Project Background & Details
Geolas’ South Africa & Canadia based customer Wooding Geopsatial Solutions (www.wgsair.com) recently completed a comprehensive aerial LiDAR survey of a large town in Alberta, Canada, delivering exceptional results beyond the original project specifications. While the end user initially requested LiDAR data only, WGS captured high-resolution orthophotos, performed 3D building extraction, and conducted a detailed vegetation assessment for internal quality enhancement.
Innovative Approach
The vegetation assessment was particularly innovative, as the ELMAP LiDAR data was used to group and enumerate individual trees throughout the town. Leveraging AI technology and machine learning for initial classification, WGS ensured precise and efficient data processing. This level of detail offers significant value for urban planning, environmental monitoring, and municipal asset management.
Project Requirements, Settings & Used Equipment
The goal was to deliver a classified 8 points per square meter LiDAR point cloud which was achieved by the following subsystems and setting:
Aircraft Type
Cessna 182 Skylane
Used LiDAR Scanner
GeoLas ELMAP30-H
Area Size
110 Km²
Number of Flight Lines
24 (incl. Cross Strip)
Required Point Density
8 pints per m²
Flying Altitude
1’150m AGL
LiDAR Pulse Rate
730 kHz
Flying Direction
North West <-> South East
Results from LiDAR and Imagery Data
Ground Level Digital Terrain Model (DTM)
Building footprint extraction
Grouping of trees
Top view of classified LiDAR Data
Data Collection and Processing
The data acquisition and processing team successfully managed the entire workflow—from flight planning to final deliverables—within just six weeks. This swift turnaround was achieved through WGS’s streamlined operational strategies and advanced data processing capabilities. Despite the project’s scale and complexity, WGS maintained exceptional accuracy, delivering precise and actionable data tailored to the client’s requirements.
Data collection was conducted using an ELMAP30-H airborne LiDAR system mounted on a Cessna 182 aircraft in just one single flight.
To achieve the target point density of 8 points per square meter, a flight altitude of 1,150 meters AGL was selected for optimal data acquisition.
The 110-square-kilometer area was covered by 24 parallel flight strips, utilizing an effective laser pulse rate of 730 kHz.
Following a data quality check, the complete processing workflow—including vegetation assessment, building footprint extraction, LiDAR data classification, and DTM production—was completed in just four additional weeks.
Flight Plan
WGS Cessna 182 Survey Aircraft
Outside View during Aerial Survey
The GeoLas ELMAP Series
The ELMAP LiDAR systems are state-of-the-art mid- to high-range LiDAR sensors designed for integration in manned fixed-wing and helicopter aircraft, gyrocopters, ultralight aircraft, and heavy-lift drones. They are built to withstand the harshest environments and offer unparalleled performance and ease of use.
Highlights:
- Compact all-in-one mapping systems
- Huge 80° field-of-view
- Linear uniform scan pattern with parallel scan lines
- Integrated removable data storage on standard SSDs
- Waveform digitization for every pulse
Summary
“Our firm has been operating three generations of GeoLas LiDARs since 2013. We have found them to be efficient solutions for our airborne surveying requirements, providing high performance and accuracy at a reasonable cost.”, summarizes Hal Wooding, Managing Director at WGS Aerial Surveys.
