RIEGL VUX-120 (23)

The RIEGL VUX-120 (23) is a high-speed laser scanner from Austria for heavy multicopters. It reaches pulse rates up to 2.4 MHz, delivers 2 million measurements per second and up to 32 targets per pulse. It sits in the YellowScan Voyager.

The range is 1,430 m at 80 % reflectivity and 150 kHz, and at 2,400 kHz it is still 400 m at 80 %: the pulse rate decides whether the scanner measures far or dense. Up to 32 echoes per pulse capture ground, vegetation and structures in between. The field of view is up to 100°. Accuracy is 10 mm, precision 5 mm. The unit weighs 2.3 kg. IMU and GNSS can optionally be integrated in the unit as RiLOC-F.

The scanner is a laser device, and the laser class given by the manufacturer (standard IEC 60825-1) is to be observed. At 2.3 kg, the aircraft lies in EU class C2 (below 4 kg) or above it up to C3 and C4 (25 kg), in practice usually above it for aircraft of this size. Surveys of large areas are often flown in the specific category, above all for flights beyond visual line of sight. Point clouds of built-up areas touch data-protection law.

High measurement rates create large amounts of data that storage and processing must handle. The 32 echoes pay off in dense forest, power lines and industrial plants. With the integrated RiLOC-F variant, matching with a foreign positioning system is unnecessary; without it, georeferencing hinges on an external IMU, a GNSS and a rigid mount. Wear points are the scanner window, the connectors and the deflection mechanics; after knocks the calibration is checked.