LiDAR Deep Dive

LiDAR turns moving traffic into measurable 3D geometry.

RITAIS treats LiDAR as a primary classification engine for MLFF, not as a supplementary camera.

How LiDAR works

Time-of-flight laser scanning returns X, Y, Z and intensity.

LiDAR fires pulsed laser beams across the gantry zone. By timing the return of each pulse, the system produces precise 3D coordinates for every reflection point.

Pulse rate

Up to 1.2 million points per second.

Range precision

Centimeter-level distance measurement for vehicle profile analysis.

Output

X, Y, Z plus intensity per return point.

What the system sees

Vehicle separation, height mapping, axle estimation and geometric fingerprinting.

Vehicle separationDistinguishes truck plus trailer from passenger car and motorcycle, even in convoys.

Height mappingMeasures profile height to support toll class without driver input.

Axle estimationCounts axle groups for HGV categories.

Geometric fingerprintLength, width and height profile build a vehicle silhouette.

Why it matters in MLFF

Cameras see texture. Radar sees motion. LiDAR sees shape.

LiDAR is indispensable because tolling class is a geometry problem: vehicle height, length, width, axle grouping and separation matter. It complements radar trajectory and ANPR identity.

Continue to Sensor Fusion

Point cloud attributes

Every pulse returns a structured data point.

Value	Meaning
X	Lateral position across lane.
Y	Longitudinal position along road.
Z	Height above road surface.
Intensity	Surface reflectivity or material response.