Simulation and Design of Circular Scanning Airborne Geiger Mode Lidar for High-Resolution Topographic Mapping
Fanghua Liu,
Yan He,
Weibiao Chen,
Yuan Luo,
Jiayong Yu,
Yongqiang Chen,
Chongmiao Jiao,
Meizhong Liu
Affiliations
Fanghua Liu
Key Laboratory of Space Laser Communication and Detection Technology, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, China
Yan He
Key Laboratory of Space Laser Communication and Detection Technology, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, China
Weibiao Chen
Key Laboratory of Space Laser Communication and Detection Technology, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, China
Yuan Luo
Key Laboratory of Space Laser Communication and Detection Technology, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, China
Jiayong Yu
School of Civil Engineering, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei 230601, China
Yongqiang Chen
Key Laboratory of Space Laser Communication and Detection Technology, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, China
Chongmiao Jiao
Key Laboratory of Space Laser Communication and Detection Technology, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, China
Meizhong Liu
Key Laboratory of Space Laser Communication and Detection Technology, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, China
Over the last two decades, Geiger-mode lidar (GML) systems have been developing rapidly in defense and commercial applications, demonstrating high point density and great collection efficiency. We presented a circular scanning GML system simulation model for performance prediction and developed a GML system for civilian mapping. The lidar system used an eye-safe fiber laser at 1545 nm coupled with a 64 × 64 pixels photon-counting detector array. A real-time data compression algorithm was implanted to reduce half of the data transmission rate and storage space compared to the uncompressing situation. The GML system can operate at aircraft above-ground levels (AGLs) between 0.35 km and 3 km, and at speeds in excess of 220 km/h. The initial flight tests indicate that the GML system can operate day and night with an area coverage of 366 km2/h. The standard deviations of the relative altimetric accuracy and the relative planimetric accuracy are 0.131 m and 0.152 m, respectively. The findings presented in this article guide the implementation of designing an airborne GML system and the data compression method.
