LIDAR Ground Truth Surveys

The Environment Agency LIDAR Ground Truth surveys dataset is an archive of elevation points and attribute information that have been independently surveyed to verify the accuracy of the EA's LIDAR timestamped surveys. Captured by various independent surveyors, a ground truth survey is a collection of a few hundred points captured on a flat, unambiguous surface such as a tarmac car park or tennis court using GPS. Each ground truth point has an accuracy of +/-3cm R.M.S.E and contains attribute information such as the date of survey, surface type, survey method and transformation and geoidal models used. A ground truth survey may potentially be used for multiple LIDAR surveys provided it is less than 5 years old, or 3 years for coastal projects.

The LIDAR timestamped survey is compared against the ground truth survey to assess the Root Mean Square Error (R.M.S.E), standard deviation and random error of the LIDAR. All LIDAR surveys must report an error of less than +/-15cm RMSE and 10cm for standard deviation and random error to pass quality control. For the specific ground truth results for a LIDAR survey please contact us.