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How is LiDAR used?

LiDAR has a wide range of applications. It depends on the wavelength that’s being used, the detector that’s being used, as well as the platform that it’s being used on. One of the biggest applications of airborne platform for LiDAR is wide-area mapping. Using a LiDAR sensor that’s flying at a certain height or an altitude and scanning across a wide area, allows us to come up with a topographic surface of a very wide area. These data can be used in many different applications, ranging from looking at faults from earthquakes; looking at coastal changes by looking at the topographic surfaces; floodplain mapping, that’s a very big application of LiDAR as well. When it’s on a mobile or terrestrial platform it’s used a lot in engineering applications to actually map bridges or roads in transportation. It’s actually also used in adaptive cruise control on cars. LiDAR was actually used in the entertainment industry back in 2008. The group called Radiohead, they actually did a video on one of their songs called “House of Cards.” They actually used no cameras for their video, they used a LiDAR sensor, a terrestrial LiDAR sensor. Just last year, the company EA Sports that makes 3D gaming systems, or software, they were the ones that actually took a LiDAR sensor to several stadiums, football stadiums, tennis courts, golf courses, and they actually mapped the courses and the stadiums using this LiDAR technology. And they’re using this technology in 3D gaming. When LiDAR starts getting used in the entertainment industry and gaming industry, you know you’re in the right profession.

 

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