VUX-240-24 laser ranging sensor

The RIEGL VUX-240-24 is a lightweight airborne laser scanner from RIEGL for LiDAR surveying from unmanned aircraft, helicopters and other crewed aircraft. It is a LiDAR sensor with online waveform processing, and the 24 version offers higher pulse repetition rates and faster scanning than the earlier VUX-240.

The scanner measures with a laser pulse repetition rate of up to 2.4 MHz and a measurement rate of up to 2,000,000 measurements per second. A rotating polygon mirror produces perfectly linear, parallel scan lines at up to 600 lines per second over a field of view of 75 degrees, so a fast platform still gets even point spacing. The maker specifies an operating flight altitude of up to 1,430 m (4,700 ft).

Range depends on the pulse repetition rate. For a target reflectivity of 80 percent, the maximum range is 2,180 m at 300 kHz, 1,630 m at 600 kHz, 1,200 m at 1,200 kHz, 1,000 m at 1,800 kHz and 880 m at 2,400 kHz; the minimum range is 5 m. Accuracy is 20 mm and precision 15 mm at every setting. Through echo digitisation and waveform processing, the instrument resolves up to 30 targets per pulse at the lowest repetition rate, falling to 5 at the highest, which supports penetration of vegetation in forestry and corridor work.

For integration, the scanner weighs 4.3 kg and measures 292 mm x 162 mm x 185 mm without the IMU. It does not include a GNSS/INS unit or a camera: it provides a mechanical and electrical interface for an IMU/GNSS system, with RIEGL RiLOC solutions available, and interfaces to control up to four external cameras. Interfaces are Ethernet, RS-232 and discrete I/O. Supply voltage is 18 V to 34 V with typical power consumption of 77 W. Scan data is stored on an internal 2 TByte SSD and a removable CFast memory card.

Operating temperature is -10 degrees C to 40 degrees C and the housing is rated IP64. The instrument is classified as a Class 1 laser product under IEC 60825-1, which simplifies operation near people compared with higher laser classes. RiPROCESS, RiACQUIRE and RiUNITE software is supplied with RIEGL scanners.

Typical applications are corridor mapping such as power line, railway and pipeline inspection, topography in open-cast mining, urban surveying, archaeology and cultural heritage documentation, and agriculture and forestry.