Geiger-mode lidar holds promise for substantial increases in data collection rates, reduction in sensor SWaP, and high data utility especially in areas where foliage penetration is necessary. This hands-on workshop educates students so they can realize this promise in practical applications. The workshop will cover the basics of how Geiger-mode lidar works and how to think about trade-offs. Using the 3DEO Zion lidar instrument as an example, the students will be guided through the mission planning process for example collections such as detailed urban mapping, foliage penetration, and corridor mapping. Participants will be taken through the data processing sequence starting with raw sensor data culminating in aggregated, de-noised point clouds. Geiger-mode data can be processed to produce additional metadata fields that can be exploited to yield data products with unique utility. Students will explore these metadata in example point clouds.

Learning objectives: 

1. Understand signal requirements and angular diversity requirements, and translate into a mission plan 

2. Understand spatial resolution, precision, post spacing, and scan aggregation for single-photon systems 

3. Understand the Geiger-mode processing tools and workflow 

4. Understand basics of establishing saliency of points using metadata for cropping and coloring 

5. Understand applications and information utility of Geiger-mode point clouds