LESS

A Ray-tracing based 3D Radiative Transfer Model

LESS is a radiative transfer modeling tool developed since 2013, which is specifically designed for 3-D heterogeneous land-surface scenes, capable of accurately simulating multispectral, hyperspectral, LiDAR and other remote-sensing data. It provides user-friendly GUI as well as Python SDK.

中文介绍

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Core Features

The LESS model incorporates state-of-the-art ray-tracing algorithms, delivering powerful simulation capabilities for remote-sensing research and applications.

Complex 3D Scene

LESS supports the simulation of complex 3-D heterogeneous land-surface scenes, including forests, cities, and other natural environments.

High-efficiency Simulation

LESS uses the state-of-art ray-tracing techniques based on a a open-source renderer Mitsuba. LESS can simulate large-scale (e.g., > 1 km) satellite images over explicit 3D scenes.

Rich Simulation Products

By combining weighted forward photon tracing with backward path tracing, it precisely and efficiently simulates multispectral, hyperspectral, thermal-infrared and other remote-sensing signals.

A Brief Introduction of LESS

Application Scenarios

The LESS model demonstrates outstanding application value across a wide range of science domains, including remote sensing of forest ecosystem, urban environment and agriculture.

  • 森林遥感

    Forest Ecosystem Monitoring

    Simulate the photosynthetic, chlorophyll fluorescence, and carbon cycle processes of the forest canopy.

  • 城市遥感

    Urban Environment Monitoring

    Analyze the urban heat effect and the shading impact of buildings on radiative transfer.

  • 激光雷达

    LiDAR Simulation

    Generate high-precision LiDAR waveforms and point cloud data.

  • 高光谱成像

    Hyperspectral Imaging

    Simulate hyperspectral remote sensing data for fine spectral analysis.