5 questions to… RIEGL

Besides its solutions for airborne bathymetric Lidar, which is increasingly being considered for specific feature-recognition tasks in complex situations, RIEGL is also highlighting its ground- and boat-based laser scanning survey capabilities in the context of hydrography at Oi26.

 

Which main development are you highlighting at Oi26, and which customer problem does it solve?

We are highlighting our latest topo-bathymetric airborne Lidar system, the VUX-820-G. This very compact system is especially apt for use on smaller uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs or ‘drones’), as the lightweight design enables compliance with payload weight restrictions. New features make the handling more user-friendly, like the facilitated mounting and the option for parametrization and status-message checking via the integrated touch screen. All in all, the new fully integrated system – including green wavelength laser scanner, RIEGL’s RiLOC F inertial navigation system, an RGB camera and RIEGL’s proprietary software licences for generating georeferenced and refraction-corrected point clouds – allows high flexibility in use for service providers operating smaller UAVs, without compromising performance and quality of the acquired data.

Which applications are currently driving the most demand for your products or services, and how has that changed compared to last year?

Apart from the classic tasks of measuring water depths and the seamless coverage of topography on land and under water, we are experiencing greater demand for airborne bathymetric Lidar. It is being considered for diverse feature-recognition tasks in complex situations, like harbour environments, change and growth monitoring of sediment, and marine habitats, and there is also a noticeable demand for defence-related applications. Our compact system solutions can be integrated into various aircraft types and are well suited for providing such highly detailed data.

What is behind that shift in applications?

A number of factors are driving demand for airborne Lidar bathymetry. Homogenized regulation for civil drone operation enables facilitated use of smaller drones, meaning service providers need a suitable payload. There is evident urgency relating to climate change, and also defence applications in the current geopolitical context.

How do you see the hydrographic sector evolving over the next two to three years, and where do you expect the biggest capability gaps to be?

In hydrography, as in other survey contexts, we expect further development of data fusion in order to maximize mission efficiency. This tendency can already be observed for larger systems where multiple sensors are directly integrated. For smaller systems to be used on UAVs, one challenge is the availability of miniaturized yet high-performing sensors and reliable, stable yet lightweight system integration. But also, data fusion for datasets acquired from different methods and platforms (e.g. satellite imagery with Earth-based survey) is a topic that is addressed for providing complete and information-rich results. Data format homogenization and suitable analysis tools have to be established.

What can Oi26 visitors expect to find at your booth, and why should they stop by?

We are looking forward to showcasing the versatility of airborne Lidar, but also of ground- and boat-based laser scanning survey in the context of hydrography. We appreciate the feedback from and discussion with topo-bathymetric Lidar users as well as hydrographers, surveyors, academics and students who are considering Lidar technology for the first time as a new, maybe complementary, approach to their work.