MRI: Development of Versatile Mobile Range Scanning System-Enabling Large-scale High-density 3D Data Acquisition for Cross-Disciplinary Research

Project Summary This proposal seeks funding to develop a versatile mobile range scanning system based on the principle of Light Detection and Ranging (LlDAR). The system will consist of three of LlDAR sensor heads, GPSand inertial measurement unit, high-resolution digital cameras, and processing software to generate highresolution, high-accuracy colored point clouds that are geo-referenced. Unlike typical laser scanning systems, it supports both stationary and high-speed mobile scanning. For example, when mounted on a vehicle, it should be able to generate over 50 points per meter given a speed of 100Km/h. In comparison, the typical density from an airborne LlDAR system is only one to two points per meter. This level of density at high scanning speeds allows rapid 3D scanning of large scale scenes not possible with either stationary systems (too slow) or airborne systems (too sparse). Using this newly-developed capability, we expect to enable: (a) new data-driven approaches in 3D reconstruction and modeling, pattern recognition and data mining; (b) quantitative studies in geology, such as the analysis of hillslope movements and characterization of outcrops; and (c) archaeological recording of fragile sites with limited access (such as those in caves).