Wearable Mobile LiDAR Applications and Measurement Accuracy Assessment in Topographic Surveying
Keywords:
Pedestrian mapping, Trajectory drift, Independent checkpoints, Terrain modelling, Uncertainty propagationAbstract
Wearable mobile light detection and ranging offers a practical approach to three dimensional surveying where terrain, narrow passages, or complex surfaces restrict conventional access. Its usefulness depends on the accuracy of the final mapping product rather than point density alone. This narrative review examines applications in terrain mapping, slope documentation, excavation surveying, and geometrically complex environments using literature published before 2025. Evidence from wearable systems is distinguished from contextual studies using terrestrial scanners, aerial platforms, and photogrammetry. The synthesis identifies trajectory drift, incomplete surface visibility, ground classification, georeferencing, and surface interpolation as interacting sources of error. A reproducible assessment framework is proposed that separates independent coordinate accuracy, local surface agreement, repeatability, completeness, and uncertainty in derived terrain products. The framework combines distributed checkpoints, repeated survey routes, reference surface comparisons, and sensitivity analysis of filtering and grid resolution. The review supports conditional adoption of wearable systems for topographic surveying when independent validation demonstrates compliance with the intended tolerance. It does not establish a universal accuracy value or report a new field experiment.
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