LiDAR Fundamentals: Part One

L. Monika Moskal, PhD

Assistant Professor - Remote Sensing & Biospatial Analysis
College of Forest Resources & Precision Forestry Cooperative
University of Washington

Workshop on Site-scale Applications of LiDAR on Forest Lands in Washington

Center for Urban Horticulture, UW
Thursday, January 3, 2008
 LiDAR: What and Why?
• LiDAR stands for Light Detection and
Ranging, commonly known as Laser
Radar
• LiDAR is not only replacing
conventional sensors, but also creating
new methods with unique properties
that could not be achieved before
• Discrete LiDAR
 LiDAR: How?
• Each time the laser is pulsed:
– Laser generates an optical pulse
– Pulse is reflected off an object and returns
to the system receiver
– High-speed counter measures the time of
flight from the start pulse to the return pulse
– Time measurement is converted to a
distance (the distance to the target and the
position of the airplane is then used to determine
the elevation and location)
– Multiple returns can be measured for each
pulse
• Up to 200,000+ pulses/second
• Everything that can be seen from the aircraft
is measured
Traditional Photogrammetry vs. LiDAR
LiDAR Photogrammetric
Day or night data acquisition Day time collection only
Direct acquisition of 3D Complicated and sometimes
collection unreliable procedures
Vertical accuracy is better Planimetric accuracy is
than planimetric* better than vertical*
Point cloud difficult to derive Rich in semantic information
semantic information;
however, intensity values
can be used to produce a
visually rich image like
product (example of an
intensity image)
*Complementary characteristics suggest integration
 Intensity Image
• Commonly unused bi-
product of a LiDAR
acquisition and is the
intensity of object that the
laser pulse is striking. This
is an uncalibrated 8-bit (0-
255) image that is ortho-
rectified as therefore can
be used as an orthophoto

• Not typically used in

quantitative analysis as
image gains always set to
'adaptive gain' setting when
images are acquired
 Aerial LiDAR System Components*
• Aircraft
• Scanning laser emitter-receiver unit
• Differentially-corrected GPS
• Inertial measurement unit (IMU)
• Computer

LiDAR point data colored by height

*components can be sources of error…more on this in Part II

Figures from McMcGaughey
USDA Forest Service--PNW Research Station
 Scanning Mechanisms

Mechanism

sawtooth

Ground pattern

Most common pattern

(Leica, Optech) Figure modified from: Nikolaos 2006
 Determinants of LiDAR Data
Characteristic
• The combination of:
– Scanner system
(relates to beam pattern)
– Flight altitude
(if flight limitations exist)
– Pulse rates
– Scan frequencies
– Scan angle
possible max around 30°
scan swath
 LiDAR Data Characteristics

• Raw return data are XYZ points

• High spatial resolution
– Laser footprint on ground ≤ 0.50 meters
– Typical density is 0.5 to 20+ pulses/m2
– 2 to3 returns/pulse in forest areas
– Surface/canopy models typically 1 to 5m grid
• Large volume of data
– 5,000 to 60,000+ pulses/hectare
– 10 to100+ thousands of returns/hectare
– 0.4 to 5.4+ MB/hectare
 Return Density
• In LiDAR the footprint size decreases with increasing
post-spacing and importantly the last return from a
discrete return system is not always the ground
• LiDAR sensor systems vary in the number of returns
from a surface

Figure Source: http://www.cnrhome.uidaho.edu/

 Reflectivity

• Highly reflective objects may

saturate some laser
detectors, while the return
signal from low-reflectivity
objects may occasionally be
too weak to register as valid

• Minimum detectable object

size depends on reflectivity

• A strong sunlight reflection

off a highly reflective target
may "saturate" a receiver,
producing an invalid or less
accurate reading*

*most acquisition is done in a preferred range of angles to avoid this issue

 Dust & Vapor
• Laser measurements can be weakened by
interacting with dust and vapor particles, which
scatter the laser beam and the signal returning
from the target

• Using last-pulse measurements can reduce or

eliminate this interference

• Systems that are expected to work in such

conditions regularly can be optimized for these
environments
 Background Noise and Radiation

• The laser is not affected by background noise

• Most systems determine baseline radiation

levels to ensure that it does not interfere with
measurements
 Overall Accuracy
• (X,Y,Z) position of each return
– 50-100cm horizontal
– 10-15cm vertical

• Ground surface (bare-earth surface)

– What is the ground (grass, rocks, stumps)?

• Tree heights
– Underestimate tree heights by 0.5 to 2 m
– Error is species dependent
 10m USGS DEM

DEM & Canopy Models

LiDAR

Streams

Landslide
LiDAR

IFSAR IFSAR
Streams

Landslide
 Data Ordering Details
There are a number of private companies, academic institutions, and government agencies
Data Acquisition that produce and provide LiDAR data.

There are a number of time constraints associated with LiDAR collection and delivery:
Timing • Flight schedules can be delayed due to weather and environmental factors
• Project areas may be large enough that multiple flights are needed
• Post processing of millions of raw data points can be time consuming
• Producing additional deliverables can delay the delivery schedule
• Leaf-on or leaf-off? (Example)

Cost can vary depending on size of project, horizontal postings (point density), and project
Costs location. Cost may also increase based on additional product requests (i.e., DEMs, DTMs,
contours, etc.), specific accuracy requirements, or licensing restrictions.

