Toward an Optimal Algorithm for LiDAR Waveform Decomposition

This letter introduces a new approach for light detection and ranging (LiDAR) waveform decomposition. First, inflection points are identified by the Ramer-Douglas-Peucker curve-fitting algorithm, and each inflection point has a corresponding baseline during curve fitting. Second, according to the spatial relation between the baseline and the inflection point, peaks are selected from the inflection points. The distance between each peak and its baseline and the maximum number of peaks are employed as a criterion to select a "significant" peak. Initial parameters such as width and boundaries of peaks provide restraints for the decomposition; right and left boundaries are estimated via a conditional search. Each peak is fitted by a Gaussian function separately, and other parts of the waveform are fitted as line segments. Experiments are implemented on waveforms acquired by both small-footprint LiDAR system LMS-Q560 and large-footprint LiDAR system Laser Vegetation Imaging Sensor. The results indicate that the algorithm could provide an optimal solution for LiDAR waveform decomposition.