ABSTRACT
Full Waveform LiDAR data have been available for many years, yet applications just recently started discovering its potential in airborne topographic surveying. Forestry and earth sciences applications have been traditionally using waveform processing for many years, but topographic mapping has just started exploring the benefits of waveform. The potential advantages are improved point cloud generation, better object surface characterization, and support for object classification. However, there are several implementations and performance issues, such as the availability of waveform processing tools and waveform compression methods that should be addressed before applications can take full advantage of the availability of waveform data. The paper provides an overview of the waveform application potential in both airborne and mobile LiDAR