001 - Overview

What is a Digital Elevation Model?

Understanding the differences and appropriate uses is essential for achieving the right outcome for your project.

Digital elevation model of a deep stone canyon. A meandering and curving river below. GIS 3D product made after proccesing aerial data.

Digital Elevation Model (DEM) is an umbrella term for a model which maps the surface of the earth, and are generally recognised in two different forms; DTMs & DSMs.

What are the differences between DEMs, DTMs & DSMs?

Choosing the right data product for your project is essential. DTMs and DSMs provide crucial details for various applications, and offer unique strengths for digital terrain analysis.

Digital Terrain Model (DTM)

A Digital Terrain Model (DTM) represents the bare Earth's surface, stripped of any natural or man-made objects. It captures the elevation data of the ground itself, including features like hills, valleys, and plains but excludes objects such as trees and buildings.

Digital Surface Model (DSM)

A Digital Surface Model (DSM) represents the Earth's surface as-is, including all natural and man-made features. It captures elevation data from the ground and any objects on it, such as buildings, vegetation, and other structures.

002 - Advantages

What are the key strengths of DTMs & DSMs?

Harness the power of technology for superior planning, monitoring, and decision-making in your projects.

What are the main benefits of DEMs, DTMs or DSMs?

Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) benefit from being easily-transferable, retaining crucial information which can be exported into common industry formats across many sectors.

Terrain Information & Modelling

DTMs & DSMs provide a basis for understanding the 3D characteristics of land surfaces and slopes, and real-world environmental forecasting and modelling.

Efficient Elevation Visualisation

DTMs & DSMs provide the capability of being quickly turned into contour maps or a colour-scale for easy identification of a landscape or surface’s elevation.

Bare Earth Surface Analysis

DTMs have a unique capability to strip away man-made and natural features on the earth's surface, allowing for visualisation of the bare underlying terrain.

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003 - Industry Sectors

How will DTMs or DSMs benefit my project?

We leverage cutting-edge UAV imaging technologies tailored to meet specific project needs.

Architecture, Engineering and Construction

Topographic Mapping

Detailed elevation data for creating accurate topographic maps used in various applications like urban planning, construction, and land use management.

Site Planning

Help engineers and architects in planning construction sites by providing detailed information about the terrain, allowing for better project and risk management.

Utilities & Infrastructure

Infrastructure Development

They are used in the design and construction of infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and tunnels, ensuring that they are built in the most suitable locations.

Telecommunication Network Planning

Planning cell tower and antenna placement for optimal coverage, allowing for the identification of potential signal obstructions, and line-of-sight analysis.

Environmental Management

Forest Management

Assessing forest structure, planning sustainable logging operations and capturing the height of forest canopies to aid in biomass estimation and habitat monitoring.

Flood Risk and Water Drainage Assessment 

Used as a basis to model water flow, watersheds and drainage patterns, helping  predict/manage flood risks by identifying flood-prone areas.

Renewable Energy

Wind Turbine Placement

Assisting in determining the best placement for turbines, how wind flows over the terrain and how it will interact with turbine blades and influence power output.

Solar Energy Planning 

Assessing solar potential and shading effects, ensuring the strategic placement of solar panels for maximum efficiency and energy yields with shading mitigated.

Farming & Agriculture

Biomass Estimation 

DTMs allow for a base from soil-level from which to measure the crops above, and calculate the biomass of crops present in farmers’ fields for further analysis.

Arable Crop Orientation

DEMs can allow the optimisation of planting along south-facing slopes, where higher levels of sunlight are required to boost annual growth of arable crops.

Disaster Management

Erosion Control 

Help in analysing erosion patterns and planning mitigation strategies to prevent soil loss, land degradation and land slips.

Damage Assessment 

Assessing damage to buildings and infrastructure post-disaster, allowing informed decision-making to help emergency responders and streamline recovery efforts.

If you have further enquiries, we are always available to discuss your projects. Please feel free to get in touch via our contact form.

004 - FAQ

Want to find out more?

Everything you need to know about our Digital Elevation Models.

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005 - Contact

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