Abstract

The quality and availability of Airborne Laserscanning (ALS) data vary significantly by region. This article aims to provide an overview of ALS point cloud data and its derived products, such as Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) and Digital Surface Models (DSMs). Historically, lidar data has predominantly been available as commercial data. However, there is a gradual shift towards more open data policies recently.

The case for Germany

National data

According to Virtanen et al. (2017) “topographic databases maintained by national mapping agencies are currently the most common nationwide data sets in geo-information”, however this is not true for Germany. Until now there is no single data set which is available for entire Germany. However, there are plans to generate such data. The project Digital Twin Germany aims to acquire high density point cloud data for Germany. The project is run by the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG), Germany’s national mapping agency. Data acquisition was supposed to start in 2023 and the goal was to have a data set for entire Germany by 2024, with at least one repition some years later. It was also planned that the data would be mapped by Geiger-Mode or Single Photon Sensor (Leica SPL100) in the vegegtation period (Hopfstock 2021). Plans did not include to make the point cloud data available as open source, although terrain and surface models mitght be made available (with resolutions of 1m). Point cloud data might be accessible for scientific research and national authorities only. However, there were also rumors, that at least a downsampled version of point cloud data will be available.

At the time of writing the initial plans can not be fulfilled anymore and a lot of details about the project are still not organised (see request on https://fragdenstaat.de).

Digital Twin Germany

coordinated by BKG
data meant for government agencies
first data collection 2024-2025 (source)
data collection in the vegetation period
point density >=40 pts/m² (source)
case study applied to Hamburg in Winter 2022 with SPL100 (source)
possibly repeated in a 3-year cycle (source)

Federal data

Geodata collection, administration and publication in Germany is predominantly organized in federal structures by the land surveying and cadaster authorities of the 16 federal states. Although the Working Committee of the surveying authorities of the states of the Federal Republic of Germany (AdV) defines guidelines and standards (DTM spec, DSM spec, Point Cloud spec), there is still a variety of data and their availability in the realm of laserscanning data. For applications on a broader scale, beyond state boundaries, it is essential to know the data availability. Hence, information on federal ALS data was collected from federal mapping agencies’ websites and other sources such as personal and email comunication.

Comparison of available ALS point cloud data in Germany by federal state (in case multiple campaigns are available the date range refers to the last finished campaign)

Federal State	Cost (min)¹	Cost (max)²	Year (from)³	Year (to)⁴	Point Density⁵
Baden-Württemberg	10	80	2016	2021	8
Bavaria	0	0	2011	2021	4
Berlin	0	0	2021	2021	10
Brandenburg	0	0	2017	2022	5
Bremen	80	80	2017	2017	?
Hamburg	?	?	2020	2020	?
Hesse	0	0	2009	2020	4
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania	10	80	2012	2022	2-5
Lower Saxony	3,75	30	2015	2022	4
North Rhine-Westphalia	0	0	2018	2023	4-10
Rhineland-Palatinate	0	0	2018	2023	4
Saarland	0	0	2016	2016	6-8
Saxony	0	0	2015	2023	4
Saxony-Anhalt	0	0	2009	2023	3-5
Schleswig-Holstein	-	-	?	?	3-5
Thuringia	0	0	2017	2023	4

library(mapgl)
maplibre(
    style =
        "https://sgx.geodatenzentrum.de/gdz_basemapde_vektor/styles/bm_web_gry.json",
    center = c(10, 51),
    zoom = 5
) |>
    add_fullscreen_control(position = "top-left") |>
    add_navigation_control()

Baden-Württemberg

DGM025 and DOM1 available as open data since 2024
there are two statewide laserscanning campaigns available and the third is ongoing
- ALS_1 in 2000-2005 (0.8 points per m², 3-80 € per km², 2/3 classes)
- ALS_2 in 2016-2021 (8 points per m², 10-80 € per km², 5 classes)
- ALS_3 in 2022-2029 (8 points per m², 10-80 € per km², 7 Classes), (overview)
statewide ALS data of one campaign for 720.000 €
DGM1 available from first campaign
DGM025 available from second campaign
DOM5 available from first campaign
DOM1 available from second campaign
bDOM02 (20cm) as LAS/LAZ open data with processing fee
no bulk download option

Bayern

DGM1 and point cloud open data since 2024 (?)
data from 2011-2021
nominal density: 4 points per m²
bDOM (40cm) as LAZ with color values open data
nDOM, tDOM and 3D-Mesh in development
classes: ground points, object points, unassignable points near the ground, building points

Berlin

DGM1, DOM1 and point cloud available as open data
data from February 2021
nominal density: 10 points per m²
classes: soil (class 2), low vegetation (class 3), medium vegetation (class 4) and high vegetation (class 5), outliers (class low points class 7) and default (class 0)
EPSG:25833
bDOM1 available based on march 2022 data as XYZ

Brandenburg

DGM1, bDOM1 and point cloud available as open data since end of 2021
there is one laserscanning campaign available and another one is ongoing
- ALS_1 in 2008-2012 (1 point per m², LAS 1.2) (overview)
- ALS_2 in 2017 - ? (overview)
nominal density: 5 points per m²
bDOM from winter flight with poor quality for vegetation
EPSG:25833

Bremen

DGM1 and DOM1 open data since 2024
data from 2015 (Bremerhaven) and 2017 (Bremen)
bDOM (5cm) from 2021 (40 € per km²)
point cloud data for 80 € per km²

