US Patent 8670591 Foliage penetration based on 4D LIDAR datasets

A method for detecting terrain, through foliage, includes the steps of: receiving point cloud data in a three-dimensional (3D) space from an airborne platform, in which the point cloud data includes foliage that obscures the object; reformatting the point cloud data from the 3D space into a one-dimensional (1D) space to form a 1D signal; and decomposing the 1D signal using a wavelet transform (WT) to form a decomposed WT signal. The decomposed WT signal is reconstructed to form a low-pass filtered profile. The method classifies the low-pass filtered profile as terrain. The terrain includes a natural terrain, or a ground profile.