The International LiDAR Mapping Forum – 2009 Review
The ILMF proved why it is the premier event for the LiDAR industry when it attracted 498 registered professionals from all over the world to its home for 2009 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA from January 26-28 2009.
The ILMF proved why it is the premier event for the LiDAR industry when it attracted 498 registered professionals from all over the world to its home for 2009 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA from January 26-28 2009.
The last event saw record growth in attendance from both delegates and visitors and given the current economic constraints affecting much of the world, such support for 2009 is a reflection of how important LIDAR and the ILMF conference are in today’s market place.
A record number of 38 leading suppliers and manufacturers of LiDAR technology from the USA, Canada, Germany, Sweden, UK, India, China, Israel, Finland, Norway and Korea exhibited making for a lively and buzzing exhibition. More buyers and end-users than ever before were attending, keeping the exhibitors working hard during the day, and writing proposals at night!
The highly popular technical conference, which saw many sessions full to bursting, focused on work-in progress reports on all aspects of airborne and bathymetry LiDAR with a particular emphasis on papers that addressed the key commercial and technical issues facing the industry.
For those new to the LiDAR business, an entry-level workshop series was available, aimed at educating potential new customers and end-users on the applications and benefits of LiDAR technology. These sessions were run for the first time in 2008 and proved once more to be a real draw for visitors, all keen to find out about the capabilities of this exciting technology
The real foundation of the ILMF conference series is to ensure that ample time is provided to continue discussions with fellow operators, manufacturers and service providers in more informal settings. This was certainly achieved at the 2009 event with the opening night reception on the show floor and the following night at the well-known Pat O’Briens bar.
ASPRS (American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing) once again continued its support for the event and this year incorporated a special LiDAR ‘hot topics’ session that tackled the challenge of developing standards and best practices for the industry. The workshop was extremely well attended.
Following the event, the ILMF team has been inundated with positive feedback for the 2009 event and are already making plans for the tenth ILMF in 2010! |
