Estonian Railways brought in Hepta Airborne to digitize its railway assets and see the benefits drones could bring to the table, or, in this case, the track. The two companies have been trialing the technology’s use over the past few months to see if it adds enough value.
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Photogrammetry software developer SimActive has integrated its Correlator3D product into LiDAR systems for LiDAR USA’s drones. The integration will allow for accurate LiDAR scans by linking images to the scan data.
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Network Rail has turned to drones and LiDAR to create a photo-realistic 3D scan of North Yorkshire’s Ribblehead viaduct in the UK to assist in the restoration of the iconic rail structure. The high-tech restoration is a part of Network Rail’s £2.1 ($2.8) million Great North Rail Project.
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Remember that video that was making the rounds? You know, the one with the chimpanzees flying the drone? Well, we debunked that one. Now, there’s a new video making the rounds. It shows a dog flying a drone. What???
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DJI and DJI’s Livox are likely to benefit from strong growth in the Lidar drone market. The market is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.2% from 2020 to 2025 according to this report.
Drones help map Puerto Rico’s coastal heritage. Indigenous sites along Puerto Rico’s coast dating back thousands of years are being mapped by U.S.-based scientists using drones. The researchers hope to identify which historic sites are most vulnerable before hurricanes and rising sea levels linked to climate change destroy a large chunk of the island’s history. Over the last two years, we have seen more and more researchers turn to drones to help them with their archeological research.
As we have seen in other cases, LiDAR-equipped drones are revealing secrets that have remained invisible to the naked eye. This time a drone with LiDAR reveals a German SS concentration camp from WWII. Old reconnaissance photos from the RAF had shown that during the war a prison camp had been present on Alderney in the Channel Islands, UK, but it took a drone to show where exactly the remains of the camp were located. Be sure to check out this video as well.
In recent years LIDAR (light detection and ranging) technology has played a crucial role in discovering ancient settlements and mapping historic sites around the world. In this most recent story, The Guardian reports that LIDAR-equipped drones reveal an ancient settlement off the coast of Florida. The archaeological findings and remains date from 900 to 1200 CE.
In recent years LIDAR equipped drones and airplanes have helped to make a number of discoveries as it allows archaeologists to ‘see’ through dense vegetation and find ruins of old civilizations such as the Maya’s in Mexico
Australian startup, Emesent raises $2.5M to map mines with autonomous drones. Similar to these search and rescue drones, the drones from Emesent work in an environment where there is no GPS available. Instead, they use LIDAR systems to map their surroundings.