Laser Scanning

Airborne laser scanning (ALS) has emerged as one of the most promising remote sensing technologies to provide data for research and operational applications in a wide range of disciplines related to management of forest ecosystems. This book provides a comprehensive, state-of-the-art review of the research and application of ALS in a broad range of forest-related disciplines, especially forest inventory and forest ecology. However, this book is more than just a collection of individual contributions – it consists of a well-composed blend of chapters dealing with fundamental methodological issues and contributions reviewing and illustrating the use of ALS within various domains of application. The reviews provide a comprehensive and unique overview of recent research and applications that researchers, students and practitioners in forest remote sensing and forest ecosystem assessment should consider as a useful reference text.

This book provides an overview on the evolution of laser scanning technology and its noticeable impact in the structural engineering domain. It provides an up-to-date synthesis of the state-of-the-art of the technology for the reverse engineering of built constructions, including terrestrial, mobile, and different portable solutions, for laser scanning. Data processing of large point clouds has experienced an important advance in the last years, and thus, an intense activity in the development of automated data processing algorithms has been noticed. Thus, this book aims to provide an overview of state-of-the-art algorithms, different best practices and most recent processing tools in connection to particular applications. Readers will find this a comprehensive book, that updates the practice of laser scanning for researchers and professionals not only from the geomatic domain, but also other fields such as structural and construction engineering. A set of successful applications to structural engineering are illustrated, including also synergies with other technologies, that can inspire professionals to adopt laser scanning in their day-to-day activity. This cutting-edge edited volume will be a valuable resource for students, researchers and professional engineers with an interest in laser scanning and its applications in the structural engineering domain.

3D surface representation has long been a source of information describing surface character and facilitating an understanding of system dynamics from micro-scale (e.g. sand transport) to macro-scale (e.g. drainage channel network evolution). Data collection has been achieved through field mapping techniques and the use of remotely sensed data. Advances in this latter field have been considerable in recent years with new rapid-acquisition methods being developed centered around laser based technology. The advent of airborne and field based laser scanning instruments has allowed researchers to collect high density accurate data sets and these are revealing a wealth of new information and generating important new ideas concerning terrain characterisation and landform dynamics. The proposed book collates a series of invited peer revieved papers presented at the a conference on geoinformatics and LIDAR to be held at the National Centre for Geocomputation based in the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. Current constraints in field survey and DEM construction are reviewed together with technical and applied issues around the new technology. The utility of the data in process modelling is also covered. The book will be of great value to researchers in the field of geomorphology, geostatistics, remote sensing and GIS and will prove extremely useful to students and practitioners concerned with terrain analysis. The proposed work will: Highlight major technological breakthrough in 3D data collection. Feature examples of application across a wide range of environmental areas. Critically evaluate the role of laser based techniques in the environment. Detail theory and application of laser techniques in the natural environment.

From its initial publication titled Laser Beam Scanning in 1985 to Handbook of Optical and Laser Scanning, now in its second edition, this reference has kept professionals and students at the forefront of optical scanning technology. Carefully and meticulously updated in each iteration, the book continues to be the most comprehensive scanning resource on the market. It examines the breadth and depth of subtopics in the field from a variety of perspectives. The Second Edition covers: Technologies such as piezoelectric devices Applications of laser scanning such as Ladar (laser radar) Underwater scanning and laser scanning in CTP As laser costs come down, and power and availability increase, the potential applications for laser scanning continue to increase. Bringing together the knowledge and experience of 26 authors from England, Japan and the United States, the book provides an excellent resource for understanding the principles of laser scanning. It illustrates the significance of scanning in society today and would help the user get started in developing system concepts using scanning. It can be used as an introduction to the field and as a reference for persons involved in any aspect of optical and laser beam scanning.

A systematic, in-depth introduction to theories and principles of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology is long overdue, as it is the most important geospatial data acquisition technology to be introduced in recent years. An advanced discussion, this text fills the void. Professionals in fields ranging from geology, geography and geoinformatics to physics, transportation, and law enforcement will benefit from this comprehensive discussion of topographic LiDAR principles, systems, data acquisition, and data processing techniques. The book covers ranging and scanning fundamentals, and broad, contemporary analysis of airborne LiDAR systems, as well as those situated on land and in space. The authors present data collection at the signal level in terms of waveforms and their properties; at the system level with regard to calibration and georeferencing; and at the data level to discuss error budget, quality control, and data organization. They devote the bulk of the book to LiDAR data processing and information extraction and elaborate on recent developments in building extraction and reconstruction, highlighting quality and performance evaluations. There is also extensive discussion of the state-of-the-art technological developments used in: filtering algorithms for digital terrain model generation; strip adjustment of data for registration; co-registration of LiDAR data with imagery; forestry inventory; and surveying. Readers get insight into why LiDAR is the effective tool of choice to collect massive volumes of explicit 3-D data with unprecedented accuracy and simplicity. Compiled by leading experts talking about much of their own pioneering work, this book will give researchers, professionals, and senior students novel ideas to supplement their own experience and practices.

This book is related to various applications of laser scanning in landslide assessment. Landslide detection approaches, susceptibility, hazard, vulnerability assessment and various modeling techniques are presented. Optimization of landslide conditioning parameters and use of heuristic, statistical, data mining approaches, their advantages and their relationship with landslide risk assessment are discussed in detail. The book contains scanning data in tropical forests; its indicators, assessment, modeling and implementation. Additionally, debris flow modeling and analysis including source of debris flow identification and rockfall hazard assessment are also presented.

Written by a team of international experts, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the major applications of airborne and terrestrial laser scanning. It focuses on principles and methods and presents an integrated treatment of airborne and terrestrial laser scanning technology. After consideration of the technology and processing methods, the book turns to applications, such as engineering, forestry, cultural heritage, extraction of 3D building models, and mobile mapping. This book brings together the various facets of the subject in a coherent text that will be relevant for advanced students, academics and practitioners.

The Handbook of Optical and Laser Scanning reveals the fundamentals of controlling light beam deflection, factors in image fidelity and quality, and the newest technological developments currently impacting scanner system design and applications. This highly practical reference features a logical chapter organization, authoritative yet accessible w