TORONTO — Optech announced this week the release of the Optech Pegasus HA500 ALTM, a purpose-built wide-area mapping sensor that is focused on maximizing collection efficiency.
Optech said in a press release the sensor can gather data at altitudes up to 5000 m AGL, and that it “has the unique ability to collect multi-beam lidar data throughout its entire operating envelope, for industry-leading point cloud density and accuracy at any altitude.” The system features two new “high-performance lasers” and an embedded 60-MP digital metric camera.
“Our clients have been demanding an active sensor for day/night use that not only combines high altitude collection efficiency with high point density, but also provides the point precision, accuracy and tree canopy penetration that only a lidar sensor can provide,” commented Michael Sitar, Optech airborne business and product manager, in a statement. “The Pegasus HA500 is the culmination of that effort, in that its unique twin-laser configuration ensures the same data fidelity and measurement precision irrespective of the number of beams, unlike lesser single-laser multi-beam designs.”
The Pegasus HA500 also incorporates many of the same performance features as the Optech Orion ALTM sensors, the company said. The Orion sensors “are popular for their ultra-compact size, flexibility in installation, and scalability with external peripheral sensors,” the company claimed in the release. Performance features common to both ALTMs include: real-time point display for in-air true coverage verification; a real-time in-air LAS file generator for rapid response applications that demand immediate high-accuracy data delivery possible only with its OmniSTAR-enabled POS system; lidar auto-calibration software incorporating rigorous least-squares adjustment methods for “exceptional data quality and accuracy quantification”; and full compatibility with the latest true 12-bit Optech IWD-2 Intelligent Waveform Digitizer.
