Ground-Based LiDAR
Ground-based LiDAR is applied to intensive study plot areas because of its relatively high point density and limited range. These data are a valuable compliment to airborne data because they can inform surveys in areas where the airborne laser cannot penetrate (i.e. in dense forest canopy, building shadows, or cliff banks). Additionally, ground-based LiDAR systems can co-acquire true-color digital photos which are directly geo-referenced to the LiDAR returns to produce a highly detailed 3D representation of the surveyed area. The resulting models have many applications including quantifying vegetation structure, rapid terrain damage assessment, building and road measurements and many more.
Ground based LiDAR system set up
LiDAR points colored by true-color photos