Photogrammetry or LiDAR? Why not both?
Alicia Llorens
Reality Capture & Photogrammetry Expert | Strategic Relationship Builder | Customer Advocate
When I was working as a Support Engineer for Gatewing (Trimble UAS, then Delair), I trained several surveying teams from mining sites. They went from surveying with heavy equipment around the site and weeks of work (let's not talk about the risk involved), to having a 3D model of the entire site in less than a day.
Drone technology and photogrammetry allowed them to generate an accurate 3D model of a relatively large site in less than 24 hours. That was revolutionary.
But photogrammetry has its limitations. It relies on the image quality, on the pixel information and as such, it comes with limitations. Weather conditions (wind, sun, snow) or the texture of surfaces (dense vegetation, water, reflectiveness) have an impact on the photogrammetry process.
And that's when LiDAR comes into the picture. LiDAR uses light waves from a laser to collect measurements. Each of these measurements can then be processed into a 3D visualization known as a ‘point cloud’ (What is LiDAR and how it works).
In the last few years we have seen a massive disruption in this technology too. From companies like Velodyne or Leica Systems, making LiDAR technology more affordable and accessible. To, the new iPad Pro. And finally the iPhone 12 Pro.
It is fascinating that in less than 10 years, the discussion has shifted from, Are drones good enough for this job? To, Do I use photogrammetry or LiDAR?
This very much depends on the requirements of the job. When it comes to asset management and infrastructure in general, our answer is Why not both?
Have a look at this 30' video where we discuss the differences between point cloud and reality mesh, advantages, fields of use and different ways to process the data.
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RPLS & Geospatial Manager,
1 年From a "Survey Perspective" either or both are game changers. The safety factor alone has pushed DOTs to require Remote Sensing. As to the imagery vs Lidar debate... If I have a minimally vegetated / clean surface I prefer the density of the point cloud created from high resolution camera with comparable vertical consistency between either platform.?
AVP Digital Consulting Lead U.S. East + LATAM
4 年Both!
High Voltage/Substations EI&C Oil & Gas Construction Management & QA
4 年If you have the right equipment and folks that know how to custom process photogrammetry, it’s a toss up.
Survey/LiDAR Manager Trekk Design Group Omaha Office
4 年We use both and use aerial colorized 3d points and digital stereo pairs plus terrestrial lidar from vehicle, backpack and handheld SLAM technology. Powerful tools delivering survey grade data.