Hamburg

DGM1 available as open data since 2024
data from 2010, 2020 and 2022
bDOM1 from 2018 and 2020 as ASCII

Hesse

DGM1, DOM1 and point cloud available as open data since 2022
there are two statewide laserscanning campaigns complete and the third is ongoing (6 year repition cycle)
- ALS_1 in 2009-2014 (4 points per m²)
- ALS_2 in 2015-2021 (8 points per m²)
- ALS_3 in 2022-2028, (overview)

Mecklenburg Western Pomerania

DGM1 and DOM1 available as open data since 2024
current data from 2012-2022 (overview)
nominal density: 2 (until 2014) to 5 (from 2016) points per m²
bDOM with 10cm resolution available as LAZ 1.2 (5-20 € per km²)
point cloud as LAZ 1.2 (10 to 80€ per km²)
classes: ground points, non-ground points? (2,13,15,22,23,25)
DGM and DOM based on old data, orthophotos are also mentioned as data source
EPSG: 25833

Lower Saxony

DGM1 and DOM1 available as open data since 2024
current data from 2013-2022 (overview)
nominal density 4 points per m²
point cloud data (€3.75 -€30 per km²)
bDOM (20cm) available as open data
classes up to 2020: Ground points (2), outliers (7), water points measured (8), water points synthetic (11), sub-ground points (e.g. entrances/driveways, basement shoots and swimming pools) (12), non-ground points (e.g . B. buildings, vegetation and temporary embankments) (13), other points (DGM and DOM-irrelevant points such as power lines, means of transport, containers and birds) (15), overlap points (20,22,23,25 ,26,27)
classes from 2021 (AdV specifications): Ground points (2), outliers (7), measured water points (9), synthetic water points (8), sub-soil points (e.g. entrances/driveways, basement sections and swimming pools) (24), not -Ground points (e.g. buildings, vegetation and temporary embankments) (20), other points (DTM or DOM-irrelevant points such as power lines, means of transport, containers and birds) (1), overlap points (12)

North Rhine-Westphalia

DGM1, DOM1 and point cloud available as open data
current data from 2018-2023 (5 year repition cycle)
point density 4 to 10 points per m²
“Historical 3DMs can also be submitted upon request.”
bDOM (50cm)
classes: 1,2,14,17,18,20,24,26

Rhineland-Palatinate

DGM1 and point cloud available as open data since 2024
nominal density: 4 points per m²
point clouds available as LAZ separated into terrain (last returns) and object points (first returns)
9-year cycle
4-year cycle since 2021
current data from 2018-2023 (overview)
no DOM from ALS available
bDOM (20cm) available as open data

Saarland

DGM1, DOM1 and point cloud available as open data since June 2024
there are two statewide laserscanning campaigns available
- ALS_1 in 2006 (2-3 points per m²)
- ALS_2 in 2016 (6-8 points per m²)
next campaign likely 2025

Saxony-Anhalt

DGM2, DOM2 and point cloud available as open data since 2023
data from 2009, 2015 and 2017-2023 (overview)
nominal density: 3-5 points per m²
DGM from 2021-2023 (?) (overview)
bDOM (20cm) available as open data, updated every 2 years

Saxony

DGM1, DOM1 and point cloud available as open data
data from 2015-2023 (overview)
planned updates
Update in a 6-year cycle
nominal density: 4 points per m²
classes: 02 ground ground points, 20 non-ground points, 08 interpolated water points, 30 interpolated other
EPSG: 25833

Schleswig-Holstein

DGM1 available as open data since 2023
nominal density: 4 points per m²
there is one statewide laserscanning campaign complete and another one is ongoing
- ALS_1 in 2005-2007
- ALS_2 in 2022 - ?
DGM largely from 2005-2007, updated with new data when available
bDOM with 20cm resolution available as open data, updated every 2 years
there is no DOM and no point cloud available (neither open data nor commercial)

Thuringia

DGM1, DOM1 and pointcloud available as open data since 2017
there are two statewide laserscanning campaigns complete and the third is ongoing
- ALS_1 in 2010-2013
- ALS_2 in 2014-2019
- ALS_3 in 2020-2025, (overview)
nominal density: 4 points per m²
historical data from 1996 is also available in parts

References

Hopfstock, Anja. 2021. “Auf dem Weg zu einem Digitalen Zwilling von Deutschland.” zfv – Zeitschrift für Geodäsie, Geoinformation und Landmanagement, no. 6/2021: 385–90. https://doi.org/10.12902/zfv-0379-2021.

Virtanen, Juho-Pekka, Antero Kukko, Harri Kaartinen, Anttoni Jaakkola, Tuomas Turppa, Hannu Hyyppä, and Juha Hyyppä. 2017. “Nationwide Point Cloud—The Future Topographic Core Data.” ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information 6 (8): 243. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi6080243.

Footnotes

in € per km² (with volume discount; plus processing fee)↩︎
in € per km² (plus processing fee)↩︎
oldest data for statewide coverage↩︎
newsest data for statewide coverage↩︎
specified minimum number of points per m²↩︎

Citation

For attribution, please cite this work as:

Wiesehahn, Jens. 2023. “Lidar Data Availability.” November 3, 2023. https://wiesehahn.github.io/posts/lidar_availability/.