Ophir offers an improvement to remote vegetation-sensing systems with the development of a Vegetation Canopy Lidar (VCL) capable of providing highly detailed measurements of

• three-dimensional vegetation structure
• density
• spatial extent

This system may also provide detailed measurements of

• ocean surface roughness
• earth’s topography
• surface structure and roughness

One significant limitation of passive optical and active radar imaging systems is that they cannot provide a direct measurement of the density and quantity of vegetation and biomass. Using a Random Modulated Continuous Wave (RMCW) light delivery method enables effective measurement from the top of the canopy through and including the ground.  RMCW also eliminates the need for high-peak power pulsed-laser sources, reducing size, cost, weight and power consumption.