Motion error analysis of 3D coordinates of airborne LIDAR under typical terrains

With the expansion of airborne LIDAR application, the requirements of accuracy and reliability for airborne LIDAR are increasing. Therefore it is necessary to analyze the motion errors of airborne LIDAR data in order to correct errors and improve accuracy. In this paper, in connection with five kinds of typical terrains, a method for the analysis of dynamic 3D coordinate errors is proposed and models for motion errors of 3D coordinates under typical terrains are established. By choosing the flight altitude, point cloud spacing, instantaneous scanning angle, and other variables, the static and dynamic simulations are conducted. Then the corresponding simulation results are analyzed comparatively. It is shown that 3D coordinate errors are the smallest under flat terrain. On the other hand, under non-flat terrain, the greater the slop angle, the greater the 3D coordinate errors are. The error along flight direction is greater than that along the other two directions. In addition, dynamic 3D coordinate errors are much greater than static 3D coordinate errors. For example, static elevation error is about 0.16m, while dynamic elevation error is 1.02m. In conclusion, it is favorable to select the appropriate flight altitude, point cloud spacing and instantaneous scanning angle as to improve the measurement accuracy.