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Emerging trends in mapping using LIDAR and Digital Camera Systems
 Donald E. Wicks President, EnerQuest Systems, LLC 1999 Broadway, Suite 3200 Denver, CO 80202 Tel: (303) 298-9847, Fax: (303) 292-9279 Email: dwicks@enerquest.com 7600 Jefferson Street, NE, Courtyard II, Suite 101 Albuquerque, New Mexico USA, 87109 Tel: 505.828.2700, Fax: 505.828.9200 Email: rcampos@enerquestnm.com
Laser generated data greatly exceeds traditional survey resolutions, with an average sample density of 100,000 points per square kilometer. Achieving this sample density with any other method is normally cost prohibitive.
This paper will delineate the advantages of both LIDAR and Digital Cameras. It will also provide the user with the knowledge of what to specify during data acquisition and how to select a vendor or data acquisition system capable of delivering that data. Demand for Data The advancements made in Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) in the last decade have created a large demand for three-dimensional digital data. The most affordable method of obtaining location and elevation data for ground terrain, man-made objects, and vegetation is through remote sensing. LIDAR provides a cost effective solution for obtaining elevation data and Digital Imaging (running the spectrum from panchromatic thru Hyperspectral) provides for classification of surface objects. The ideal solution for capturing this data is a single platform capable of obtaining LIDAR and digital imagery simultaneously. Applications LIDAR LIDAR technologies play a crucial role in the development of high-resolution topographic maps and digital terrain models. Present LIDAR systems essentially paint the surface with a near infrared laser beam, collecting a dense cluster of elevation points with accuracies on the order of 15 centimeters and greater. In maintaining such vertical accuracies the user is left with reflectance images that contain the elevations of the background natural terrain and everything from vegetation cover (trees & shrubs) to man-made features (roads, bridges, building footprints, utility structures, cars and trucks). LIDAR data processing provides a unique challenge in the identification, delineation and removal of cultural and vegetation surface features, for the purposes of generating highly accurate bare earth digital terrain surfaces.
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