February 4th, 2025
ASPRS Approves Guidelines on Quantifying Horizontal Sampling Density of Aerial Lidar Point Cloud Data – EDITION 1, VERSION 1.0

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Baton Rouge, LA February 3, 2025: The American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) is pleased to announce adoption of the Guidelines on Quantifying Horizontal Sampling Density of Aerial Lidar Point Cloud Data – Edition 1, Version 1.0 published in January 2025.

This document was written for the following purposes:

1. To review the variety of lidar point density measurement and reporting methods
2. To educate the reader of the benefits of these, but more importantly the limitations of each
3. To make recommendations of design density and the use of the most appropriate method for project wide testing density

This paper offers the mapping community detailed guidelines to help the practitioners measure and report lidar point cloud density with respect to horizontal sampling in a manner that is consistent, error free, and defendable.

Edition 1, Version 1 was adopted after a formal public review period ending December 31, 2024. Public comments were incorporated into the final version adopted by the ASPRS Board of Directors on February 3, 2025.

“This paper was needed in the airborne lidar mapping industry to highlight significant differences in density measurement methods that have been used to date which are inherent with the potential to produce vastly differing results. The need for deconfliction and standardization was overdue” said Matt Bethel, Director of Operations and Technology at Merrick & Company who led the ASPRS Lidar Density Working Group. “This document represents a collaborative effort by over a dozen subject matter experts representing public, private, and academic sectors. With this effort five years in the making, we are pleased to provide ASPRS guidelines on quantifying horizontal sampling density of aerial lidar point cloud data.”

Established in 1934, the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) is a scientific association serving over 2,000 professional members around the world, providing its members professional development through education and networking experiences, professional certification, publications, scholarships, and other services. ASPRS advances the knowledge and improves understanding of mapping sciences to promote the responsible applications of photogrammetry, remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS) and supporting technologies