Starscream Aerial Now Offers UAV LiDar in Western Canada

Starscream is proud to offer LiDar (Light Detection and Ranging) to their already vast arsenal of sensors provided for their customers in Western Canada.

Finding a viable, light weight LiDar sensor that can achieve optimal remote sensing performance on a UAV platform can be a challenge. Finding the balance of pros and cons each one provides has been a focal point for Starscream, and we’ve finally found it with the Precision Hawk Lancaster (Rev 5) Fixed Wing and Velodyne VLP-16 Lite.

“This is a state of the art sensor that provides a power-packed 300,000 laser pulse per second output that writes data with an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) and GPS module. Weighing an astonishing 590g, the VLP-16 Lite allows us to maintain ideal flight times of over 25 min for large industrial projects on a robust platform like the Lancaster. This provides a remarkable advantage for our Oil and Gas and environmental engineering clients who constantly require DEM models of forest floor in dense regions” adds Dillan Ducharme, VP of Operations with Starscream.

LiDar has its uses in Agriculture as well, since precise topographical data of dense canopy coverage can be obtained. Plant height is monitored through ground contact points, measuing stalk heights and determining biomass of a mature crop. Leveraging this against reflectance and soil data provides highly actionable and granular maps for Variable Rate technologies.

“Gathering a combination of LiDar and Photogrammetric data to piece together a landmass for our Environmental clients also means there will no longer be gaps in point cloud data that we used to have with dense vegetation. We are very excited to offer this sensor,” states Jon Kozak, President.

Starscream is now taking reservations for projects requiring LiDar services.