Falcon

LiDAR Sensor

Falcon installed in Piper Seneca

Virtual Reality

Products of Falcon

Powered by:

  TopoSys GMBH

Biberach, Germany

   LiDAR Sensor  |  Specification | TopPIT Software | Applications | Harrier 56 |  Harrier 24 | Airborne Laser Survey (ALS) |

FALCON II is An airborne LIDAR system (Lidar Sensor + Line Scanner) for the acquisition of digital elevation models (DEM) and ortho images. It comprises an on-board sensor system (hardware) and a modular software package to process acquired data.  The unique scan technique combined with its extreme measurement rate distinguishes FALCON from other LIDAR systems. The software includes routines to convert products to nearly any data format (DEM and ortho images) like ERDAS Imaging, ENVI, PCI, Geomatics, ESRI ArcGIS, Terrasolid, Surfer. It is designed to operate under nearly all conditions (day and night). Limitations are cloud and fog beneath the aircraft and no image data (line scanner) during the night operation.

LIDAR Sensor : Falcon technology uses laser pulses that are transmitted and received by two separate lines of glass fibers where the individual beam directions are firmly aligned due to a mechanically solid orientation of the fibers. The laser pulse rate is approximately 83,000Hz which results into an overlap of the redundancy that allows for plausibility and consistency checks. The laser wavelength is 1560 nm. Reflection and absorption at his wavelength is different from that of 1000 nm.

The RGB/NIR line scanner is an optical scanner which captures image data digitally in four spectral channels (Red, Green, Blue and near infrared) It includes a high grade light sensitive lens enabling gathering of data even in case of poor lighting conditions.  The line scanner does not need frequent manual settings due to its automatic control of exposure and aperture. The product of processing line scanner is a true ortho image where buildings and trees do not have a lean.

TopPIT (TopoSys processing and Imaging Tooll) is modular software package comprising of LIDAR and RGB/NIR data processing as well as basic modules for image production. Included are specific tools for data analysis, flight planning and quality control. TopPIT allows automated multilevel handling processes. It offers import and export tools providing compatibility to GIS and image handling software. Several filters are available which can be chosen depending on kind of application, dynamic of terrain, etc.