Enhanced Capabilities and Mapping with LiDAR

LiDAR, or light detection and ranging, for remote sensing and 3D mapping is a Skytec specialty. With a range of tools and a team of experienced technologists and data analysts, we deliver a premium LiDAR data product acquired through mobile, UAS, or manned aircraft.

The Skytec team has provided LiDAR services since our inception in 2015. This technology, based on a highly capable laser sensor, provides measurements of the ground surface, often through ground cover and dense canopy. Skytec and clients commonly use LiDAR to create dynamic 3D models, maps, and elevation products, and to inspect surfaces.

Acquisition techniques cover the complete spectrum of client needs — our team uses unmanned aerial systems (UAS), mobile LiDAR acquired on a vehicle, and manned aircraft partners — and customizes their approach to data collecting depending on each client’s specific needs.

Mobile LiDAR provides a street-level, very dense point cloud, creating a complete digital twin of infrastructure, roadways, and other projects that require high-density, ground-up scans. Our team recently collaborated on client work for a rockfall mitigation project near a mountainous, heavily trafficked portion of interstate in Tennessee.

“Mobile LiDAR is used frequently for transportation-related projects,” says Andy Caroll, Chief Technology Officer. “This system, which employs our Riegl VUX-1 scanner, provides a high density and high accuracy point cloud with a ground-up scan perspective.”

In the Sky: UAS and Aerial Mapping

To provide a complete image using LiDAR beyond its mobile use, our team provides UAS LiDAR services to provide the top-down perspective. Our flight crew can capture up to ~1,500 acres in a day, with the same hardware mounted on one of our UAS vehicles, such as the Riegl VUX-1 sensor.

If a client seeks LiDAR and complete data acquisition services for a larger area — such as an entire county, state, or 100,000+ acres of assets, for example — we capture LiDAR scans through manned aircraft service partners.

“As a modern, innovative remote sensing company, Skytec provides the complete spectrum of LiDAR acquisition with our mobile, UAS, and manned aircraft capabilities,” Carroll says. “We’re unique in this space in that we offer all three techniques for capturing data.”

With the addition of their partnership with Planet, our team can add perspective to LiDAR data by using satellite images. Planet’s advanced satellite network enables the Skytec team to provide clients up-to-date, high-resolution imagery to better help evaluate assets and detect changes. It complements micro-scale data with macro imaging of any location on the planet.

Above and Beyond

In addition to the latest technology and scope of data acquisition tools, we offer in-depth data processing and analysis as a silver-level Esri partner for GIS technologies. Technologists provide tools and custom platforms for clients to ensure accessible data that can be incorporated into existing systems. From terrain models and classified point clouds to 3D extracted features, our team brings skill and experience in delivering a complete, detailed package for sensor data processing.

Read more about Skytec’s LiDAR capabilities, as well as our other acquisition services. Contact us today for more information.