CONFIGURING AN AIRBORNE LASER SCANNER FOR DETECTING AIRPORT OBSTRUCTIONS

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) oversees surveying programs with the goal of geolocating vertical features that penetrate 3D Obstruction Identification Surfaces (OIS) around airfields. In this article, the authors present results of a study that has been designed to evaluate the effect of varying certain data collection and system parameters on the detection of small targets. The authors discuss geometric and radiometric issues associated with the detection and mapping of vertical objects, define new terminology which may facilitate the analysis of airborne laser scanning data for detection and mapping of vertical objects, and identify promising configurations for deployment of airborne laser scanning systems in obstruction surveys. The authors note that airport obstruction surveys have traditionally been conducted using a combination of Photogrammetry and conventional field survey techniques. In this study, the authors investigate the use of using only airborne laser scanning technologies. The authors examine the effects of varying the parameters of forward look angle, laser footprint, flying height, flying speed, scan angle, scan frequency, transmitted power, and receiver sensitivity, as they relate to the detection and measurement of vertical obstructions. Data from the test flights, using 14 different configurations of an Optech ALTM 2050, found that the best results were obtained using a 20 degree forward tilt and a 0.2 milliradian beam divergence from a flying height of 760 m.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00991112
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing

  5410 Grosvenor Lane, Suite 210
  Bethesda, MD  United States  20814-2160
• Authors:
  • Parrish, C E
  • Tuell, G H
  • Carter, W E
  • Shrestha, R L
• Publication Date: 2005-1

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 37-46
• Serial:
  • Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing
  • Volume: 71
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
  • ISSN: 0099-1112

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aerial photogrammetry; Airports; Contour maps; Image fields in optical scanning; Laser beams; Lasers; Navigational obstructions; Scanners
• Identifier Terms: U.S. Federal Aviation Administration
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Safety and Human Factors; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00986553
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Feb 22 2005 12:00AM