I am looking for some info on LIDAR setups you have used in the past, good or bad experiences are welcome. My agency will not allow DJI at this point, or any other that has such a security vulnerability. So aircraft platforms that utilize secure comms that don't rely on communication with outside servers are a plus. I have looked into some options, such as VulcanUAV and their LidarPod solution among some others. Just wondering if you had any experience with specific platforms that would like to share.
You may also want to consider looking into a system that uses a Pixhawk 2.1 with the Cube BLUE version for the Flight Controller. The Cube is the computer part of the flight controller, and the BLUE is made in the USA. The others are all made in Taiwan, and they are NOT friends with China.
As far as heavy lifter multirotors that can fly a LiDAR payload here are some good possibilities:
1) ALTA Freefly 8 Pro - Solid USA manufacturer I have heard nothing but good from multiple people and companies. Think of it as a $16,000 USA made direct competitor to the DJI M600 Pro
2) Harris Aerial - these guys in Florida also have a good reputation, they have been building heavy lifters in various configurations for years,. They can easily make a version with a Pixhawk flight controller, they can do a large Hex (6 rotor) or an X8 (4 arms each with 2 motors mounted, one on top one on bottom) be looking at around $30,000
3) BFD Systems - a team out in Pennsylvannia, similar to Harris in that they have large heavy lifters (they go with an X8 configuration) be lookin at around $25,000
4) Watts Innovations MFD-5000 - a large hex he just recently started offering it with a Pixhawk flight controller. Be looking at around $25,000
5) XM2 Aerial Tango - a large hex, made in Australia, these guys have been building big multirotors for many years, be looking at around $30,000. They can do Pixhawk, and they recently anniounced they have their own flight controller coming out called the Helix, I have little details on it though.
6) ZMI - Ziv Marom Interactive - xFold dragon - can come in multiple variants hex or X8, he can do Pixhawk, has been building big drones for years, San Francisco based I believe. Not sure on price point it has been awhile since I reached out to him but it is likely in the $25,000-$30,000 range.
As far as LiDAR there is only 1 choice when it comes to a true survey grade laser, it is currently Riegl with an Applanix AP20 or APX20 IMU. FARO recently got into the game but I don't know much about their system. Optech just recently announced they are getting into drone lidar too which is potentially exciting because they do survey grade LiDAR systems for manned aircraft.
The velodyne based systems can be used when you demands for accuracy are low and you are not trying to penetrate vegetation. They are known for "noisy" point clouds and a soft fuzziness on everything collected. They don't offer the multiple returns that a Riegl system does which is key for veg penetration. You can make a velodyne based system work, but you need a solid processor who knows what they are doing and what their system is doing and you may spend way more time cleaning up your data compared to a Riegl dataset. Remember that Velodynes were not designed to be a survey grade LiDAR people just figured out a way to make it work on the cheap, Velodyne are built for things such as automated driving etc. Riegl is built ground up to be a survey grade system.
So if you want a solid scanner that you can trust the results you are getting Riegl is it. However buyer beware their customer service leaves a lot to be desired and they can be a pain to deal with at times, be ready to do lots of homework and lots of extra hours to get everything running and tested. Don't expect it to come in the mail and be ready to fly on a project the next day, or even the next week. I really hope FARO and Optech give them a run for the money and force them to step up their support game. But when their system works, which it usually does, it shits on everything else out there for the time being. At least it does for sub 55lbs drones. For manned aircraft it is a different ballgame because you can fly much bigger LiDAR systems and IMUs.
