RIEGL Laser Measurement Systems launched the LMS-Q780 long range airborne laser scanner with an operating flight altitude of up to 10,000 ft at 100 kHz laser pulse repetition rate (PRR).

Unique features of this instrument include the automated resolution of range ambiguities, typically occurring at large measurement ranges and high repetition rates. Peter Rieger, product manager of Airborne Laser Scanning, said “The effect of range ambiguities appearing in airborne laser scanning is known as ‘multiple-time-around’ or ‘multiple-pulses-in-the-air’. Up to now, it was necessary to carefully consider the appearance of range ambiguities during flight planning by choosing a flight altitude above ground, assuring that all range measurements stay within a single MTA zone – which may be a really difficult task especially in complex terrain like mountainous areas. RIEGL’s new generation of airborne laser scanners overcome this limitation by multiple-time-around (MTA) processing.”

For the LMS-Q780, this technique allows a maximum measurement range of 2450 m at a PRR of 400 kHz and a target reflectivity of 20 percent. Up to nine laser pulses and their corresponding echoes can be on their way between laser scanner and ground targets simultaneously, vastly improving data acquisition efficiency.

Now, instead of manually specifying the correct MTA zone, RIEGL’s RiMTA software resolves these range ambiguities automatically without any user interaction necessary.