A Low Cost UAV LiDAR System for Application at Archaeological Sites in Anatolia

Voiceover

Main Presenter(s)

Stephen Rector

Abstract or Description

LiDAR point cloud data is becoming increasingly important in archaeological field work. Used to develop digital elevation models (DEM) and digital surface models (DSM), particularly in areas of dense vegetation, it has applications in archaeological prospection, site survey, and cultural heritage monitoring to name just a few. Regional LiDAR surveys are very expensive undertakings, and even localized drone based systems cost tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars. This puts LiDAR technology out of the range of many archaeological projects.

This project seeks to build a low-cost LiDAR sensor for use on unmanned aerial systems (UAS). This work was motivated by efforts to trace the Roman road at the site of Antiochia ad Cragum in southern Turkey. The area contains dense scrub and banana fields which obscure large sections of the road. This project leverages the open-source OpenMMS (Open Mobile Mapping System) project, but replacing the very expensive Applanix APX-18 INS (inertial navigation system) with an AceInna OpenIMU300ZI inertial measurement unit development board and two Sparkfun GPS-RTK-SMA Breakout - ZED-F9P modules to form an INS. Coupled with a Livox Mid-40 LiDAR sensor, a Raspberry Pi single board computer, and with appropriate modifications to the OpenMMS firmware and processing software, the project is able to gather LiDAR, GPS, and INS data. The next step is to merge the GPS and INS trajectory data in order to georeference the LiDAR point cloud.  DEMs and DSMs can then be generated for further analysis and processing.

Field testing at archaeological sites tentatively planned for summer 2022.