LiDAR Use Cases in Transportation

 

How LiDAR-based engineering consulting impacts your everyday projects.

Mobile LiDAR datasets could be used across a range of applications within a transportation agency. At Nektar 3D Consulting our aim is to ensure that your LiDAR scans are fully utilized across different departments, for different projects, and during different stages of a project.

Transportation Engineering & Highway Design

The high precision and accuracy of mobile LiDAR datasets combined with Nektar 3D Consulting’s efficient feature extraction capabilities ensure that the datasets can be used for a range of different applications in the field of Transportation Engineering and Highway Design. This includes the following and much more.

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Functional Planning Studies

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Topographical Surveys

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Routine Geometric Assessments

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Road Safety Audits

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Traffic Impact Assessments

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Routine Bridge Inspections

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Slope Stability Assessments

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Clearance Assessment for Overheight Permits

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Resurfacing, Restoration, and/or Rehabilitation (3R) Projects

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Road Safety Signing Audits

Asset Inventory and Management

Nektar 3D Consulting’s Network-Level extraction capabilities can also be utilized by Departments of Transport (DOT) interested in using their LiDAR datasets for asset management purposes such as

1. Transportation Asset Management (TAM)

Statewide feature extraction of assets from LiDAR using Nektar 3D Consulting’s services helps DOTs adopt a sustainable asset stewardship program, effectively utilising their resources and funding. Not only does that provide a comprehensive dataset which maps vital infrastructure elements, but it is a sustainable solution which can be used to monitor assets throughout the service life of a highway.

2. Model Inventory of Roadway Elements (MIRE)

Statewide feature extraction of assets from LiDAR using Nektar3D Consulting’s services helps DOTs adopt a sustainable asset stewardship program, effectively utilizing their resources and funding. Not only does that provide a comprehensive dataset which maps vital infrastructure elements, but it is a sustainable solution which can be used to monitor assets throughout the service life of a highway.

MIRE was introduced as a platform to make data-driven roadway safety decisions. The transportation environment is described by six core elements, including:

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Segment

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Intersection

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Intersection Leg

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Interchange/Ramp

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Horizontal Curve

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Vertical Grade

Similar to the application of LiDAR for TAM, efficient extraction of features from mobile LiDAR scans allows for the collection of several attributes for those roadway elements including:

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Roadside fixed objects

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Signs

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Bridge Descriptors

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Railroad grade-crossing descriptors

This helps agencies overcome the burden associated with long site visits when creating their MIRE database.