Introduction to Terrestrial Laser

Scanning (TLS)
Similar to Sonar and Radar but uses Light (Light
Detection and Ranging)
Initial of LiDAR use began in the 1960s in studies of
atmospheric composition, surveying, law enforcement,
etc.
Transmits a pulse of light and records the returned pulse
of light records time, divides by two, and multiplies by
the speed of light for distance
Able to record thousands of points a second recording
target position (X,Y,Z), intensity, and color (RBG)
Capable of relative positioning at mm to cm accuracy

LASER SCANNERS
Beam deflection mechanism provides elevation and azimuth
of the transmitted pulse
Return-beam detection device records return time and
provides range calculation from two-way travel time
Energy of the return pulse (intensity) and the color (RBG) is
recorded
Full waveform now recorded on some TLS instruments

Time-of-Flight Measurement

Transmitter
Receiver

Range = travel time x speed of light/2

Record (azimuth, zenith, range, intensity)

Greaves, SPAR 2004.

BENEFITS OF LASER SCANNERS

Imaging system provides an unprecedented density of
geospatial information through a dense set of threedimensional vectors to target points relative to the
scanner location (point cloud)
Scanner controlled by laptop computer that is also used
for data acquisition and initial processing
Combination with GPS allows fully geospatially
referenced data set and opens potential for direct
measurement of change (time series measurements)

3D POINT CLOUD
Cartesian transformation of the laser pulse data (transformation of the range and reflectance images as well as
the calculated XYZ coordinates) in scanner centered
reference frame
3D point cloud of discrete locations derived from
superimposing range and reflectance image for each laser
pulse
3D point clouds are the basis for subsequent analysis and
used to create CAD or GIS models

REFLECTANCE IMAGE
Looks like a black and white photograph of scan
coverage
Individual measured points are defined as
reflectance values
highly reflecting (light) points are displayed in a
light grey pixel
highly absorbing
(dark) points are displayed as a dark grey pixel
lack of a return is depicted as a black pixel

Field Equipment

Laptop

Controls to
align all the
scanning
data

Terrestrial
Laser
Scanner
(LPM 800)

Field Equipment

Camera
Topcon
Totalstation
Imagine
System

Tripod
RTK GPS

Integrating geometry with texture by position

control
Camera
Imaging Total Station

GPS

Nikon D200

OR
TOPCON HIPER LITE+ - RTK GPS SYSTEM

TOPCON IS

Total Station
TOPCON Total Station

Examples of controls

Scanner Parameters

Beam Divergence
Angular Step
Range Distance
Field of View
Points Per Second
Size and Weight

Scanner Parameters
Beam Divergence
Df = (Divergence * d) + Di

Scanner Parameters

Scanner Parameters
Angular Step
Spacing = d(m)*TAN(step)

Scanner Parameters

Scanner Parameters
Range Distance
Target Reflectance can change single scan range by hundreds of meters
Laser and CCD characteristics impact maximum and minimum range
distances from <5 meters to >2000 (6000) meters

Field of View
Rotational Base allows 360 degree rotation (azimuth)
Rotating mirror and gear drive allows ~90 degree vertical coverage

Points Per Second

Scan Time

Size and Weight

Field Logistics

Beam Stepping Distance

Beam stepping angle is specified in either degrees/minutes/seconds, in
decimal degrees or in gons. There are 400 gons in a circle, just as there
are 360 degrees in a circle.
Unfortunately, the specs units are not radians (2 radians in a circle). If
they were radians, a very rapid approximation of the stepping distance in
meters can be made mentally. For small angles,
Stepping Distance = (angle in radians) * distance
e.g. Stepping Angle = 0.00005 radians (.05 mRadians)
Stepping Distance (@800m) = 0.00005* 800 = 4 cm
1 gon = 0.9 deg
1 deg = 0.01745 radians

1 deg = 1.111 gon

Minimum specs for stepping tend to be 0.0012 => 0.004 deg

0.002 deg = 0.035 mRadians = 3.5 cm at 1000 meters

Beam Divergence
Beam Divergence
Optech Ilris
Riegl LMS 620i
Riegl LPM 321

0.00974 deg (0.17 mRadian)

0.004 deg
(0.07 mRadian)
0.046 deg
(0.8 mRadian)

Beam diameter at exit ranges from a few millimeters to centimeters

Spot diameter at distance
diameter = beam at exit + divergence (radians) * distance
Riegl 620
= 2 mm + (0.00007 radians * 500 m) = 3.7 cm
Riegl LPM

= 1 cm + (0.0008 radians * 500 m) = 41 cm

Laser Return Signal

BeamDiameterAtOutcrop = divergence * distance

Beam size at laser = 1 cm2

Beam divergence = 0.8 mrad
Beam intensity at laser = 1 cm-2
Distance to outcrop = 500 m
Reflectivity = 33%

= 0.0008 * 50000 cm = 40 cm
2

BeamAreaAtOutcrop = (BeamDiamter / 2) *
2

= (40 / 2) * = 1257 cm 2
IntensityAtOutcrop = InitialBeamIntensity / BeamAreaAtOutcrop
= 1 / 1257 = 0.0008 cm -2
Re turnAtOutcrop = ObjectArea * IntensityAtOutcrop * Reflectivity
= 100 * 0.0008 * 0.33 = 0.26

ReturnIntensityAtLaser = ReturnAtOutcrop/ 2 * * distance 2

2

= 0.26 /(2 * * 50000 ) = 1.66

11

cm

= 0.0000000000166

The return signal at the laser is substantially lower than the signal that is
emitted by the laser.
The example above assumes that the laser beam is 1 cm2 when it leaves the
laser and that the window to the receiver has an aperture area of 1 cm2 and
that the feature being imaged is 100 cm2.

