- The top app for LiDAR in a Google search is orienteering.
- Reminds me of the early days of GPS when people planned hikes with the digital USGS topo maps.
- The more consumer apps the better.
If you search Google for the term LiDAR guess what is the first application to appear? That’s it – orienteering, and it is found at www.lidarbasemaps.org. It’s not a hardware or software vendor, or a mapping firm, and unfortunately it’s not LiDAR News – it’s a consumer application. Now that is really interesting and a tribute to the site’s author Greg Lennon.
The site is a collection of references that provide links to articles and websites where those outdoor adventurers can learn about LiDAR and how to create their own topographic maps. This reminds me of the early days of GPS where one of the first digital map series that was readily available to the public was the USGS 7.5 minute topo series. Entire companies and online businesses were built around planning hikes with these popular digital topo maps.
So what’s the draw? People are now realizing is that with LiDAR they can do a lot better than 20 foot contours. Seems obvious perhaps, but Greg is providing the one stop shop. He obviously is generating the traffic. The more consumer apps the better.
