-
LiDAR data and utilty poles
I confess the subject of Lidar is a bit outside the relm of my experience but I’m always looking to learn something new. Maybe why I like hanging out as fly on the wall here so much.
So here’s my deal. The utility I work for recently was awarded a grant to build 60 miles of aerial fiber optic cable over some pretty rough country. The pole line that they plan on tapping to hang the fiber was ‘mapped’ in the 1950’s and the mapping is pretty worthless. No detailed information on pole size, span, that kind of thing. No ties to any control on the ground. Part of me was hoping I’d get tasked with mapping a good portion of the route, but being an army of one, I’m afraid I’d be biting off a bit more than I can chew, especially given the time frame they need it in and the time of year.
A few years ago our local government flew aerial photography and Lidar along this route. Does anyone here have the experience working with Lidar data to know if this ‘point cloud’ can be mined for the pole data we are looking for? I understand the basics of Lidar, creating a bare surface so forth, but can utility pole locations and sizes be extrapolated from this cloud? Would this be a complete waste of time pursuing?
Cheers all! TGIF. ~ Willy out.
Log in to reply.