Service 09
Aerial lidar capture
Where vegetation stands between you and the ground surface, lidar is the only sensor that gets through it. Captured alongside RGB imagery in one mobilisation, so you receive both datasets from a single trip to site.
What you get
- Classified point cloud in LAS or LAZ at the density the specification calls for
- Bare earth digital terrain model with vegetation and structures removed
- Contours at your chosen interval as DXF or SHP
- Conductor and powerline position capture where the scope calls for it
- High resolution RGB orthomosaic from the same flight
- CAD and GIS ready packages in the formats your engineering team uses
Planning a lidar program
- Large blocks planned as multi day field programs with take off and landing positions set in advance
- Flight lines and point density specified before mobilisation
- Lidar and RGB captured together, so one mobilisation covers both datasets
- Airspace authorization, access and prequalification handled before travel
Capture reference
- Point cloud
- LAS / LAZ, classified
- Bare earth
- DTM, vegetation removed
- Paired capture
- Lidar plus RGB, one mobilisation
- Program scale
- 12,000 acre plan delivered
- Formats
- LAS, LAZ, DXF, SHP, GeoTIFF
- Client access
- Live DroneDeploy map link
- Coverage
- AB base, BC and SK direct
A 12,000 acre lidar and RGB program was built for an engineering client as a five day field plan across fourteen take off and landing positions, with flight lines and point density specified before mobilisation.
How it works
See how we do the restHow lidar finds the ground under the trees
Read the steps
- Laser pulsesThe lidar sensor fires hundreds of thousands of laser pulses a second and times each return. Some hit leaves and branches. Some slip through the gaps and reach the ground.
- A 3D point cloudEvery return becomes a point with an exact position. Lane by lane, millions of them build a 3D point cloud of the canopy and the terrain beneath it.
- ClassificationSoftware classifies each point as ground, vegetation, building and so on. The vegetation is set aside, leaving only the ground returns.
- Bare earthThe ground points become a bare earth terrain model and contours. A photo-based model can only see the treetops; lidar reports the ground itself.
- DeliverablesDelivered as a classified point cloud (LAS or LAZ), a bare earth model, contours and CAD and GIS ready packages.
Lidar work in Alberta
By application
Gravel pits and stockpiles
Stockpiles, pit faces, slopes, stripped soil and disturbed area measured in one visit, so the year end inventory, the activities plan update and the reclamation design all start from the same surface.
Forestry and wildfire
One flight records the tree layer and the ground beneath it: canopy height, stand structure and fuel, plus bare earth for roads, drainage and fireguards.
Well site and pipeline reclamation
A measured record of the site at each stage: before work, after recontouring and at certificate application.
Oil sands and mine sites
Highwall movement, tailings beaches, haul roads and volumes measured flight on flight from a safe standoff.
Flood and drainage
Fresh bare earth terrain at centimetre accuracy, captured under the trees and brush along creeks, for flood studies, stormwater design, culvert sizing and county drainage.
Powerline corridors
Wires, poles, trees and ground captured together in one point cloud, then every tree measured against every conductor, so clearing crews start with the worst spans.
Farm drainage
A centimetre level map of where water collects, where it flows and where it would leave the property, before you move dirt or lay tile.
Landslide and slope monitoring
Repeat flights from identical flight plans show where a slope moved, by how much and how fast, including under brush on the scarp.
Construction cut and fill
Cut and fill volumes, monthly progress and as built against design, so contractor and owner work from the same numbers.
Recognise your project in that list? Send the site and the deliverable and a scoped quote comes back, usually within one business day, with the positioning method and delivery window stated and your licence to use the imagery included.
Get a quote for lidar captureDrainage and grading on large parcels
Bare earthOn a large parcel the grade that matters is the one beneath the stubble, the crop and the ditch grass. A photogrammetry pass describes the top of that cover, which is a surface model. Lidar reaches through it to the ground itself, which is a bare earth terrain model. For a drainage plan that difference decides whether water moves or ponds.
For agricultural drainage, municipal ditching and site grading we deliver a bare earth model, contours at the interval your engineer asks for, flow paths and catchment boundaries, and cut and fill volumes against a proposed design. On parcels running to several thousand acres, a longer lens and a high endurance airframe keep the capture to a workable number of days rather than a season.
Delivered as LAS or LAZ point cloud, GeoTIFF raster, DXF contours and a volume report, referenced to NAD83 UTM Zone 12 and tied to checkpoints your engineer can verify. Timing matters here more than on most work: see the Alberta capture calendar for the windows that suit it.
Common questions
Answered plainlyShould I use lidar or photogrammetry?
Lidar if you need the ground surface beneath tree canopy, heavy vegetation or brush, or if a client specification names it. Photogrammetry on open ground, pavement, pits, stockpiles and construction sites, where it has returned 0.01 m RMSE at a fraction of the cost and gives you an image based orthomosaic as well. We will tell you which one your site needs rather than defaulting to the more expensive answer.
Is lidar more accurate than photogrammetry?
They answer different questions. Lidar penetrates vegetation to reach the ground surface, which no camera can do. Photogrammetry produces a measurable image of the surface. Because both are captured in one mobilisation, most engineering clients take the pair and get the bare earth model and the orthomosaic together.
Can you capture lidar and imagery in the same flight window?
Yes, and it is usually the sensible way to scope it. Capturing both in one mobilisation means you are not paying twice to get an aircraft to the site.
How large an area can a lidar program cover?
Programs are planned to the block. A recent plan covered 12,000 acres as a five day field campaign across fourteen take off and landing positions, with flight lines and point density specified before mobilisation.
Other services
See all eleven
Mapping and terrain models
Orthomosaics, terrain and surface models, contours and point clouds captured with RTK positioning to a stated accuracy.
Volumetric measurement
Material volumes and cut and fill figures reported against a stated reference surface, on a repeatable cycle.
Area and quantity measurement
Measured areas and quantities reconciled in a workbook and shown over a scaled image anyone can verify.
Thermal imaging
Radiometric thermal capture for hot spots, moisture, electrical and mechanical faults, and heat signature search support.