Debate: Is LiDAR tech worth the money for small site surveys?

I spent $2,500 renting a LiDAR scanner for a weekend dig near Tucson last fall. It mapped a 3 acre site in 6 hours, something that would have taken us weeks with traditional tools. But the software to process the data cost another $400 and it took me 3 days just to figure out the outputs. Did it save time overall or did I burn cash on gadget hype? Anyone else tried this and have thoughts on whether it's worth it for smaller projects?

3 comments

3 Comments

logan5618d ago

Hold up, $2,500 for a weekend rental? That's wild. I didn't even know it cost that much just to borrow one for a couple days.

the_wendy8d ago

Geez, it really does feel like everything's getting priced for a different tax bracket lately... even the stuff we used to think was just for regular folks. I see it all the time at the grocery store, a simple loaf of bread or a basic bag of apples costs what a whole meal used to a few years back. It's like the whole world decided to just bump up the baseline on us without asking.

shane_hayes8d ago

Yeah the grocery store feels like a casino now, but instead of winning you just get a slightly less sad receipt. What's next, paying extra just to breathe the air in the produce section?