Gallay, M., Kaňuk, J., Zgraggen, C., Imbach, B., Šašak, J., Šupinský, J., & Hollaus, M. (2023). Unpiloted Airborne Laser Scanning of a Mixed Forest. In J. Meneely (Ed.), 3D Imaging of the Environment : Mapping and Monitoring (pp. 114–126). CRC Press.
Unpiloted airborne laser scanning (ULS) provides an alternative to traditional airborne laser scanning with piloted aircrafts (ALS). Recent studies showed how the reduction of the size and weight of a laser-scanner facilitated integration of LiDAR on unmanned aerial vehicle platforms allows for a low-altitude flying height providing several times higher point sampling density and survey-grade measurement accuracy in comparison to ALS. Thus, new opportunities emerge to characterise the 3D structure of forests in ways that have not been possible until now. Scanning with a wide range of angles enables resolving individual trees and their branch structure in a similar quality to terrestrial laser scanning. This chapter demonstrates the properties of the data acquired within a case study from western Austria. A mixed forest was scanned from an unpiloted helicopter Scout B1-100 equipped with a VUX-1 LiDAR system. The data provided a high spatial detail for assessing local geomorphology, tree segmentation, and 3D modelling of solar irradiation.
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Research Areas:
Environmental Monitoring and Climate Adaptation: 100%