Merging LiDAR and drone bathymetry into one digital twin

The goal

The team wanted to show that standard, commercially available drones, sensors and software can build a full digital twin of a mixed site. The test area held an old quarry, forest, buildings, powerlines and a lake.

The workflow

• A photogrammetric mission with a 61 MP Topodrone camera covered the area first.
• The stitched map and elevation data were used to plan the LiDAR and airborne bathymetric missions.
• The LiDAR mission used a Topodrone LiDAR sensor and was run from UgCS EXPERT.
• SPH Engineering's airborne echo sounder system collected the depth data over the lake.

The result

The coloured point cloud and the bathymetric data were merged into a single dataset in Green Valley's LiDAR360 software. With all three datasets combined, the team could model the area including its underwater parts and classify objects. A vertical profile through the site showed the lake bottom alongside the land surface.

The original is a short event report. It does not give accuracy figures.

Where this applies in India

A combined land and underwater model is useful where a site has both dry ground and water:

• quarries and open-cast mines with pit lakes;
• reservoirs and dams, where banks and bed are needed in one model;
• river and canal corridors for design and flood studies;
• universities and research institutes teaching drone geoscience.

SPH Engineering's UgCS training courses and bathymetry training are also available through HobiTech.

The equipment, available from HobiTech

Flight planning	UgCS - Drone Flight Planning Software. UgCS EXPERT was used for the LiDAR mission.
Bathymetry	SPH Engineering's airborne echo sounder system. The report does not name the echo sounder model; see our bathymetry systems.
Camera and LiDAR	Topodrone 61 MP camera and Topodrone LiDAR were used in this project. Ask us for current compatible sensors.
Processing	Green Valley LiDAR360

Case study by SPH Engineering, published September 2022. This page summarises it in our own words; the demonstration was carried out by SPH Engineering and Topodrone SA at the UAV 2022 summer school, not by HobiTech. Read the original case study on SPH Engineering ↗