Drone Terrain Mapping

Using LiDAR technology, digital terrain models (DTMs) are able to ‘see through' vegetation. The number of data points captured also make this the most accurate method of capturing ground elevation.

‍

How Digital Terrain Models are Created

LiDAR allows for vegetation and other ground cover to be filtered out in order to capture the underlying terrain. During a drone flight, millions of cloud points - 3 dimensional coordinates - are captured every second. Software is then able to take this incredibly detailed map and distinguish between different surface levels. From a single flight, models of both an area's surface objects and the ground underneath these can be created.

Applications of Drone Terrain Mapping

The applications of both drone surface and terrain mapping are numerous and constantly expanding. In the case of terrain mapping, natural landscape features and changes that were previously hidden are now much more detectable. Drone mapping can be used to pick up warning signs of avalanches or landslides early by looking for changes to slopes across time. It can be used to improve harvest planning and haulage road location for planted forests. And it has been used in archaeology to locate and survey previously unnoticed archaeological sites.

Recon has worked on drone terrain mapping projects of all kinds, including land development, mining, transport and infrastructure. We have wide-reaching expertise in creating digital terrain models of all kinds, including volumetric calculation and photorealistic imagery where these are required.

Contact Recon today to find out how we can improve your next project.

‍