commonplace operational tool in photogrammetry, survey and mapping firms. Its use has grown rapidly over the past five years due to the increasing availability of commercial off-the-shelf sensors, advancements in the design and capabilities of the sensors themselves and an increased awareness of the advantages of using LiDAR technology for elevation data capture by end users. As a result LiDAR mapping has been experiencing strong growth, which in turn has spurred further developments in the technology and even greater demand for the data products. Due to the relatively small size of the lidar mapping sector, capital investment in internally funded research and development appears to be limited. As a result further growth and development of the technology in the commercial sector will depend heavily on the ability to work cooperatively with the academic and research sector to define common research priorities and objectives, especially as relates to specific applications. Education of end users to increase awareness and acceptance of the technology along with establishing approved methodologies and quality control guidelines are also areas of overlap between the commercial and government sectors. Potential research priorities given commercial sector needs will be discussed and ranked with an emphasis on software tools. Undeveloped aspects of research-oriented laser altimetry, especially as relates to waveform capture and analysis will be discussed in the context of potential commercial markets.