Why Is Lidar Better Than Other Forms of Mapping?

Bathymetric lidar can collect more data than a boat that's travelling at six, maybe ten knots and has a much narrower swath. Space-based systems are cheaper but don't get what you need to map seagrass with the detail we're talking about. There are some other bits as well about additional information that we can extract from the lidar - how it interacts with plant life itself. We believe, and we've had some successful tests, but we haven't productionized it yet, that we can actually help identify species of seagrasses with the lidar.