Skip to main content
Calcimator

Drone LiDAR Coverage Calculator

Calculate LiDAR swath width and point density from altitude, scan angle, pulse rate, and drone speed.

Inputs

ft
°
kHz
Hz
m/s

Results

Swath Width

84 m

≈ 7 school buses

Point Density

714.1 pts/m²

Effective Swath58.8 m
Coverage Rate105.9 ha/hr
Points per Scan Line3,000
How to Use This Calculator
  1. Enter flight altitude (m AGL) and LiDAR scanner field of view (scan angle in degrees).
  2. Set pulse repetition rate (kHz), scan line frequency (Hz), and drone ground speed (m/s).
  3. Enter desired side overlap (%) between adjacent flight lines.
  4. Review swath width (m), point density (pts/m²), effective swath, and area coverage rate (ha/hr).
  5. Increase altitude to cover more area per flight at the cost of reduced point density.

How the result changes with Scan Angle (FOV)

Scan Angle (FOV)Swath WidthPoint Density
2122.2 m2,697.8 pts/m²
4954.7 m1,097.1 pts/m²
82104.3 m575.2 pts/m²
109168.2 m356.6 pts/m²

What each input means

Flight Altitude
Altitude above ground level.
Scan Angle (FOV)
Total LiDAR field of view angle.
Pulse Rate
LiDAR pulse repetition rate in thousands per second.
Scan Frequency
Number of scan lines per second.
Drone Speed
Average flight speed during survey.
Side Overlap
Overlap between adjacent flight lines.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    4 parameters
    Flight Altitude = 60, Scan Angle (FOV) = 70, Pulse Rate = 300, Scan Frequency = 100 = 6 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate Swath Width
    Swath Width
    84 = 84
  3. Calculate Point Density
    Point Density
    714.1 = 714.1
  4. Calculate Effective Swath
    Effective Swath
    58.8 = 58.8
  5. Calculate Coverage Rate
    Coverage Rate
    105.9 = 105.9

Engine last updated . Checked against 1 independently-derived test — how we verify calculators.

Related Calculators

The questions that sit next to this one — chosen by subject, including calculators filed under a different category.

Drone Operations

Aerial Survey Coverage Calculator

Calculate flight lines, image count, and overlap for drone mapping missions based on area size, altitude, and camera specs.

Drone Operations

Ground Sample Distance (GSD) Calculator

Calculate ground sample distance from flight altitude, sensor size, and lens focal length for drone mapping and inspection.

Drone Operations

Drone Flight Time Calculator

Estimate flight duration from battery capacity, payload weight, and wind conditions. Plan safe mission endurance.

Precision Agriculture

Drone Crop Scouting Calculator

Plan a drone flight for field scouting including image overlap, flight time, and battery requirements.

More in Technology & Computing.