LIDAR Magazine Podcast

In this episode, we dive deep into the world of photonics with Dr. Mike Roddewig, Assistant Professor at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks and CTO of 532 Engineering. Dr. Roddewig's fascinating work spans from the ocean floor to the upper atmosphere. We explore how drone-borne profiling ocean lidar is tracking salmon populations and plankton density, and break down the science behind Rayleigh, sodium resonance, and iron resonance lidars used in atmospheric research. Plus, Dr. Roddewig explains why he finds coherent lidar systems more compelling than incoherent ones, and shares the incredible story of how he discovered submerged hydrothermal features at the bottom of Yellowstone Lake!

Chris Robertson, director of the Colorado State University (CSU) Drone Center, brings more than a decade of UAV experience to a career that also includes an extensive background in law enforcement. In this episode, Chris introduces us to the Center's four primary areas of focus and to Christman Airfield, one of Colorado's oldest continuously operating airports. With its distinctive infrastructure and in-house team of subject matter experts, the CSU Drone Center supports a diverse range of research and educational initiatives—from a specialized GPR test bed to an intensive, hands-on short course exploring the principles and practical application of lidar and photogrammetry.

Jeff Fagerman is CEO of LiDAR USA, the well-known UAV-lidar integrator, based near Huntsville, Alabama. He explains, in an entertaining way, how he first became involved in the geospatial world and how he was motivated to set up his own company 16 years ago. He espouses the beauties of a family business and is not reticent about the challenges of equipping UAVs with GNSS/IMU, camera and lidar components, well supported by extensive, user-friendly software, whilst managing a successful livestock farm. The technology is center-stage, of course, but the effects on his business of the regulatory environment and, in particular, the arrival of NDAA-compliance are fascinating too. Mobile mapping systems on vehicles are a significant part of the business and many of the UAV systems are "dual-use", i.e. they can also be used on land vehicles. Among several projects currently in progress at LiDAR USA is the manufacture of UAVs.

Kevin Andrews is Director, Land Systems at Trimble Applanix in Toronto. He's been with the company for 26 years. In this episode, Kevin explains how the challenges for GNSS/IMU systems installed on land vehicles differ from those on airborne vehicles. He talks about the use of Trimble Applanix solutions on mobile mapping systems, rail vehicles, and construction equipment, covering the well-known POS LV, the lighter, smaller APX product line and the specialist POS TG and RT200. He describes three application areas in particular – precision agriculture, pipeline management and autonomous vehicles. The transition of Trimble Applanix products to a subscription basis and the continuing roll-out of the LVX+ solution bring the podcast to a close.

Phoenix LiDAR Systems was founded in 2013 and Grayson Omans is co-founder and CEO. In 2020, the company relocated from the Palms area of Los Angeles to Austin, Texas. In this episode, Grayson gives his reasons for making the move and assesses how successful it has proved, before describing the company's portfolio of hardware and software products. The evolving regulatory environment for UAVs has of course been a big influence on the company's direction over the years. It's interesting, however, that the company's products for crewed helicopters and aircraft, especially for wing-strut mounting, have led to considerable expansion in that market. Vehicle-mounted systems for mobile mapping have also been an area of considerable growth. The range of components that the company has successfully integrated is very broad, including not only different lidar sensors, but also RGB, hyper spectral and thermal infrared cameras, and the company has always tried to respond to customers' needs.