Solid-state lidar solutions developer LeddarTech Inc. has announced that its LeddarOne optical sensor has been selected by Robota LLC as the altimeter for the Eclipse, its new generation of fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles for professional surveying applications. LeddarOne proved to be the best technology available to provide the drone’s autopilot with the precise, real-time height-above-ground-level measurements required during the sensitive landing phase. Benchmarked with other ranging technologies as part of a thorough evaluation process, LeddarOne outperformed ultrasonic and optical flow sensors with superior range and environmental durability due to its diffuse IR LED source. The LeddarOne also outperformed competing lidar solutions to which it was compared. “Finding a small sensor with sufficient range and precision that would work in a variety of outdoor conditions turned out to be very challenging,” said Antonio Liska, president of Robota. “When selecting an altimeter for the Eclipse, we considered many criteria including size, power consumption, detection range, refresh rate and reliable detection on targets in various conditions, including snow.” Introduced in 2016, the custom-made Eclipse is an advanced mapping system that can cover nearly 400 acres per 50-minute flight and capture high-resolution images with on-board cameras. Its applications include agriculture, construction, mining and urban analysis.