Miniature Flash Lidar for Bathymetry: An Experimental Proof-of-Concept

In this paper, we introduce a novel design of a flash imaging LiDAR developed for airborne 3D imaging of shallow water areas with high precision and at low cost. Based on a novel SPAD detector with advanced time-of-flight capabilities [1], the system provides a distance precision below 5 cm with a resolution of 128 x 128 pixels over a distance up to 100 m in air and a few meters in water, depending on turbidity conditions [2]. Miniature, the developed LiDAR can be seamlessly integrated onto different types of unmanned vehicles: surface (USV), aerial (UAV) and underwater (ROV and AUV). Integrated onto an UAV, the platform shall enable the mapping of coastal areas, the monitoring of underwater infrastructures and the detection of objects beneath the water surface in real-time. A proof-of-concept with data obtained from a surface vehicle illustrates the principle.