MRI: Acquisition of a Light-Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) System for Civil Infrastructure Research

MRI：获取用于民用基础设施研究的光探测和测距 (LIDAR) 系统

• 批准号: 1428322
• 负责人: Michael McGuire
• 金额: $ 15.86万
• 依托单位: Lafayette College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-06-01 至 2017-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1428322&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Acquisition; Light; Detection; Ranging

This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award funds the acquisition of an advanced time-of-flight terrestrial Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) system to expand research opportunities, and to integrate cutting edge technology into the engineering and sciences classrooms at Lafayette College. Time-of-flight LIDAR uses laser pulses to capture the position and reflectivity of objects and surfaces in three-dimensional space. The new generation of LIDAR technology and associated post-processing software are far more capable and user friendly than previous generations. This particular LIDAR system is sturdy enough for hands-on use by undergraduate students and is equipped with full waveform processing to explore entirely new ways of visualizing and characterizing objects and terrain. The movement of LIDAR technology toward the mainstream is creating a revolution in how engineers and scientists sense, map, and record the natural and built environment. This revolution extends beyond the sciences and into fields of historical preservation, law enforcement, and art. In the foreseeable future, even personal vehicles will utilize LIDAR for autonomous navigation. Therefore, it is essential to introduce students at an undergraduate level to LIDAR, and assist them in identifying new and creative uses of this technology. The LIDAR system and the research it will enable will be used for: the training of future engineers and scientists through research and pedagogy that embraces new technology; the development of new collaborations and partnerships between academia and industry; and the significant enhancement of the capability to perform leading edge research at Lafayette College. Lafayette students involved in undergraduate research are typically inspired to pursue advanced degrees and research-related professions in both academia and industry. LIDAR is a versatile tool that will not only expand the research infrastructure at Lafayette but also provide new experimental experiences in the engineering and science curricula. The LIDAR system will support at least nine courses at Lafayette College as well as research intensive independent study and honors thesis courses, with approximately 400 student contacts per year. The high tech nature and portability of the LIDAR lends itself well to conducting outreach demonstrations for local high school students, many of whom are underrepresented minorities, to generate excitement about the STEM fields. The PI and Co-PIs have strong records mentoring women students and will take advantage of new efforts that are underway at Lafayette to recruit additional members of underrepresented groups into their research program The intellectual merit of this project is centered on creating new knowledge and enhancing the research opportunities for faculty and undergraduate students at Lafayette College. The LIDAR system will have the immediate impact of enabling the PI, Co-PIs, research students, and outside collaborators in academia and industry to conduct research in the following areas: 1) transportation infrastructure, 2) slope stability and erosional processes, 3) hydrology and sediment transport, and 4) application of remote sensing to soil characterization. The projects in these areas directly address important issues and questions related to the built and natural environments at a local and national level. Specifically, the LIDAR system will enable research activities with the following impacts: development of best practices for using LIDAR to measure performance of Geosynthetic-Reinforced Soil Integrated Bridge Systems (GRS-IBS); movement toward consensus on how to efficiently design Column-Supported Embankments (CSEs); advancement in understanding of the complex soil-structure interaction that exists in slopes stabilized with slender reinforcing elements; characterization of the factors leading to instability of slopes near Lafayette College formed in the Franklin Formation; examination of the effects of bedrock geology and long-term dam operation on channel morphology along rivers and streams; and development of an innovative concept to characterize key properties of compacted soil by leveraging data from remote sensing instruments.

该主要研究仪器（MRI）奖资助收购先进的飞行时间地面光探测和测距（LIDAR）系统，以扩大研究机会，并将尖端技术融入拉斐特学院的工程和科学教室。飞行时间激光雷达使用激光脉冲来捕获三维空间中物体和表面的位置和反射率。新一代激光雷达技术和相关的后处理软件比前几代产品功能更强大，用户更友好。这种特殊的激光雷达系统足够坚固，适合本科生动手使用，并配备了完整的波形处理，以探索可视化和表征物体和地形的全新方法。LIDAR技术走向主流的趋势正在为工程师和科学家感知、绘制和记录自然和建筑环境的方式带来一场革命。这场革命超越了科学，进入了历史保护、执法和艺术领域。在可预见的未来，即使是个人车辆也将利用激光雷达进行自主导航。因此，有必要向本科生介绍LIDAR，并帮助他们识别这项技术的新的和创造性的用途。LIDAR系统及其研究将用于：通过研究和教学法培训未来的工程师和科学家，包括新技术;学术界和工业界之间新的合作和伙伴关系的发展;以及在拉斐特学院进行前沿研究的能力的显着增强。参与本科研究的拉斐特学生通常受到启发，在学术界和工业界攻读高级学位和研究相关专业。LIDAR是一种多功能的工具，不仅可以扩大拉斐特大学的研究基础设施，还可以为工程和科学课程提供新的实验经验。LIDAR系统将支持拉斐特学院的至少9门课程，以及研究密集型独立学习和荣誉论文课程，每年约有400名学生接触。LIDAR的高科技性质和便携性非常适合为当地高中生（其中许多是代表性不足的少数民族）进行外展演示，以激发人们对STEM领域的兴趣。PI和Co-PI有很好的记录指导女学生，并将利用拉法叶正在进行的新努力，招募更多代表性不足的群体成员加入他们的研究计划该项目的智力价值集中在创造新知识和提高拉法叶学院教师和本科生的研究机会。LIDAR系统将产生直接影响，使PI，Co-PI，研究生以及学术界和工业界的外部合作者能够在以下领域进行研究：1）交通基础设施，2）边坡稳定性和侵蚀过程，3）水文和沉积物运输，以及4）遥感应用于土壤表征。这些领域的项目直接处理与地方和国家一级的人造环境和自然环境有关的重要问题。具体而言，激光雷达系统将使研究活动具有以下影响：开发使用激光雷达测量土工合成材料-加筋土集成桥梁系统（GRS-IBS）性能的最佳实践;就如何有效设计柱支撑路堤（CSE）达成共识;提高对存在于用细长加固元件稳定的斜坡中的复杂土壤-结构相互作用的理解;确定导致拉斐特学院附近富兰克林组形成的斜坡不稳定的因素;检查基岩地质和长期大坝运行对沿着河道形态的影响;开发一种创新概念，利用遥感仪器的数据确定压实土壤的主要特性。