What Happens to LiDAR Data After a Drone Flight? From Point Cloud to Practical Results

Once we land the drone, the job isn't finished. In a lot of ways, collecting the LiDAR data is just the beginning. During a LiDAR flight, we're collecting millions of individual measurements. Put all of those measurements together and you get what's called a point cloud.

At first glance, a point cloud can look like millions of colored dots floating in space. But those aren't random dots. Each one represents a measured location in three-dimensional space.

Now we have to turn all of that information into something useful.

The LiDAR Process in Simple Terms

The easiest way to think about what happens after a LiDAR flight is:

FLIGHT → POINT CLOUD → PROCESS & CLASSIFY → CREATE THE DELIVERABLE → PUT THE DATA TO WORK

We collect the data from the air, process and classify the point cloud, create the information the project requires, and deliver it in a format that works with the client's existing software and workflow.

What that final product looks like depends on what the client is trying to accomplish.

From Millions of Points to Useful Information

LiDAR : From Point Cloud to Practical Results

Once we've collected the LiDAR data, we process and classify it—which simply means organizing the points into useful categories such as ground, vegetation and structures.

That's where the data starts becoming much more useful.

For example, LiDAR data can be used to create a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) that represents the underlying terrain without trees, vegetation and structures dominating the view. This can make slopes, changes in elevation, drainage features and other characteristics of the land much easier to understand.

A Digital Surface Model (DSM) looks at the site differently. Instead of focusing on the bare-earth terrain, it represents the surface—including features such as buildings and vegetation.

Depending on the project and what the client needs, LiDAR data can be used to produce or support:

• 3D point clouds

• Digital Terrain Models (DTMs)

• Digital Surface Models (DSMs)

• Contour and elevation information

• Distances and area measurements

• Volume and stockpile information

• 3D models and site visualization

• Terrain and drainage analysis

• Data for CAD and GIS workflows

But there's something we think is more important than simply listing everything LiDAR can do: The customer shouldn't have to become a LiDAR expert to use the information.

It's Not Just About Flying the Drone

There's a big difference between knowing how to fly a drone and understanding what the person receiving the data actually needs to do with it.

Our team works with the same types of mapping and data platforms our clients use, including ArcGIS, CAD and Civil 3D workflows.

That means the conversation doesn't have to stop at:

“We can fly this for you.”

We'd rather start by asking:

What are you trying to accomplish?

What information do you actually need?

What program are you going to use it in?

What format does your surveyor, engineer or project team need?

Those questions matter.

If we understand the end goal before we begin, we can think about the project from data collection all the way through final delivery.

That's how we look at our role.

We're more than drone pilots. We want to be your data partner.

LiDAR: Another Tool in the Surveyor's Tool Belt

This is particularly important as we work more closely with professional surveyors.

LiDAR doesn't replace the professional surveyor.

Instead, we see aerial LiDAR as another powerful tool in the surveyor's tool belt.

It can provide another source of aerial site data—particularly when dealing with large properties, difficult terrain, heavy vegetation or areas that may be time-consuming to document entirely from the ground.

If you're a surveyor, our goal isn't to change the way you work. It's to give you another source of aerial data that fits into the way you already work.

Our team can handle the aerial LiDAR data capture and processing. The surveyor can then use appropriate information from that collection within their professional workflow alongside ground control, field measurements, professional judgment and whatever other information the particular project requires.

It's a partnership.

We provide the aerial data. The surveyor provides the surveying expertise.

And because our team works with the software and workflows these professionals use, we can talk with a surveyor or engineer about what they actually need.

Do they need information for CAD?

Are they working in Civil 3D?

Do they need data for an ArcGIS or other GIS workflow?

What file format do they need?

Those are conversations we'd rather have before the drone ever leaves the ground, because the answers can affect how we approach the project and how the final data is prepared.

The Deliverable Depends on the Question

An engineer may need terrain information that can be brought into Civil 3D.

A planner may need information for a GIS environment.

A contractor may need elevations, quantities or information about how a site is changing.

A surveyor may need aerial LiDAR data to incorporate into a larger professional workflow.

Another client may simply need a clear 3D visualization that helps them understand what's happening on a property.

That's why one of the first questions we ask is:

“What are you trying to find out?”

Because that answer helps determine what we collect, how we process it and what we ultimately deliver.

We don't want to collect a huge amount of data, hand somebody a massive file and say:

“Here you go. Good luck.”

The goal is to give people information they can actually use.

We Want to Be Your Data Partner

The technology behind LiDAR is impressive. Our DJI Zenmuse L2 can collect an enormous amount of information very quickly.

But the technology isn't really the point.

The point is what we can do with the information after we collect it.

Sometimes that means revealing terrain beneath heavy vegetation.

Sometimes it means creating a detailed 3D representation of a property.

Sometimes it means providing data that a surveyor or engineer can bring into the professional software they're already using.

And sometimes it simply means sitting down with a client, listening to what they're trying to accomplish and figuring out what information will help them get there.

The drone is one of the tools we use to collect that information.

LiDAR : From Point Cloud to Practical Results

Our job is to partner with you, understand what you need, collect the right data and deliver it in a format that works with your project and your workflow.

We're not just here to fly the drone and hand you a file.

We want to be your data partner—from collection to delivery—so you have the information you need to get the job done.

Not Sure What LiDAR Deliverable You Need?

You don't have to be.

Tell us what you're trying to accomplish, who will be using the data and what software or workflow they're working in. We'll help determine what information makes sense for the project and how it should be delivered.

That's what we mean when we say we want to be your data partner.