Application of Laser Imaging for Bio/geophysical Studies

SPARTA, Inc. has developed a low-cost, portable laser imager that, among other applications, can be used in bio/geophysical applications. In the application to be discussed here, the system was utilized as an imaging system for background features in a forested locale. The SPARTA mini-ladar system was used at the International Paper Northern Experimental Forest near Howland, Maine to assist in a project designed to study the thermal and radiometric phenomenology at forest edges. The imager was used to obtain data from three complex sites, a 'seed' orchard, a forest edge, and a building. The goal of the study was to demonstrate the usefulness of the laser imager as a tool to obtain geometric and internal structure data about complex 3-D objects in a natural background. The data from these images have been analyzed to obtain information about the distributions of the objects in a scene. A range detection algorithm has been used to identify individual objects in a laser image and an edge detection algorithm then applied to highlight the outlines of discrete objects. An example of an image processed in such a manner is shown. Described here are the results from the study. In addition, results are presented outlining how the laser imaging system could be used to obtain other important information about bio/geophysical systems, such as the distribution of woody material in forests.