A range of hardware options are available for many of the Riegl laser scanners, including an internal sync timer for the Riegl LMS Z-series and Q-series and the scanner rotation synchronization for the Riegl 2D laser scanners.
Internal Sync Timer Software
For GPS-synchronized time stamping of scan data.
The scanner optionally offers a time-stamping mechanism to add real-time-clock information to each laser range measurement. Taking full advantage of this feature needs:
A GPS synchronization output line, sending SYNC pulses in periods of 1 second (1PPS), permanently connected to a scanner input line (Trigger input).
The GPS serial RS232 port connected to a PC controlling the scanner for time synchronization purposes prior to scan data acquisition or for synchronization checks. Both SYNC pulse as well as RS232 interface are standard for GPS receivers.
For synchronizing scan lines to external timing signal.
Scan Sync for RIEGL 2D Laser Scanners allows:
Synchronization of the data acquisition of a single laser scanner or several laser scanners to an external event pulse, typically the PPS-signal of a GPS receiver, whereas this event pulse can be fed to other units of a data acquisition system for synchronized operation (e.g., a camera is triggered with start of a scan line).
Increasing the data acquisition speed by operating several laser scanners, as in some data acquisition systems the acquisition speed of a single laser scanner may be not sufficient. Operating several laser scanners scanning the same angular range requires the scanners to be synchronized to achieve a well-defined scan pattern and to avoid interference between the scanners.
