9th Pipeline Technology Conference

High density airborne LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging), being an innovation in remote sensing techniques, has now overcome the barriers of the traditional survey techniques. Especially for long corridors like pipe line routes, roads, embankments, railway and electricity lines, laser alitimetry provides a new survey method to collect remotely sensed data in a quick way. Particularly the LiDAR systems which operate at low altitude (100 up to 400 m above ground level) and low speed (55 km/hour) present a professional survey tool that can compete with traditional survey methods as it is precise (height accuracy < 5 cm 1 sigma and planimetric XY accuracy < 6- 8 cm), reliable, fast (60 - 100 km pipeline route per day) and cost-effective. The advantages of aerial surveys are twofold: obviously the safety aspect is very important as surveyors are not required to physically occupy the survey area and secondly for the whole corridor is completely captured with LiDAR-data (xyz-coordinates) and on above than with down and forward high resolution photo and video imagery. This complete data set is essential as depending on the future requirements every specific location can easily be processed if the route needs to be adjusted, without sending out surveyors into the field. Obviously a LiDAR survey will not interrupt the schedule of trains or road transport is these needs to be crossed. Furthermore, aerial surveys are not compromising the environmental conditions, nor any permits are required to have access to every property. Unfortunately, most LiDAR systems cannot supply sufficient resolution and/or accuracy for engineering and topographic survey purposes.