Marine-based Mobile Mapping and Survey Systems

Recent advances in Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) sensors, inter-operability of various remote sensing systems and improved data processing capabilities have made it possible for certain laser imaging instruments, previously limited to stationary scanning platforms, to operate on mobile platforms. The practice of combining and synthesizing lidar-acquired data with dynamic motion data derived from Position and Orientation Systems (POS) to produce geo-referenced point cloud data from a marine-based mobile platform is also addressed. Conventional airborne mapping and terrestrial-based scanning techniques faced a particular challenge when tasked to map and shoreline environments. Shorelines with very steep vertical inclinations (e.g., the face of cliffs) are obscured from aircraft-mounted sensors. Using these tools to image large marine infrastructures such as oil platforms has also presented a challenge. However, combining the existing technologies of lidar, GPS and Position Orientation Systems (POS) in novel ways shows great potential for specialized applications that meet the challenges of mapping previously inaccessible environments from marine-based mobile survey platforms. Today, scanning can be performed from moving vehicles, in-motion platforms and boats at ranges exceeding 1 km. The results achieved by using GPS-corrected point cloud data in tandem with a long-range laser imager are presented. The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Vol. 34, Part XXX