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Highway corridor surveys are becoming more difficult and expensive to carry out because of the need to minimize lane closures, traffic disruptions, and safety hazards posed to the surveyors and public. Roadway surveyors are at risk when working in the traffic corridor if they are unable to move with the flow of traffic. Safety for the traveling public is also a concern when lanes are closed or blocked by slow-moving vehicles. Costs for the placement of safety features to protect a survey crew can in some instances be greater than the cost of the survey itself. To mitigate these problems, a survey data acquisition tool is needed that can collect topographic and infrastructure information without disrupting traffic flow. Terrapoint has developed a novel kinematic laser scanning system that can be deployed on a passenger vehicle or small watercraft. Light-detection and ranging (LIDAR) digital imagery and video are collected from the survey platform while it is moving at traffic speeds. The system is georeferenced with a high-accuracy Global Positioning System–inertial measurement unit. Terrapoint's mobile LIDAR scanner has successfully surveyed existing highway corridors all over North America. It has also proven sufficiently accurate for scanning airport runway surfaces so as to predict areas where water will pool. Moving with the traffic flow and not requiring an escort, the system scans a 360° swath that includes the pavement surface and objects to the sides and above the survey vehicle.
Craig Glennie (Thu,) studied this question.