How LiDAR Can Capture Accurate Ground Data Through Dense Bean Crops

At peak season, bean crops can grow 4–5 feet tall, making it difficult for traditional survey methods to capture accurate ground topography. This is where LiDAR comes in.

Our team recently conducted a flight over a mature bean field using a Rock Robotic R3 Pro sensor mounted on an M300 drone, with data processed by Whrixx. The mission was executed at an altitude of 160 feet and a speed of 15 mph, delivering high-resolution coverage of the area.

Extracting data down to the bare earth was challenging, as we needed to filter out points that struck the bean stalks just inches above ground. Despite the dense vegetation, we gathered ample points to construct an accurate surface. The resulting LiDAR data matched perfectly with contours obtained from traditional surveying, showcasing the precision of this method.

Utilizing LiDAR for such projects significantly reduces fieldwork time. Manually collecting points in 4–5 foot tall beans is labor-intensive and prone to minor errors. With effective flight planning and workflows, LiDAR consistently reaches the bare earth, even in difficult crop conditions.

This project demonstrates how UAV-based LiDAR, coupled with expert processing workflows, can deliver faster, safer, and more precise data compared to traditional techniques, even in the densest fields.