Laser scanner - principle of operation.

application in
navigation.
Attitude and Navigation System

Abenezer Bedilu Mehari

Advised by

Prof Gajda Janusz

NOVEMBER 2, 2021
Warsaw University of technology,
Faculty of Power and Aeronautical Engineering
Warsaw, Poland
 Table of Contents
Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................................... i
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................ ii
List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................... iii
1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Laser Scanning: Background and Applications .................................................................................. 1
1.2 Objective ............................................................................................................................................. 3
1.2.1 General Objective ........................................................................................................................ 3
1.2.2 Specific Objective ........................................................................................................................ 3
1.3 Scope ................................................................................................................................................... 3
1.4 Significance of the Study .................................................................................................................... 3
1.5 Limitation of the Study ....................................................................................................................... 3
1.6 Methodology ....................................................................................................................................... 4
1.7 project Organization............................................................................................................................ 4
Reference .................................................................................................................................................. 5

i
 List of Tables
Table 1.1 Examples of Terrestrial Laser Scanning applications………………………….. 2
Table 1.2 The outline of the project………………………………………………………..4

ii
 List of Abbreviations
LiDAR light detection and ranging
GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System
3D Three Dimension
TLS Terrestrial Laser Scanners

iii
 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Laser Scanning: Background and Applications

Automated restitution methods for object acquisition have gained more and more
importance in the last years. Next to automatic image matching, laser scanning, often also referred
to as LiDAR (light detection and ranging), has revolutionized 3D data acquisition for both,
topographic as well as close range objects. In contrast to the “classical” manual data acquisition
techniques, like terrestrial surveying and analytical photogrammetry, which require a manual
interpretation in order to derive a representation of the sensed objects, these new automatic
recording methods allow an automated dense sampling of the object surface within a short time.

Traditional geodetic surveying instruments such as e.g. total station theodolite and Global
Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) provide the acquisition of 3D coordinates of an object.
However, these commonly used techniques often provide single measurements with a relatively
slow acquisition process, and are often very limited in the range of applications. For instance,
GNSS techniques cannot be used in indoor surveys as a clear visibility of satellites is required.
When using a theodolite, the measurement of a fixed prism in the scene is required to obtain a
precise measurement. Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) systems such as Terrestrial Laser
Scanners (TLS) are remote sensing systems that determine the distance to an object by analyzing
a laser light return on an object’s surface. This new generation surveying technique allows for
extremely rapid acquisition of large amounts of 3D coordinates of objects’ surfaces, with an
unprecedented level of precision. A TLS makes possible to remotely survey areas that are complex
or inaccessible to traditional surveying techniques. Within a matter of minutes, a TLS mounted on
a tripod captures the relative position of objects’ surfaces in its line of sight as a 3D point cloud
consisting of millions of (x y z) points and their respective intensity value i. In the past decade,
this technology is increasingly being used in various engineering fields, see Table 1.1. However,
the actual quality of a 3D point cloud is often not known. A variety of products are derived from
3D point clouds. The quality of these derived products depends on the quality of the acquired point
clouds.[1]

1
 Infrastructure (bridge, road, building, indoor/outdoor, pipelines
...) Renovations (modification, additions, removal ...) 3D City
Civil Engineering
models Deformation analysis (tunnels, bridges, dikes,
buildings, ...)
Deformation analysis of body parts before/after surgery
Medical Engineering
Orthodontia, prosthesis reconstructions and implants
Forensics Crime scene documentation
Robotic control (scene scan for next position determination,
Mechanical Engineering indoor/outdoor navigation ...) Small mechanical parts quality
control
Deformation analysis (erosion, deposit of sediments, nature as
Remote sensing
forest, beach, ....) Change detection Classification
Film and game industry 3D models of real life objects for animation
Archive scanning (Historical monuments and cultural heritage
Archeology preservation/documentation ...) 3D visualization models of
archaeological sites

Table 1.1: Examples of Terrestrial Laser Scanning applications.

The above paragraph is talking about the Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS ) applications.
But now a days Technology in laser scanning, airborne and terrestrial is developing fast. A laser
scanner measures a point cloud by determining range and direction (orientation of the mirror) to
reflecting surfaces. This point cloud is therefore acquired in the coordinate system of the sensor
itself. To either transform the measurements from two standpoints into the same coordinate system
or transform the measurements to a superior, e.g. state plane, coordinate system, a congruency
transformation needs to be determined. In the airborne case, direct geo-referencing has to be
applied, it will be treated first. In the terrestrial case typically a two-step procedure is taken. First
the scans from different stand points are transformed into one system, which is then transformed
into a superior coordinate system.[2]

2
1.2 Objective
1.2.1 General Objective
The main goal of this project is to study about laser scanners in detail, along with their
principle of operation and the way they are used in the navigation system.

1.2.2 Specific Objective

Specifically the study would address the following objectives:
➢ To design a system that can show how the laser scanners are using in navigation system .
➢ To develop an algorithm for the system.
➢ Develop a program for the algorithm.
➢ Testing the program to see as the algorithm is correct or not.

1.3 Scope
The project will focus on the principle and mechanisms of the laser scanner and the ways of
its use in the navigation system. The main interests for this project is to discuss the background of
the laser scanner, stating its development from the invention to the latest technology, along with a
description of its use in the navigation system developing of a simple program code.

1.4 Significance of the Study

Recently, laser scanning can play an important role in a variety of measurement tasks. With
this in-depth analysis of the laser scanner, it will help for better understanding and to become
familiar with its various properties and functions. In this case, this project will provide the
opportunity to provide detailed information about the laser scanner.

1.5 Limitation of the Study

while attempting to conduct the project, the following challenges will be there:

➢ Due to less programming language background, the program used for the algorithm will
be simple.

➢ Due to the low availability of resources, project organization will take a long time.

3
1.6 Methodology
This project will have three major steps. Which are:-
1. Identification
2. modeling
3. analysis

1.7 project Organization

The project will be presented in different section.

Chapter one Introduction

Chapter two Laser Scanning operation principles

Chapter Three Application of laser scanner in navigation

system

Chapter four Analysis

Chapter Five Conclusion

Table 1.1: the outline of the project

4
Reference

[1]. Ter verkrijging van de graad van, doctor aan de Technische Universiteit Delft, op gezag van de Rector
Magnificus prof. ir. K. C. A. M. Luyben, voorzitter van het College voor Promoties, in het openbaar te
verdedigen op 5 januari 2016 om 12:30 uur, THE GEOMETRY OF TERRESTRIAL LASER SCANNING
IDENTIFICATION OF ERRORS, MODELING AND MITIGATION OF SCANNING GEOMETRY
[2]. Norbert Pfeifer, Christian Briese ,Vienna University of Technology Institute of Photogrammetry and
Remote Sensing, Austria,LASER SCANNING – PRINCIPLES AND APPLICATIONS
[3]. Abbas, M. A., Lichti, D. D., Chong, A. K., Setan, H., and Majid, Z. (2014). An on-site approach for
the self-calibration of terrestrial laser scanner. In Measurement: Journal of the International Measurement
Confederation, volume 52:111–123.

[4]. Abshire et al, 2005. Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) on the ICESat Mission: On-orbit
measurement performance. Geophysical research letters, 32
[5] Heeshin Kang1 , Jiwhan Noh2 1, 2 (Department of Laser & Electron Beam Application/ Korea
Institute of Machinery & Materials, Korea) December 2017, Printing Roll Manufacturing using
Laser Scanner