Progress in LiDAR Sensor Technology – Chance and Challenge for DTM Generation and Data Administration

Airborne laser scanning (ALS, also referred to as LIDAR (light detection and ranging)) became a standard method for the acquisition of topographic data. However, since the first commercial flights in 1994 a significant development in the sensor technology can be observed. These developments lead to a high increase in data volume due to a significant higher number of determined echoes as well as due to an increased number of information stored per echo. Next to a short presentation of the current sensor developments this paper focuses on the current challenges in management of ALS data (including the storage of additional information provided by full-waveform ALS sensors). Furthermore, advanced procedures for DTM generation integrating geometric criteria with these additional attributes per echo are discussed.