Using Drone-Based Lidar
Point clouds have many uses. Simply putthey are a set of points in space. This allows 3D imaging of all manner of objectsincluding manufactured parts and the external environment. In this coursewe take a look at the general concept of point clouds.
The two technologies we will use in this class to develop point clouds lidar and UAV. In this coursewe will go into the details of eachespecially in relation to our main topic of using drone-based lidar.
Processing of the raw data to convert it into accurate surface models and contours can be done using myriad different platforms. We will look at some of the platforms available and how our choice of technologies drives the selection of a platform. We will also consider the data storage issues for such large data setsincluding standard compression schemes.
This course will concentrate on the project structure using lidar and UAVs for visualization. Different goals may require different structuresand we will look at the supporting technologies required. We will also look at the benefits of using lidar and UAVs as opposed to other technology options.
In this coursewe will look at an example of how to use lidar and UAVs to create accurate digital surface maps. Using simulated datawe will take a project from start to final image.
Louis Giokas started out in the aerospace business holding positions in development and management. At General Electric Aerospace (now part of Lockheed Martin) he held positions of software engineer, systems engineer and staff engineer. While there he worked on spacecraft and military systems. Prior to that he worked for companies such as Sperry UNIVAC and Link Simulation Systems, also working or spacecraft and military systems. Over the past two decades he has worked in the database management software area for Oracle and IBM. Over the past several years he has worked on development projects and has consulted in a number of different areas, including embedded systems. He is a long-standing member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Currently, he is the secretary of the Fox Valley Subsection of the Chicago Section and chairman of the Computer Society of the Chicago Section. He has a degree in Computer Science from Villanova University and is pursuing a MS in Applied Statistics from DePaul University.