LiDAR (Light, Detection and Ranging) refers to a method of survey data capture whereby a laser is reflected off an object and the response time to the return sensor enables the calculation of the distance. When many thousands of laser pulses occur every second a detailed 3D point cloud of the surroundings can be created.
AUAV have prepared a detailed comparison of the difference between drone aerial LiDAR surveys and those captured using photogrammetric methods. Data capture with a drone-based LiDAR is more expensive than that completed with photogrammetry, mostly due to the costs of the sensors and drones that are required to carry them.