Description
26-58124 Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS)-Deployable Integrated Topographic and Bathymetric (Topo-Bathymetric) LiDAR System
Solicitation Closes at 02 :00 PM on 26 October 2026 Time Zone EDT
RETURN BIDS TO: NRC.BidReceiving-ReceptiondesSoumissions.CNRC@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
Statement of Requirement
Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS)-Deployable Integrated Topographic and
Bathymetric (Topo-Bathymetric) LiDAR System.
The National Research Council of Canada’s (NRC) Centre for Drone Innovation (CDI), part of the Drone and Flight Autonomy Laboratory (DFAL), requires one (1) integrated topo bathymetric LiDAR system deployable from NRC’s medium class Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) to support research, development, testing, method validation, and operational deployments. The system must capture above water topography and shallow water bathymetry within a single factory integrated payload and deliver survey grade outputs through a manufacturer supported hydrographic processing workflow.
BACKGROUND:
LiDAR is used to generate high accuracy topographic data and digital elevation models by measuring precise distances between a sensor and target surfaces. Conventional topographic LiDAR typically operates at near infrared wavelengths that do not penetrate water, so surveys end at the water surface. To characterize shorelines and other shallow water features within a single survey, a topo bathymetric capability is required to detect both the water surface and submerged bottom under suitable conditions.
To support dual use applications such as shoreline mapping, shallow water target detection, wildfire resource assessment, infrastructure inspection, emergency response, and evaluation of potential autonomous landing sites, the Remote Sensing Imaging Group (RSIG) within the Drone and Flight Autonomy Laboratory (DFAL) requires an integrated topo bathymetric LiDAR system deployable from NRC’s medium class RPAS. RSIG, with support from NRC’s Design and Fabrication Department and the Flight Research Laboratory Instrumentation Group, will integrate the system on NRC platforms. Given the field based, survey grade nature of the work, dependable vendor support, training, and documentation are required to maintain operational readiness and minimize downtime, reduce technical risk, and maintain continuity of operations.
1.0 Requirement:
Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS)-deployable integrated topographic and bathymetric (topo-bathymetric) LiDAR system (the system), quantity one (1)
Specifications: The system must:
1.1 Integrated topo-bathymetric capability -collect both topographic and
bathymetric LiDAR data using a single integrated payload
1.2 Bathymetric green laser -use a green laser wavelength (532 nm) providing both terrestrial measurements and water-surface and sub-aqueous bottom returns.
1.3 Unconditional full-waveform recording -record the full return waveform unconditionally for every emitted laser pulse, so that weak submerged-bottom echoes can be recovered, averaged, and reprocessed rather than being permanently lost when they fall below a real-time detection threshold
1.4 Measurement rate and multi-target capability -provide user-selectable measurement rates of up to at least 200 kHz, record at least 15 target returns per emitted pulse, and provide 16-bit intensity information.
1.5 Selectable beam divergence -provide user-selectable laser-beam divergence, adjustable over a range of at least 1 mrad to 6 mrad, so that acquisition can be optimized for different flight altitudes, water clarity, and turbidity conditions.
1.6 Water penetration -be capable of penetrating a minimum of 2 m of clear water under zero-turbidity conditions.
1.7 Scanning field of view - provide an effective scanning field of view of at least 40 degrees perpendicular to the flight direction, equivalent to an off-nadir scan angle of at least 20 degrees, suitable for RPAS topo-bathymetric mapping.
1.8 Integrated survey-grade GNSS/INS - include a ful