Digital Elevation Models

Ultra-High Resolution
Elevation Models

South Africa's first homogeneous national elevation dataset - 25cm resolution imagery covering 1.2 million km², processed into 1m DSMs and 2–5m DTMs with AI-driven bare-earth classification.

25cm Imagery1m DSM2–5m DTM3D Buildings1.2M km² Coverage
25cm
Source imagery resolution
1m
Digital Surface Model
2–5m
Digital Terrain Model
1.2M km²
National coverage
Foundation Models

DSM vs DTM - What's the Difference?

Two complementary elevation products derived from the same 25cm source imagery, each serving a distinct analytical purpose.

Digital Surface Model hillshade
DSM

Digital Surface Model

Captures everything above ground - buildings, trees, bridges, infrastructure. Ideal for urban planning, telecommunications line-of-sight and solar analysis.
Digital Terrain Model hillshade
DTM

Digital Terrain Model

Bare earth only - all above-ground features removed by Riskscape's proprietary ML pipeline. Used for flood modelling, slope analysis and hydrological studies.
DTM vs DSM visual comparison
Data Acquisition

Photogrammetry vs LiDAR

Two primary methods for generating high-precision terrain models - each with distinct strengths and trade-offs at national scale.

Photogrammetry vs LiDAR comparison
Photogrammetry triangulates from overlapping images; LiDAR times laser returns.
Photogrammetry

Cost-effective at national scale

High-resolution imagery captured from multiple angles; software matches common points to build dense 3D point clouds, with full-colour RGB data alongside elevation.
  • Rapid acquisition for national coverage
  • Full-colour imagery alongside elevation
  • 2m pure bare-earth DTM accuracy
LiDAR

Precise, but prohibitively expensive nationally

Laser pulses measure distance directly and slip through gaps in vegetation, so LiDAR excels at bare earth beneath dense canopy - at significantly higher cost and slower acquisition.
  • Superior bare-earth penetration in dense forest
  • Multiple return pulses for vegetation stratification
  • Slower, costlier acquisition at national scale
Derived Products

Built on the elevation models

The DSM and DTM are the foundation. From them Riskscape derives the products engineers, planners and insurers actually work with.

3D Building Footprints

Riskscape uses the DSM to detect height changes and isolates individual building outlines with height attributes. Simple 2D footprints become accurate 3D structural models - enabling precise volume, roof area and replacement cost calculations.

Used for

  • Insurance risk assessment - roof area, building volume and footprint for replacement cost and underwriting.
  • Urban densification - floor area ratios, shadow analysis and zoning compliance for municipal spatial teams.
  • Energy & solar feasibility - building volume and orientation for consumption modelling and rooftop solar potential.
3D building footprints - colour-coded by height

Contour Lines

Contour lines connect points of equal elevation, turning the complex DTM surface into a readable map for engineers, planners and field professionals. Configurable at any interval from the national dataset.

Used for

  • Civil engineering - site levelling, cut-fill calculations and earthworks volume planning.
  • Agriculture - irrigation layout, water flow direction and soil erosion management.
  • Construction - site drainage design, foundation planning and road alignment.
Contour lines generated from Riskscape DTM

Line-of-Sight Analysis

A geometric analysis that determines whether one point can see another without obstruction - computed across both DSM and DTM to show surface and terrain obstructions separately.

Used for

  • Telecommunications - 5G tower placement for rural and urban connectivity.
  • Security & defence - surveillance coverage mapping and blind-spot identification.
  • Real estate - unobstructed views for valuation and development approvals.
Line-of-sight analysis example 1
Line-of-sight analysis example 2
Line-of-sight analysis example 3
Line-of-sight analysis example 4
Digital Twin

Why the Combination is Essential

By integrating DTM, DSM, 3D footprints, contours and line-of-sight, Riskscape provides a complete digital twin of South Africa's built and natural environment.

Risk Modelling

An insurance company needs the DTM to understand water flow during a flood, but also the DSM and 3D footprints to understand how specific buildings will be impacted - both models together, not in isolation.

Urban Development

Planners use contours to design safe roads, line of sight to ensure urban density doesn't compromise security or privacy, and 3D footprints to manage zoning compliance - all from a single national dataset.

The partnership behind the data

GeoSpace International

Aerial data acquisition using Leica DMC III cameras on fixed-wing aircraft. GeoSpace provides the highest-quality aerial photography platform available in South Africa.

Hexagon

Post-processing of raw imagery through the HxMap platform and cloud infrastructure, producing the initial DSM at 1m resolution from 25cm source data.

Riskscape

Proprietary machine learning classification to separate vegetation, buildings and water bodies from bare-earth, generating the DTM and all derived products.
Industry Applications

Who Uses Riskscape Elevation Data

Insurance & Banking

Flood risk modelling, replacement cost estimation, structural risk assessment for property underwriting and lending.

Telecommunications

5G network planning, tower placement optimisation and line-of-sight analysis for rural and urban connectivity.

Infrastructure

Route planning, drainage design, slope stability analysis and earthworks volume calculations for civil engineering projects.

Environment

Erosion modelling, wetland delineation, habitat mapping, carbon stock estimation and conservation planning.
See it in Action

Riskscape 3D Building Model - Live Demo

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Access South Africa's national elevation dataset

Tile-based, polygon-clipped and full national delivery available. Contact our team for pricing and technical specifications.

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