LiDAR USA ScanLook System (With Jeff Fagerman looking on)
1. A Paradigm Shift is Underway
Geiger-mode and single-photon LiDAR were the talk of the conference, again. Though it turns out they’re better for some applications than others (just like every other technology) there is every chance you’ll see one of these technologies collecting scads and scads of data for a statewide mapping project sometime soon.
I also heard a lot of chatter about UAVs, flash LiDAR, and I attended at least two sessions where panelists discussed how cell-phone 3D scanning and satellite imagery are about to break through. As if that weren’t enough, our final wrap-up panelists suggested that someday soon, autonomous cars will constantly scan and rescan the built landscape with their integrated LiDAR sensors.
All signs indicate that we are on the verge of a big change in the ways we capture geospatial data.
