RIEGL VUX-180-24

The RIEGL VUX-180-24 is a high-speed UAV LiDAR from Austria for corridor mapping with heavy multicopters, for example along power lines, railway lines and roads. It reaches up to 800 lines per second and a 2.4 MHz pulse rate, optionally with the integrated inertial and GNSS unit RiLOC-F.

The range is 1,520 m at 80 % reflectivity and 300 kHz; at 20 % it is 810 m at 300 kHz and only about 300 m at 2,400 kHz. The scanner delivers 2 million measurements per second and captures up to 32 targets per pulse. At up to 75°, the field of view is narrower than on the wide sister models, but fits corridors where a narrow strip with high point density is needed. Accuracy is 10 mm, precision 5 mm. The unit weighs 2.7 kg.

IMU and GNSS are integrated only in the version with RiLOC-F; the scanner is also available without. The scanner is a laser device, and the laser class given by the manufacturer (standard IEC 60825-1) is to be observed. At 2.7 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. Corridor flights along infrastructure are often in the specific category, above all for flights beyond visual line of sight.

The high line rate allows higher flying speed at the same line spacing on the ground, which makes long routes more efficient. Anyone buying without the integrated IMU must match the georeferencing themselves. A high pulse rate means denser points but shorter range. Wear points are the scanner window, the connectors and the deflection mechanics; after knocks the calibration is checked.