A geomatics grade, high-speed scanning LiDAR

The Qube 240 payload is a geomatics grade LiDAR Scanner for the Trinity F90+ UAS and it endures up to 60 min of flight time with this combination. It is offered as a complete solution, all encompassed with YellowScan CloudStation Software pack, and license.

Light Ranging and Detection (LiDAR) sensors, partly traded as the key technology of the future for autonomous driving are also the first choice for highly productive survey tasks.

Until recently, LiDAR payloads were hardly affordable for SMEs due to their high cost. This is exactly where Quantum-Systems and YellowScan come in and offer a geomatics grade LiDAR scanner integrated into the payload compartment of the Trinity F90+ drone including software package without having to compromise on data quality.

A small and powerful LiDAR sensor for the Trinity F90+ UAS

The Qube 240 LiDAR sensor inherits the YellowScan Ultra Surveyor LiDAR scanner. This was the first integration into our Tron UAS platform in 2017. Advances in miniaturization and performance improvements across the board now increased range and accuracy with a significantly smaller form factor. This is impressively reflected in the cost reduction of over 50% for the overall system.

A geomatics grade LiDAR solution from a single source

The Qube 240 LiDAR provides essential information for surveying and mapping by generating an accurate 3D image of the process environment through 240,000 distance measurements per second.

Oustanding absolute accuracy is achieved with the help of the integrated Applanix APX15 INS. One can speak of a geodetic accuracy that was previously only achievable with LiDAR Systems of the upper price segment. The easy handling and user-friendly integration will convince customers. Fast and easy processing of the raw data is an additional benefit.

The solution comes with YellowScan CloudStation software which is enclosed in an adapted variant with a 1-year subscription license.

Features and availability of the Qube 240 LiDAR

The development and technical integration began in the second half of 2020 based on the cooperation with YellowScan. Which was already in years of existence. We achieved our goal to develop a geomatics-grade LiDAR sensor for our Trinity F90+ drone!

The result was a payload with unique key data:

• Geomatics Grade LiDAR
• Class 1 (Eye Safe)
• Wave length: 905 nm
• Maximum altitude: 140 m AGL
• Precision: 1.8-2.5 cm
• Accuracy: < 3 cm
• Scanner field of view: 70°
• 240,000 shots per second
• Point density @100m: 50-100 points/m²
• Multi-echo technology: up to 3 echoes per shot
• Applanix POSPacTM UAV, GNSS, and INS software for PPK
• Qube 240 data processing software to generate survey-grade LAS Files.

Key Benefits of the Qube 240 LiDAR Payload:

Efficient, high-resolution, and perfectly aligned

A perfect match of high-resolution point clouds surveyed with 5 parallel runs at 100m altitude above ground. The result shows the perfect alignment of the separate runs with an extremely low level of noise. The Trinity F90+ was mapping an area of 50ha in about 10 minutes of flight time.

Elevations surveyed without compromise

The elevation measured from 100m above ground. The excavator in the lower right corner is a good example to illustrate the resolution and precision of the Qube 240 LiDAR. The terrain, as well as buildings and vegetation such as trees, are also clearly visible.

Automatic classification of ground points

The bench of the quarry pond in the lower part of the images is clearly shown. The Qube 240 with 3 echoes and 240.000 points per second provides a great penetration of the vegetation and therefore this LiDAR system is the right tool to survey terrain covered by trees and bushes.

Clearly visible terrain and building structures by day and night

Dense Qube 240 point cloud colorized by intensity values showing the reflectance of the terrain or ground objects. The brighter the color the more reflectance of the LiDAR beams by the terrain, vegetation, or urban structures. The photovoltaic panels on the rooftops are clearly visible. The intensity values are completely independent of sunlight. Thanks to the fact that the LiDAR technology is an active sensor, mapping infrastructure and surveying large areas is also possible at night.

CAD reconstruction made easy

The point clouds captured by the Qube 240 are 100% survey grade and this example shows CAD reconstruction of buildings as used for 3D city models. Thanks also to our reseller ProgeaSky for their support in post-processing.