LiDAR

The Galaxy T2000 Installed in the Twin Otter Aircraft

TeleDyne Optech Galaxy T2000

The TeleDyne Optech Galaxy T2000 is a highly dynamic LiDAR system, capable of both narrow corridor surveying and wide-area mapping. LiDAR is established as a highly effective method of creating dense and accurate elevation data across landscape and shallow-water terrain.

The galaxy has a class IV laser with a programmable pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of 50khz to 2Mhz. The high PRF enables fast data acquisition, providing a very high point density. Each pulse can have up to 8 returns allowing detailed vertical resolution of complex targets, such as tree canopies. The point density can be increased further through lowering the FOV. The powerful class IV laser allows for the Galaxy to be effective up to 6000m altitude, creating greater swath widths.

The Galaxy utilises PulseTRAKTM and SwathTRAKTM. PulseTRAKTM effectively removes blindzones, maintaining consistent point density and eliminates the impacts of atmospherics in ground model results. SwathTRAKTM is able to modify the scanning FOV during collection to maintain fixed swath widths and even point distribution over rugged terrain. LiDARs with fixed FOVs struggle to maintain steady point distribution over variable terrain like mountain ranges, which often requires mutliple flights over the same swath. The combination of SwathTRAKTM and the galaxies maximum flying height allow for greater swath widths and point density, reducing the number of flight lines needed, decreasing flight time and costs.

Applications

Alconbury
LIDAR Used for Point Cloud Elevation Mapping

LiDAR over our main geospatial test site at Alconbury, UK. The image shows the resultant point cloud data after post-processing. ​

Example Publications

Everett, A et al., (2021). The impacts of a subglacial discharge plume on calving, submarine melting, and mĂ©lange mass loss at Helheim Glacier, south east Greenland. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface126(3), p.e2020JF005910.

Marselis, S.M et al., (2020). Evaluating the potential of full-waveform lidar for mapping pan-tropical tree species richness. Global Ecology and Biogeography29(10), pp.1799-1816.

Simonson, W et al., (2016). Modelling above-ground carbon dynamics using multi-temporal airborne lidar: insights from a Mediterranean woodland. Biogeosciences13(4), pp.961-973.

Specifications

Range Performance150-6000m AGL
Absolute Horizontal Accuracy 1/10,000 x altitude
Absolute elevation accuracy< 0.03-0.25 m RMSE from 150-6000m AGL
Topographic Laser1064-nm near-infrared
Laser ClassificationClass IV
Pulse Repetition FrequencyProgrammable, 50-2000kHz
Beam Divergence0.16 mrad (1/e) or 0.23 mrad(1/e2)
Laser Range Precision< 0.008m
Minimum target seperation distance< 0.7 m (discrete)
Range Captureup to 8 range measurements
Intensity Captureup to 8 intensity measurements
Positon and Orientation systemPOS AV™ AP60 (OEM); 220-channel dual frequency GNSS receiver; GNSS airborne antenna with Iridium filters; high-accuracy AIMU (Type 57); non-ITAR
Scan Angle (FOV)10-60° 6
Maximum Scan Frequency320 scan lines/sec 1
Flight Management SystemOptech FMS (Airborne Mission Manager and Nav) with operator console
SwathTRAKDynamic FOV for fixed-width data swaths in variable terrain
PulseTRAKMultipulse tracking algorithm with no density loss across PIA transition zones
Roll Compensation±5° minimum
Data StorageRemovable SSD (primary); internal SSD (spare)
Power Requirements28 V; 400 W

Contact Info

King’s College London, Bush House (NE wing), 30 Aldwych, London, WC2B 4BG

martin.wooster@kcl.ac.uk

@KCLwildfire_EO