Lidar application in selection and design of power line route

Light detection and ranging is a relatively new technology, developed to complement traditional remote sensing technology. Digital aerial image provides reflectance information for land cover while LIDAR data provide more accurate geometrical information. There is much potential for fusing these two sources to achieve increased accuracy and utility for feature detection and classification. In order to assist Guangxi Electric Power Design Institute to improve their efficiency in power transmission line selection and design, field survey work, and reduce the cost, we have recently carried out the first power line project by using LIDAR and high resolution digital camera in China. The use of coloring LIDAR points by RGB of digital images makes it possible for obtaining high quality of in-room surveying, feature detection and classification. In addition, high quality and high resolution of DEM, DSM, DOM and visualization provides our customer not only with better selection and design of power line route, and reduced survey work, but also significant savings by 10 percent reduction of power line construction.