Use cases

LiDAR use cases

7 items

Discover the main LiDAR use cases: mobile robotics, mapping, security, smart city, drones, agriculture and industrial.

Precision agriculture

Field mapping, biomass estimation, automated agricultural vehicle guidance and targeted spraying.

In precision agriculture, LiDAR measures crop and terrain structure to estimate canopy height, biomass, volume and distance to crop rows. It also supports autonomous machinery navigation and site-specific spraying or harvesting. The sensor must maintain usable measurements despite dust, moisture, vibration and variations in vegetation reflectivity.

Resistance to dusty and humid environments.
Range adapted to agricultural working distances (10-150m).
Low weight for drone or light vehicle mounting.

Explore this use case →

Drones & aerial inspection

Compact payloads for inspection, precision agriculture and topographic surveys.

Mounted on a drone, LiDAR surveys terrain and infrastructure from multiple angles to generate 3D models, even beneath partially penetrable vegetation. The payload must balance weight, power draw, range and measurement rate against flight speed and altitude. Accurate synchronization with GNSS and IMU data is essential for surveying, infrastructure inspection and forestry monitoring.

Low weight and controlled power draw.
Enough range for flight speed and altitude.
GNSS/IMU integration and clear post-processing workflow.

Explore this use case →

LiDAR couleur natif pour la perception IA

Ouster Rev8 native color LiDAR fuses color and depth data in silicon for ultra-low latency 3D color perception. Replaces separate camera + LiDAR systems in robotics and autonomous vehicles.

Native-color LiDAR associates synchronized color information with each 3D point, giving perception models a shared geometric and semantic representation. Performing this fusion upstream can simplify cross-sensor calibration and reduce latency compared with separate LiDAR and camera pipelines. It supports segmentation, object classification and scene understanding, provided radiometric quality, lighting and data throughput are properly managed.

Capteur couleur + profondeur simultané, fusion native, faible latence

Explore this use case →

Autonomous robots

Navigation, obstacle avoidance and 3D perception for AMRs, UGVs and industrial robots.

On an AMR, AGV or UGV, LiDAR delivers a metric point cloud for SLAM localization, map building and real-time obstacle detection. Sensor selection depends on field of view, usable range, angular resolution and latency, as well as integration with ROS or ROS 2. Outdoors, resilience to sunlight, dust and vibration is equally critical.

Wide field of view and low latency.
Stable SDK, ROS support and multi-sensor synchronization.
Mechanical robustness for vibration and dust.

Explore this use case →

Smart infrastructure

Counting, classification and area monitoring without direct visual identification.

Installed at an intersection, along a roadway or inside a building, LiDAR tracks pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles in 3D without relying on ambient light. The resulting data supports multimodal counting, flow analysis, signal optimization and event detection while limiting the capture of identifying information. Continuous operation requires weather protection, effective occlusion handling and reliable multi-target processing.

Fixed installation, high IP rating and wide temperature range.
Real-time edge processing or reliable network streams.
Privacy model compatible with public spaces.

Explore this use case →

Mapping & mobile mapping

Point-cloud capture, SLAM, infrastructure inspection and digital twins.

Mapping LiDAR rapidly captures the 3D geometry of buildings, roads, tunnels and industrial sites, including areas with little visual texture. In mobile mapping, measurements are synchronized with an IMU and, where signals are available, GNSS to produce georeferenced point clouds. Final accuracy depends on sensor range and precision, but also on calibration, trajectory estimation and SLAM processing.

Long range and repeatable accuracy.
Precise timestamping with GNSS/INS.
Point density matched to vehicle speed.

Explore this use case →

Security & intrusion detection

Perimeter surveillance, intrusion detection, people counting and access control without visual identification.

LiDAR protects a perimeter by detecting an object's position, size and trajectory by day or night, without producing a photographic image. 3D classification helps distinguish people and vehicles from animals or vegetation, reducing false alarms. Coverage, blind spots, weather conditions and interfaces with CCTV or alarm systems must be considered from the design stage.

24/7 detection independent of lighting conditions.
Low false alarm rate (rain, dust, animals).
Integration with CCTV and alarm systems.

Explore this use case →

💡

Missing an application?

If a use case or application is missing from our index, contact us and we'll add it.

Suggest an application →