RIEGL VUX-160-23

The RIEGL VUX-160-23 is a long-range UAV LiDAR from Austria for heavy multicopters. It has the integrated inertial and GNSS unit RiLOC-F on board, reaches pulse rates up to 2.4 MHz and delivers up to 2 million measurements per second.

The range is 1,800 m at 80 % reflectivity and 300 kHz, and 980 m at 20 %. At 2,400 kHz the values drop to 370, 620 and 720 m for the three reflectivity levels. At 300 kHz the scanner captures up to 32 targets per pulse, at 2,400 kHz still 5. The field of view is up to 100°, the line rate up to 400 lines per second. Accuracy is 10 mm, precision 5 mm. The unit weighs just over 2.6 kg.

The scanner is a laser device, and the laser class given by the manufacturer (standard IEC 60825-1) is to be observed. At just over 2.6 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.

With long range, the boundary conditions count: 1,800 m applies at 80 % reflectivity and a low pulse rate; anyone relying on high point density gets only 5 instead of 32 targets per pulse at 2,400 kHz. With the integrated RiLOC-F, matching with a foreign positioning system is unnecessary. Quality hinges on a rigid mount and synchronisation. Wear points are the scanner window, the connectors and the deflection mechanics; after knocks the calibration is checked.