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G. Mandlburger:
"Modern LIDAR Sensor Technologies - an Overview";
Talk: 2nd International Workshop Point Cloud Processing (EuroSDR PCP 2019), Stuttgart, Germany (invited); 2019-12-04 - 2019-12-05.

The recent decade has brought tremendous progress in Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS), the state-of-the technique for 3D mapping of topography and shallow water bathymetry. The pulse repetition rates increased from the kHz to MHz level and, together with the introduction of single photon sensitive receiver arrays, this boosted both the achievable point density and area coverage performance. Advancements in measurement precision and target characterization were achieved by progress in full waveform technology which can today be conducted in real time during airborne data acquisition. LiDAR point cloud classification further profited from multi-spectral laser scanning using infrared and green wavelengths. Green lasers are also used for laser bathymetry, which is no longer restricted to charting shallow coastal areas only but evolved to a powerful tool for high resolution mapping of the entire littoral area, referred to as topo-bathymetric LiDAR. Finally, sensor miniaturization and progress in aviation technology has opened new close-range airborne applications due to integration of lightweight LiDAR sensors on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. In addition to that, a transition from pure laser scanning towards hybrid sensor systems integrating active LiDAR and passive camera systems is observable. This opens the floor for tight sensor fusion with expected benefits for orientation as well as point cloud derivation, visualization, and classification.