Diffuse reflection for reflectorless laser

rangefinders

Laser beam
with 3 milliradian div.
Laser range- receiver aperture
finder

Not to scale

Target

diffuse reflection

904 nm diffuse fractional reflections

of common material
Other lasers have different responses when operating at different wavelengths

Material Description
Winter Snow and Ice
Vegetation (The Average Value of Many Types)
Soil
Silt
Sand
Gypsum
Clay
Dirt
Shale, Coral
Concrete, Asphalt
Coal Tar Pitch
Plywood, Unpainted
Brick, Red
Bark

DR.
0.85
0.50
0.05 - 0.35
0.20 - 0.40
0.10 - 0.35
0.55 - 0.70
0.40 - 0.50
0.30
0.45
0.10
0.05
0.50
0.25
0.20 - 0.25

Range Measurement versus Intensity

CD Reflectors Mounted on a Wall

Note angle of points from wall pointing toward scanner

Range Error versus Intensity

LIDAR emits a short pulse of light and measures the time for the return
signal to reach the detector. Light travels at about 0.33 m / ns in air.
Distance = * time of flight * velocity of light. Enough returned energy
must be received at the LIDAR detector to trigger the timing circuitry. If
the signal is very strong, the detector threshold will be reached faster than
if the signal is very weak. LIDAR detectors must compensate for this
effect in order to provide accurate measurement of distance.

LASER SCANNER ACCURACY

Boehler, Vincent and Marbs, 2003.
Tested scanners for accuracy
Application was for cultural heritage
applications (we will revisit for natural
surfaces)
Manufacturer specifications not good
representation for real-world applications

LASER SCANNER ACCURACY

Angular accuracy
Angles from combination of deflection of rotating
mirrors and rotation about a mechanical axis
Provides azimuthal position

Range accuracy
Time of flight or phase comparison between
outgoing and returning signal provides range
Noise-fuzz of points on a flat surface

LASER SCANNER ACCURACY

Resolution
Ability to detect an object in point cloud
Two specs contribute
Smallest increment of angle between successive points
(can manually set)
Size of laser spot (beam dispersion)

Edge effects
When a spot hits the edge of a target and receives
2 positions and/or 2 reflectivity values (material)

LASER SCANNER ACCURACY

Surface reflectivity
Distance, atmospheric, incidence angle
Albedo (ability to reflect)
White strong, black weak
Depends on spectra of the laser (green, red, near IR)
Inclined surfaces of high reflectance (i.e., water ) can
create travel time anomalies (mutlipathing)

Typically contribute accuracy-range errors larger

than manufacture specifications

Environmental Conditions
Temperature (important to operate within
specification range)
Atmosphere
changes propagation speed slightly
dust, mist, raindrops, fog - a major problem

Interfering radiation
Sunlight strong relative to signal
Influence or prevent (dont shoot into sun)

Survey Control
Surface referencing (using recognizable
physiographic features)
Targets (reflectors and/or prisms)
Geo-referencing (Total Station and GPS
positioning)
Multiple scan registration requires tight spatial
control

Calibration
Repeatability
Need to document multiple measurements of
known geometry
Compare with allowable variance

Quality Control
Multiple measurements of known geometry with
multiple scanner positions

Resolution
Measurement accuracy is governed by
instrument resolution
Resolution is the smallest distance that can be
measured without ambiguity
For laser scanning, this is the spacing of the
point cloud array
Varies linearly with distance from the scanner

Resolution

Range

Measurement Accuracy
The ability to generate physical dimensions
and location of an object
Specified with a tolerance, e.g. +/- 6 mm
(and a confidence interval)
Not a laser scanner specification but a work
product specification

Resolution and Measurement Accuracy

Absolute measurement accuracy cant be
better than 2x instrument resolution

Resolution and Measurement Accuracy

Absolute measurement accuracy cant be
better than 2x instrument resolution

Resolution and Measurement Accuracy

Modeling may help, caution required

Resolution and Measurement Accuracy

Overlapping dot problem (edge effect)

