Open print view

Laser scanning

Laser scanning refers to the linear or grid-based scanning of surfaces or objects with a laser beam in order to measure them, process them or produce an image.

Laser scanning
The laser scanning method: here an aircraft is scanning the terrain.

There are two areas of application for laser scanning:

  • Terrestrial laser scanning on the ground
  • Aerial laser scanning from an aircraft or helicopter

With terrestrial laser scanning, a scanner mounted on a tripod scans the surroundings. By contrast, aerial laser scanning is a highly dynamic method: here, during the scan it is also necessary to measure the position and orientation of the scanner.

With both methods the object or terrain is scanned using a laser beam and the distance between the scanner and the object is measured. Within a few minutes, a point cloud is formed comprising millions of measured points. In this way, data can be obtained relating to the form and structure of the surface.


Federal Office of Topography swisstopo Seftigenstrasse 264
P.O. Box
3084 Wabern
Tel.
+41 58 469 01 11

E-mail


Relevant authority

Geodesy and Federal Directorate of Cadastral Surveying
E-mail

Federal Office of Topography swisstopo

Seftigenstrasse 264
P.O. Box
3084 Wabern

Show map