Fugro has successfully trialled a prime upgrade to their Fugro Laser Airborne Depth Sounder (LADS) airborne lidar bathymetry (ALB) system. The improved LADS HD+ technology was developed in Fugro’s laser laboratory in Adelaide, Australia, and may be a sophisticated hydrographic mapping system that accurately measures water depth over both the marine and coastal zone environments.

The new advances to the system have doubled the laser speed and therefore the swath width and improved the device detection of the system, greatly increasing data collection efficiency for nautical charting. The system builds upon the proven Australian-developed LADS technology and has been designed for safe, high-speed and cost-effective surveys of unpolluted , shallow coastal areas in depths up to 80 m. ALB are often integrated with traditional hydrographic survey methods using acoustics, like multibeam echosounders (MBES), to support nautical charting and coastal zone management. This development also complements Fugro’s lightweight Rapid Airborne Multibeam Mapping System (RAMMS), which may be operated from small aircraft or from uncrewed aerial vehicle.

As mentioned in the press release, Mark Sinclair, Fugro’s Director of Hydrography in Asia-Pacific, said that this innovation will deliver enhanced survey coverage and object detection to enhance their nautical charts, which are critical to their maritime trade. These data collection enhancements are supported by more efficient processing with Fugro’s Australian-developed Pyxis cloud-based processing, which mixes AI and machine-learning.

The Fugro LADS HD+ system will now be deployed to Papua New Guinea for nautical charting projects, continuing Fugro’s add Pacific Small Island Developing States supporting safety of navigation and global climate change adaption.