Introduction to Remote Sensing and Scanning
Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors are a commonly used source of optical information for remote sensing payloads in scanning and surveying applications. LiDAR payloads use penetrating pulses of laser light that are reflected and used to determine relative distance to the point that it reflected from. When these pulses backscatter (reflect at an angle of 180 degrees), many payloads will use inertial navigation systems (INS) to timestamp and georeference data points that are acquired. Compiled together, these individual data points paired with point cloud software streamline the process for analyzing structures and ground planes.