Most current estimated:

•LiDAR: $1-$4/hectare (1 hectare = ~2.5 acres) (640 acres = 1mi 2)
•Aerial photography: pennies/ hectare (slight difference in cost for non stereo vs.
stereo)
Common LiDAR Data Exchange Format - .LAS Industry Initiative (ASPRS). The LAS file
Formats format is a public file format for the interchange of LiDAR data between vendors and
customers. This binary file format is an alternative to proprietary systems or a generic ASCII
file interchange system used by many companies.
•Know & understand the flight acquisition parameters
•Always get the raw data (it can be reprocessed later with newer techniques/algorithms)
•Get an intensity image

LiDAR data can be delivered in many different projections and datums. The national standard
Projections for vertical datum is the North American Vertical Datum (NAVD 88), and the national standard
for horizontal datum is the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83).

Licensing restrictions vary for each LiDAR service provider. Many providers do not have
Licensing restrictions on their data products, but some companies do require licensing.
 Leaf-on vs. leaf-off

(A) (B)

Cross section of LIDAR data through a single deciduous tree (A) and
coniferous tree (B) including bare-earth returns. The green dots represent
leaf-on returns and the brown dots represent leaf-off returns
 What are some of the LIDAR data products available?
Digital Ortho-Rectified Imagery
Some LiDAR providers collect digital color or black-and-white ortho-rectified
imagery simultaneously with the collection of point data. Imagery is
collected either from digital cameras or digital video cameras and can be
mosaiced. Resolution is typically 1m.
Intensity Return Images
Images may be derived from intensity values returned by each laser pulse.
The intensity values can be displayed as a gray scale image.
LIDAR Derived Products
Topographic LiDAR systems produce surface elevation x, y, z coordinate
data points. There are many products that can be derived from raw point
data. Most LiDAR providers can derive these products upon request:
– Digital Elevation Models (DEMs)
– Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) (bald-earth elevation data)
– Triangulated Irregular Networks (TINs)
– Breaklines - a line representing a feature that you wish to preserve in a
TIN (example: stream or ridge)
– Contours
– Shaded Relief
– Slope & Aspect
LiDAR Fundamentals: Part Two
L. Monika Moskal, PhD
Assistant Professor - Remote Sensing & Biospatial Analysis
College of Forest Resources & Precision Forestry Cooperative
University of Washington

Workshop on Site-scale Applications of LiDAR on Forest Lands in Washington

Center for Urban Horticulture, UW
Thursday, January 3, 2008
 Sources of Error
• Acquisition
• Processing
– Strip adjustment
– Selecting ground points
– Thinning
• Interpolation
• Analysis/Visualization
 Acquisition Scan Angle

• LiDAR data should be

acquired within 18º of
nadir as above this angle
the LiDAR footprint can
become highly distorted
• Complex terrain can
exascerbate the problem
 Strip Adjustment
Systematic Error (shifts & drifts)
- Wrong or inaccurate calibration of entire
measurement system (block specific)
- Limited accuracy of exterior orientation
(GPS- & IMU-related time- and location-
specific)
Result: Point cloud will not lie
on ground, but is offset in planimetric view
and height (10’s of cm)

• For removing these discrepancies strip Overlap, across-track flight lines and ground
adjustment algorithms require quantification control are needed to fully adjust the
of these offsets at various locations systematic errors
• Improvements are needed in automatic tie
elements detection & 3D adjustments
• Manual effort and labor are time consuming
– Ditches & ridges are useful
• Improves planimetric accuracy by about
40% and height accuracy by about 25% Create a seamless data set by correcting
• Data correction and quality control tool for the systematic errors
 Selecting Ground Points
Result of 'slope threshold'
applied to an urban area
• Active area of research (from Vosselman 2000)
• Many algorithms
• Project specific
• Manual clean up necessary
in most cases
Getting Down to the Ground

Progressive Curvature Filter (Evans and Hudak 2007)

 Filtering

• Post ground point selection filtering is also

performed to reduce the size of the data sets
• This type of filtering should only be applied in
even terrain
• Uneven terrain and densely vegetated areas are
most susceptible to removal of critical
interpolation points
 Terrain

• Digital
elevation model (DEM), digital terrain model (DTM):
“Ground”
• Digital surface model (DSM): “top surface”
• In open terrain, the separation surface between air and
bare earth
• DEM is different from measured laser points due to very
different reasons:
1. Filtering: classification of points into terrain and off-terrain
2. Basis for DTM generation, detection of topographic objects
 Interpolation
• Many algorithms
• Propagates inherent errors in the data
• Sensitivity to spatial distribution and local
lack of points
• Can introduce artifacts

Using incorrect scale (over smoothing) Interpolation error

 Example: Mapping forest attributes across
landscapes
Stand height at Capitol Forest study site Stem volume (30 m cells)
(30 m cells)

 Cross hatched polygon = 1 FIA plot (averaged observation)

 Other Considerations
• LiDAR derived DEM are not often hydro-corrected so as
to ensure a continuous downward flow of water (no
Digital Line Graph (DLG) hypsographic and hydrographic
data)
• Water creates a natural void in LiDAR data and manual
addition of breadlines is necessary
• This type of processing is feasible with LiDAR data but it
adds cost
 Visualization
• Shaded relief & DEM
illumination can be used
as a simple visualization
technique
• These methods are
subjective
• Sensitive to hardware
parameters
 Further Analysis & Ground
Validation

• Once the DTM or DEM is available GIS can be

utilized for further systematic analysis and
modeling
• Accuracy assessment should always be
attempted (best approach is to do ground
validation)