ABSTRACT
Digital elevation model (DEM) is a very important product that represents the topography digitally, which uses limited topographic elevation data to realize the digital simulation of the surface shape. To solve the difficulty of DEM production in a large range of complex mountainous areas, the method of constructing DEM using LiDAR point cloud data was proposed in this paper. Airborne LiDAR is one of the most effective and reliable methods of terrain data collection. Airborne LiDAR technology can obtain high-density point cloud data. It has the characteristics of small fieldwork and high accuracy and has unique advantages in the production of DEM products. In this paper, taking a mountainous area with dense vegetation in Gansu Province as an example, the point cloud data of this area was collected by airborne LiDAR technology to produce DEM. The accuracy of the DEM was verified by the data of the field measurement points obtained with the method of RTK and total station in the same area. The results show that this method can improve DEM production efficiency and reduce costs. At the same time, the data accuracy can meet the requirements of large-scale DEM.
