YellowScan, a manufacturer of devices for Earth observation, has announced their latest product: the YellowScan, an all-in-one LiDAR unit weighing only 2.2kg.
The company is calling the YellowScan system, which measures at 20cm x 17cm x 15 cm, a “ready-to-use” LiDAR unit for fixed-wing or multi-rotor UAV projects. It includes a centimeter-level RTK GPS, an onboard computer, and an integrated battery.
“Once mounted on the drone,” the company explained in a statement, “the user pushes the yellow button and YellowScan is read to survey.” LED lights provide feedback about the sensor’s state, for instance whether the RTK is operating correctly. After the project is completed, the user downloads the data to a USB stick.
The design process for the unit, the company explains, was focused on producing the “lightest all-in-one LiDAR in the world” so that it could be easily mounted on UAVs. They rate the system as operational at up to 75 meters and capable of returning a point cloud accurate to 10/15 centimeter.
To reduce weight while maintaining a suitable level of motion compensation and data georeferencing, the YellowScan includes SBG Systems’ Ellipse-E INS. The sensor, which is available in OEM at only 12 grams, provides roll and pitch accurate to 0.2 degrees and a heading accurate to 0.5 degrees with one antenna. It works by using GPS and accelerometer data, a method that is best used when GPS data is readily available and “punctuated by frequent accelerations like turns.”
“We are very satisfied with this little Ellipse-E,” said YellowScan’s CTO Tristan Allouis in a prepared statement. “It perfectly matches our technical needs, and we even gained 5% on the total weight of the YellowScan.”
YellowScan and SBG Systems will each be presenting their products at Intergeo in Stuttgart from September 15-17th, 2015.
