NZAM has had significant experience in LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) acquisition with data collected throughout NZ and overseas since 2005. The growing awareness of the results that can be achieved has justified the recent purchase of their second system, the Optech Orion M300 to complement their existing Optech ALTM3100EA. Each system has an integrated GPS/IMU and medium format digital camera.
LiDAR, also known as airborne laser scanning (ALS), is a cost effective alternative to conventional ground surveying for medium to large scale terrain modelling projects and accuracies achievable are far superior to photogrammetric mapping. Dense sets of discrete elevation points are captured that represent a sampling of the surface. Light is transmitted out to the target which is reflected back to the instrument where it is analysed. The change in the intensity of the light enables some properties of the target to be determined. The time for the light to travel out to the target and back to the LiDAR is used to determine the range to the target.
Terrain shaded relief
LiDAR DEM
DEM with ortho overlaid
LiDAR data is used to produce:
- spot heights
- DEM, DTM, DSM
- contours
- feature extraction
- building footprints and heights
- vegetation measurements
- breakline definition
- road centre-line location and road surface modelling
There are a number of LiDAR products available on our Sample Data page.
And produces value-added products such as:
- hydrologically enforced terrain models
- data fusion
- view shed
- virtual reality / augmented reality
- 3D fly-through
The applications possible from LiDAR include accurate flood modelling, corridor mapping, wireless network planning, road and engineering design, power line mapping, hazard clearance, natural resource assessment, demographic profiling and urban planning, to name a few.