Sanborn Lidar.
We’re flying our planes every day, collecting highly accurate high resolution lidar data at a nationwide scale. After post-acquisition data processing, the lidar data provides a 3‑dimensional representation in the form of a point cloud with the precise elevation, geospatial location and orientation of features and objects as well as their shape, volume, and dimensions.
The Sanborn
value proposition.
The Sanborn value proposition is our ability to deploy sensors that we own and operate, including a range of lidar sensor systems that are uniquely ours, and our mastery of the lidar data processing lifecycle from start to finish.
Whatever your data requirements and uses for lidar-generated data products, Sanborn has the technology and the skill to tailor an approach that delivers data that meets your needs.
Sanborn’s lidar collection platforms.
Airborne Lidar.
Airborne lidar collection involves mounting lidar sensors on an airplane or helicopter to capture data from above. It is commonly used for Wide area/corridor mapping projects and 3D modeling, especially the creation of surface, terrain, vegetation, building, and digital elevation models (DEMs). It is particularly useful for change detection across time.
Airborne lidar collection covers larger areas in a shorter time and at lower cost than any other platform. It can capture detailed data over challenging terrain, roadless areas, and remote environments, as well as capturing the 3-dimensional representations of buildings, bridges, infrastructure, and urban landscapes.
The Sanborn advantage is its unique position as owner of some of the most powerful, modern lidar sensors available in North America. Sanborn’s systems include linear-mode and photon counting lidar sensor systems.
Linear mode lidar
Linear mode lidar systems fire a series of single high-powered laser pulses and measure the time it takes for the pulses to return after hitting objects on the Earth’s surface. The different rates of return are used to differentiate between bare earth or ground and surface objects (vegetation, buildings) in the construction of 3D elevation, surface, and terrain models.
Linear lidar is a standard approach for elevation and terrain modeling and meets QL (Quality Level) standards set by the USGS (US Geological Survey). Linear lidar systems typically meet QL-level vertical accuracies.
Photon counting lidar
Sanborn’s newest aerial lidar solution, photon counting, provides unprecedented high-definition data over large areas. The technology was developed over the past 3 decades for military and intelligence applications but has only recently become available for commercial applications. The sensor transmits low-power laser pulses at a high frequency rate capturing millions of measurements with a two-dimensional photon counting avalanche photodiode array. In contrast to linear mode which records a handful of returns for a pulse, the extremely sensitive photodiode array can record up to 4,096 individual measurements for each pulse. The large number of measurements enables the system to image small objects such as power lines at altitudes of more than two miles above the earth’s surface.
UAS / Drone Lidar.
Drone Lidar refers to the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with Lidar sensors. Drones can be deployed quickly and flown over a facility, under a bridge, or over a work site. Because of their limited range, they are suitable for smaller areas; because of their small size and maneuverability, they are suitable for areas with limited accessibility, such as being able to fly low, and go under and around structures.
Drone Lidar is widely used in applications such as construction site monitoring, infrastructure inspections, forestry surveys, utility inspection, and precision agriculture. It provides high-resolution data for relatively lower cost and can be easily repeated for periodic monitoring.
Ground Lidar.
Mobile ground Lidar involves mounting Lidar sensors on vehicles to collect data while driving along roads or other transportation networks. This method is used for applications such as road condition assessment, urban planning, and asset management and can reach survey grade accuracy. Sanborn Mobile Lidar provides 5cm accuracy and a resolution of up to 1cm, providing unprecedented 3D detail from our specially equipped vehicle moving at speeds up to 60mph. The virtual ground survey of this lidar system provides an accurate and complete detailed capture of structures, roads, infrastructure, vegetation, etc.
The Optech Lynx V200 Mobile Mapping System is an advanced mobile mapping system which combines Lidar with high resolution video to meet the accuracy required for today’s engineering grade applications and solutions. The LYNX Mobile Mapper incorporates a revolutionary new Lidar sensor head that leverages Optech’s 33 years of development experience and the latest in Lidar innovation—iFLEX—to collect survey-grade Lidar data at over 200,000 measurements per second with a 360° FOV, while maintaining a Class 1 Eye Safety Rating.
- The Sanborn advantage is that we operate and control our entire lidar collection and mapping process. This flexibility allows us to meet your specifications by adjusting collection timing and frequency, point cloud density, derivative products, and much more.
- Jason Caldwell
VP, Director of Business Development
Sanborn Lidar data acquisition and production processes comply with current USGS Lidar Base Specifications.
Explore derivative products from lidar.
Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) is a mapping technology that uses calibrated laser returns from an object or the earth’s surface that are reflected to a sensor on an aerial, mobile or fixed ground platform.
Sanborn helps you take the full advantage of lidar data through the creation and delivery of derivative products as wide ranging as: Digital elevation, terrain and surface models, canopy height models, and 3D building models. These models in turn enable analysis useful for hydrography, forestry, agriculture, urban planning, transportation, power lines, and much more.
Maximizing the Usefulness of Lidar Data
Putting Lidar Point Clouds to Work.
Digital Twins
Hydrography, Watershed, Floodplains
Forestry
Nautical charting
Coastal Erosion Tracking
Disaster Management
Land use Mapping and Planning
Transportation Planning
Urban Planning