Resolution test

Measuring noise in range direction. Riegl Z420 is

comparable to Z360

Action Sequence in the Field

First, establish the scan locations and ensure that they completely cover the target
area.
Second, establish the location for the controls
Third, review naming and number conventions to be used
Make sure that the site name in the software and the folder and site abbreviation
in the camera set is correctly set (can be done night before)
Set up controls and locate them with GPS (time series measurement reduce errors)
Set up first scan site and decide on camera sites (if applicable)
Scan controls before scanning the outcrop
The photo team with the Topcon IS needs to be working in parallel with the scan
team. One can get ahead of the other, but the jobs need to proceed in parallel. It
takes a lot of time.
Review the progress with one another
Double check the work
Save all work to an archive file that is not used as a work file
Review the data in the field if possible
Start model construction as soon as possible in order to correct errors or fill in
unintentional holes in the data

LiDAR Site Selection

(multiple locations, selection of point density versus time)

It is necessary to scan an outcrop from at least two oblique

directions to minimize occluded parts of the outcrop. Three
scans are good (left/center/right), and additional reverse
directions are optimal.
Point density is inversely dependent upon distance to the
outcrop. If the distance has a wide range of values, the time
to scan the outcrop can be optimized by selecting a finer
angular resolution for the more distant parts of the outcrop
compared to the closer parts of the outcrop.
Scan time is inversely dependent upon the square of the scan angluar
resolution. Increasing the scan step angle by 2X reduces the scan time
by 4X.
Partition the outcrop scans to maintain a nearly uniform linear
stepping distance at the outcrop surface.

Scan Positions

overhang

Choose scan positions to minimize occluded (shadowed or hidden)

geometries. Scanner blue will not image beneath the overhang or
the right side of the overhang. Scanner red will image underneath the
overhang and will image the right side of the overhang.

Moab Utah-Google Earth Screen Capture

Multiple Scan Positions

Moab Utah

Scan Partition as a Function of Range

Scan Partition as a Function of Angle of Incidence

Scan Partitioning Avoids Unnecessary Scan Time

Scan Partitioning

Scan of the Pyramid at Slaughter Canyon, Carlsbad Caverns National

Monument, New Mexico
Scanner was on a 200m high hill.
Scan ranges were 50m to 800m

Scan Partitioning

Scanning of the total outcrop at the scan step angle needed for the longest
scan would have dramatically increased the scan time.
Scanning the outcrop in a single scan which covered the entire outcrop would
Result in a large amount of empty data.

Placement and Survey of the Controls

Use of scanned control reflectors improves the accuracy of the model and
allows straight forward alignment of the individual scans
Alignment of two scans requires an absolute minimum of three control
points. It is best to have five or more available to accommodate errors.
If multiple scan sites are used, it is not necessary to have all control
reflectors visible from all of the scan sites. However, it is necessary that
each scan site be able to see at least three reflectors that have been
correlated with other scan sites
The control reflectors should cover a wide area (preferably surrounding
the image area), do not place reflectors in a linear fashion or group them
in a tightly.
The spacing of the reflectors optimally approximates or exceeds the
distances in the scan region. However, this may not be practical.
It is not necessary to have reflectors on the outcrop and/or within the
image area, although it is desirable to do so if practical and is aesthetically
acceptable (for photorealistic analysis).

Placement and Survey of the Controls

Scan Reflectors before Scanning Outcrop

It is prudent to scan the reflectors before scanning the
outcrop.
If you do not have the controls with the scan data, you may not be
able to use the scans
If something happens to disorient the scanner or there is a power or
software crash during the subsequent scans, the work up to that point
can still be used
For double protection, rescan at least some of the reflectors after
completing the outcrop scan. If the scanner has lost alignment, the
final reflector scan will identify the problem.

When using the LPM with the telescopic sight, the scan
window must be larger than expected. There is parallax
between the scanner and the telescope. This is a much larger
problem at close range than at long range.

Collecting Field Data

GPS Control
Scan Pos 1

GPS

Photo Control

Collecting Field Data

Scan Pos 1

GPS

Collecting Field Data

Scan Pos 1

GPS

Collecting Field Data

GPS

Scan Pos 2

Collecting Field Data

GPS

Scan Pos 2

Collecting Field Data

GPS

Scan Pos 2

Collecting Field Data

Photos

Photos

Photos

Geospatial Referencing: GPS

Summary of the approximate accuracy of GPS positioning versus methods. (Modified from
Featherstone, 1995)

High-Resolution Geospatial Referencing: GPS

and Total Station
Accurate measurement of reference network
baselines with Total Station (mm)
Time series measurement of individual reference
reflectors/prisms with continuous GPS (cm)
Simultaneous GPS solution of all reference sites and
network adjustment using TS baselines to provide
sub-cm results

Mickey Hot Springs, SE Oregon

ZOOM OF DOQ
Problem: map a flat terrain and generate a cm level terrain map not feasible with airborne methods

DETAILED
AREA

470M

ZOOM of DOQ

Riegl Z360 mapping fairly flat surface

Actual examples of scans at MHS with RGB

channel so points are colored (not external
camera)

Scans 2, 3 and 4 are of detailed areas

Scans in southern area

Rotation of initial scan.

Note vegetation

Another perspective. Note shadows with

no points.

Perpendicular perspective

Example of merged scans

(reflectance image)

Color Version

Merged surface fit