Evaluation of Single Photon and Waveform LiDAR

In this short paper, the principles of single photon sensitive LiDAR are presented and compared against state-of-the-art full waveform, linear-mode LiDAR. The differences are explained in theory, and data of either technology are evaluated based on the City of Vienna dataset, captured in 2018 with the SPL100 (Leica) and VQ-1560i (Riegl), respectively. While SPL features a higher areal performance, waveform LiDAR turns out to be more precise, especially in complex target situations like natural or steep surfaces. Furthermore, the article summarizes current activities within EuroSDR concerning a potential Single Photon and linear-mode LiDAR benchmark.