YDQA: Ep 129- "What Is SLAM, and How Can Drone Pilots Use SLAM LiDAR Payloads in Real Missions?”

In this week’s episode of Your Drone Questions. Answered, host Chris Breedlove sits down with Stefan Hrabar of Emesent to unpack one of the most important emerging technologies in the drone world: SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping).

What exactly is SLAM?
How does SLAM LiDAR differ from traditional LiDAR systems?
Can SLAM work without GPS?
And—most importantly—how can drone pilots, mapping professionals, and service providers actually use SLAM-based payloads in real-life missions?

Stefan talks about:

• His robotics and autonomy background—from early USC drone research to global deployments
• How SLAM evolved inside Australia’s CSIRO labs
• The origins of Emesent and the development of the Hovermap system
• The difference between visual SLAM, LiDAR SLAM, and mixed-sensor approaches
• Why SLAM is becoming essential for GPS-denied environments
• Real-world use cases: underground mining, bridge inspections, cell towers, indoor scans, stockpiles, and more
• How modern SLAM payloads integrate with platforms like the Freefly Astro and DJI enterprise drones
• New capabilities such as autonomous exploration, waypoint-based scanning, and constrained SLAM with RTK or control points

🔗 Learn more about Emesent:
https://emesent.com

Search #Hovermap on LinkedIn to see real-world missions & customer workflows.

Have a question you'd like answered on a future episode?
 Visit YDQA.io or email chris@dronelaunchacademy.com
.