Hello !! Reading the Arducopter documentation I have seen it’s possible to connect a lot of differents LIDAR
with a pixhawk ( or another flight controller). But If I understand it well , these LIDARs are used as rangefinder and object avoidance. But I have seen in the press that archaeological research or topographic studies are done using LIDAR. Could you tell me if this kind of LIDAR exists for a technology as Arducopter or if it is a much more sophisticated and very expensive system. Thanks you .
Yes, I think it is how you imagine.
a) One point rangefinders. They give you the distance to an object in the direction they are aiming. They can be used by ardupilot for collision avoidance or as a precise altimeter if looking downwards. You can find them from 40$ to 400$
b) 2d Rangefinders: They are like a spinning one point rangefinder. They can be used by ardupilot for 360º collision avoidance. From 300 to 1000 $.
c) Scan Lidars. They are much more expensive. They can get a cloud of points that can be used for 3d mapping or topographic studies. These data are not used for navigation. The price of these lidars can go around 4000 $. They can also weight over 3 Kg. and could be also used with photogrammetric cameras. So in order to carry this equipment on a UAV I would suggest a robust one with more than 30 min. of autonomy and preferably with RTK-GPS.
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Thank you Andres for these informations , it’s very clear now