How Technology Sees the World: An Introduction to LiDAR
Chelsea Yan
Have you ever wondered how your phone recognizes your
face? How cars can detect nearby objects? Or even how
Google Earth takes incredibly clear images of the Earth?
All of that is thanks to LiDAR (which stands for Light Detection and Ranging), and it is crucial to how technology can see and process the world around us.
All of that is thanks to LiDAR (which stands for Light Detection and Ranging), and it is crucial to how technology can see and process the world around us.
How it Works
LIDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging, uses pulses of
light to allow technology to see the world in 3D. It
sends out pulses of light from a laser, which then
bounce off of surrounding objects before returning to
the LiDAR sensor. By measuring the distance the light
pulse traveled, an incredibly accurate 3D image can be
constructed.
LIDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging, uses pulses of
light to allow technology to see the world in 3D.
A Quick History of LiDAR:
The idea behind LiDAR was first developed by E.H. Synge,
who used light and measured how long it took for the
light to return to calculate the distance of nearby
objects, which established the basis for LiDAR.
Advancements in LiDAR continued, as its applications were immense–including precise targeting for defensive operations, atmospheric research, and land mapping. In the 1960s, applications for LiDAR within aerospace became mainstream, notably through NASA’s use of LiDAR on Apollo 15 for surface mapping on the moon. Later, in the late 1980s, with the widespread use of global positioning systems (GPS) and inertial measurement systems (IMUs), LiDAR became common for commercial products.
Advancements in LiDAR continued, as its applications were immense–including precise targeting for defensive operations, atmospheric research, and land mapping. In the 1960s, applications for LiDAR within aerospace became mainstream, notably through NASA’s use of LiDAR on Apollo 15 for surface mapping on the moon. Later, in the late 1980s, with the widespread use of global positioning systems (GPS) and inertial measurement systems (IMUs), LiDAR became common for commercial products.
LiDAR Today:
Today, LiDAR’s ability to reconstruct 3D scenes has
applications in autonomous navigation, computer vision,
environmental monitoring. Although LiDAR has impressive
imaging capabilities, its usage for monitoring of large
distances is held back by key limitations. Because a
LiDAR sensor can generate millions of data points a
second, it is challenging to compute such enormous
volumes of data. Massive datasets of input data, noise,
expensive initial and maintenance costs, and high power
usage make LiDAR extremely difficult to use for long
periods of time.
Additionally, LiDAR is limited in the variety of situations in which it can be deployed. As a light-based imaging system, environmental conditions such as lighting, precipitation, air quality, and visibility may impact its performance in taking an ideal scan..
Despite these limitations, the power of LiDAR can not be denied, and there is no doubt that its technologies will improve over time. Currently, new models are being developed to optimize the computation of LiDAR data. For example, combining LiDAR with a camera and estimating scene depth are currently promising techniques. As the technology behind facial recognition, autonomous cars, and satellites, the development of LiDAR is truly one to look forward to.
Sources:
Additionally, LiDAR is limited in the variety of situations in which it can be deployed. As a light-based imaging system, environmental conditions such as lighting, precipitation, air quality, and visibility may impact its performance in taking an ideal scan..
Despite these limitations, the power of LiDAR can not be denied, and there is no doubt that its technologies will improve over time. Currently, new models are being developed to optimize the computation of LiDAR data. For example, combining LiDAR with a camera and estimating scene depth are currently promising techniques. As the technology behind facial recognition, autonomous cars, and satellites, the development of LiDAR is truly one to look forward to.
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