MoreOptech Incorporated, leader in airborne laser mapping systems, announced a plan to create an open industry standard for the binary interchange of LIDAR data. Its partners in the initiative include Z/I Imaging Corporation of Huntsville, Ala., EnerQuest Systems LLC of Denver, Colo., and the U.S. Army's Topographic Engineering Center (TEC). The initiative intends to benefit the LIDAR industry, bringing with it an expanded set of LIDAR capabilities and quantum gains in total system efficiency.
"The airborne LIDAR industry is now ready for a single data standard. This initiative will deliver the leadership the market so desperately needs and it will lead to the proliferation of exciting new capabilities in the airborne laser mapping marketspace," said Don Carswell, president of Optech. "At the end of the day, it's all about turning data into useful information."
"All of the participants in this initiative believe that an open industry standard will accelerate the development of LIDAR processing tools," said Lewis Graham, CEO of Z/I Imaging. "By providing the industry with a common, public exchange format, we will be able to focus our attention on improving production tools."
"As a company who has dealt extensively with a variety of proprietary LIDAR formats, we realize that this project will significantly improve the flow of data both within and between production shops," added Donald Wicks, president of EnerQuest Systems.
