The American Surveyor

Airborne Laser Scanner VQ-480: Compact, Lightweight Design for Corridor Mapping

Orlando, Florida – Following tremendous market acceptance of the LMS-Q560 Airborne scanner, Riegl presents the new VQ-480. Providing high speed for airborne laser scanning and mobile mapping the VQ-480 utilizes time of flight measurement and on-line full waveform analysis. The VQ-480 comes from the continuous line of live performance airborne scanners for Riegl Laser Measurement Systems.
 
The VQ-480  provides high speed, non-contact data acquisition using a narrow infrared laser beam and a fast line scanning mechanism. The scanning mechanism is based upon a fast rotating multi-facet polygonal mirror, which provides fully linear, unidirectional and parallel scan lines. The VQ-480 has accuracy of 25 mm with a laser pulse repetition rate of up to 200 kHz. The scanners maximum effective rate is up to 100.000 measurements per second with unlimited number of targets per pulse.

Design for Corridor Workflow
The Riegl VQ-480 is very compact and lightweight, mountable in any orientation as well as in narrow space conditions on small aircrafts and helicopters. The scanner is equipped with a robust lightweight housing that is durable even under adverse atmospheric conditions. The VQ-480 measures 7 in. x 13.5 in for size and weighs approximately 25 lbs. The reduced size and weight is a considerable advancement for corridor mapping scanners.

Software
The VQ-480 combined with Riegl’s own software modules provides the complete solution for acquiring airborne data. RiACQUIRE collects data and provides real time visual information from actual flight paths. RiACQUIRE is a highly amplified system for status feedback for fast recognition by the operator. RiPROCESS manages the post processing data functions by processing, analyzing, managing and visualizing data acquired in a project oriented software program. RiPROCESS features a powerful boresight calibration module to accurately align the lidar scanner to the GPS/IMU sensor.

Airborne Laser Scanning System
The new VQ-480 Airborne Laser Scanning System utilizes waveform digitization. Return waveforms can give detailed insights into the vertical structure of surface objects, surface slope, roughness, and reflectivity. By enabling the user to determine the target detection characteristics in post-processing, a more robust and accurate ground detection in areas with low vegetation becomes possible. For forestry applications, the vertical structure of the canopy and under story is revealed facilitating the determination of species, vegetation health as well as forest structure and biomass.

Laser Safety for the Public
The Riegl Laser Scanner meets OSHA regulations for Workplace Safety and ANSI Class 1 eye safe requirements. Riegl’s invisible beam will not distract motorists, workers, or pedestrians.

About Riegl
Riegl is the global leader in the innovation of LiDAR technology for airborne survey. Its scanners provide high accuracy and efficient scanning with Sensor Integration. Portable and rugged Riegl scanners are unrivaled in reliability under demanding environmental conditions. During the last decade LiDAR mapping has gained general acceptance as an accurate and rapid method for three dimensional surveying of the earth’s surface. Riegl’s research and development as well as dedication to the industry have revolutionized corridor and wide-area mapping of terrain and vegetation with a unique feature: digitization of echo waveform of each movement. Speed, accuracy, and range have proven Riegl to be the first choice in Airborne Laser Scanning. For more information on the VQ-480, please contact Jim Van Rens with Riegl USA at 407-248-9927 or at info@rieglusa.com.  

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