Accurate surveying by anyone anywhere
New standard for drone laser surveying
DRONE LiDAR SYSTEM TDOT Series

What is a laser surveying device?

A laser surveying device consists of a combination of three cutting-edge technologies – a laser module that emits laser beams, a GNSS receiver that acquires accurate positioning information from satellites, and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) that precisely analyzes the attitude and acceleration of the drone.
This advanced system constantly and accurately records the angle and distance of the laser beam from the air to acquire high-density, high-accuracy 3D survey data.
Integrating these technologies, the TDOT Series also achieves a level of quality and reliability compliant with public surveying.

A reliable, high-accuracy system that also supports public surveying

The TDOT series does not rely solely on positioning information from the drone, but also employs an advanced technology that analyzes the positional relationship between the TDOT system itself and a GNSS reference station and/or fixed station, which dramatically improves the accuracy of positions and heights in acquired data.
Links with these external references allow for extremely high-accuracy surveying while minimizing errors.
A surveying system that can be put to practical use can only be realized when laser beam emission, a GNSS, an IMU, and an external positioning reference are combined.
Every TDOT model is a drone-mounted laser scanner system dedicated to surveying, and is therefore capable of acquiring highly accurate data that can also be used for public surveying.
The performance of TDOT systems contributes greatly to a wide range of situations that require accurate data, such as construction and civil engineering works, disaster investigations, and topographic measurements.

Accurately capturing the drone’s attitude and converting it with high accuracy

INS

INS combined navigation system

This core technology accurately captures the drone’s attitude and converts it into data with the accuracy required for surveying

Every model in the TDOT Series comes standard with a high-performance GNSS/IMU combined inertial navigation system (INS).
This system plays an important role in supporting the accuracy of laser surveying by keeping track of changes in the position and attitude of the TDOT with high accuracy and in real time.
Laser surveying measures the distance to the target based on the time difference between laser emission and return, but determines the emission position using a GNSS.
However, the GNSS can only perform positioning measurements several dozen times per second, meaning that location information likely involves errors given the limited amount of data.
Furthermore, even a slight error in the emission angle will result in a greater misalignment as the distance to the target increases.
An inertial measurement unit (IMU) is one solution to this issue.
An IMU precisely records the tiniest movements during flight, which a GNSS would miss, by tracking the movements of the TDOT using an acceleration sensor and by continuously detecting changes in attitude with a gyro sensor.
The INS combined navigation system, which integrates an IMU and a GNSS, ensures high-accuracy corrections to the attitude and trajectory during flight, thereby enabling three-dimensional coordinate measurements down to the millimeter.
TDOT can constantly acquire data with a high accuracy of less than a few centimeters while emitting laser beams hundreds of thousands of times per second.

TDOT series IMU Specifications

A simple workflow tailored to survey sites that is easy for anyone to use

SETTING

TDOT SETTING TOOL

TDOT can be accessed from all browser-enabled devices, including tablets and smartphones.

Doing away with the need to install a dedicated application, this tool allows for operations and setting changes on site more easily and speedily.
In addition to checking equipment status information, this tool supports a wide variety of settings, such as those for changing laser beam emission speed and scan rate, toggling the real-time cross-section display, operating the visible and thermal cameras, and enabling/disabling the RTK function.
On site, the tool also allows for various setting changes through intuitive browser operations, which helps to greatly reduce the burden on the operator while enabling a more reliable and efficient surveying workflow.

*The RTK function is only available on models that support it.

DATA CHECK

A real-time cross-section display function for reliable data acquisition

Prevent surveying rework by confirming scanning status on-site

The TDOT system can display scanned cross-section data during measurement in real time through the drone’s transmitter.
For example, it allows for the on-site, in-flight confirmation of the acquisition status for topography under vegetation in heavily wooded areas and the status of laser beam arrival at the bottom of water bodies along waterfronts or in areas of water.
This enables users to immediately determine whether the planned survey range has been thoroughly covered, and realizes an efficient workflow while preventing the trouble of performing measurements again.

*Real-time cross-section display is not supported by the TDOT 7 NIR-S.
*Using this function requires a drone equipped with an HDMI-connectable image transmitter (not all HDMI-connectable drones guarantee display).
*DJI Matrice 350 RTK can display cross-sections in real time via the DJI SkyPort.