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.
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
Captures everything above ground – buildings, trees, bridges, infrastructure. Ideal for urban planning, telecommunications line-of-sight and solar analysis.
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.
Photogrammetry vs LiDAR
Two primary methods for generating high-precision terrain models – each with distinct strengths and trade-offs at national scale.
Uses high-resolution imagery captured from multiple angles. Sophisticated software identifies common points to calculate 3D coordinates, creating dense point clouds. Highly cost-effective and provides full-colour RGB data alongside elevation.
- ✓Cost-effective at national scale
- ✓Full-colour RGB imagery alongside elevation
- ✓Rapid acquisition for national coverage
- ✓2m pure bare-earth DTM accuracy
Uses laser pulses to measure distances precisely. Because lasers can penetrate gaps in vegetation, LiDAR excels at mapping bare earth beneath dense canopies – but at significantly higher cost.
- –Prohibitively expensive at national scale
- –Slower acquisition timeline
- ✓Superior bare-earth penetration in dense forest
- ✓Multiple return pulses for vegetation stratification
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.
Insurance Risk Assessment
Precise roof area, building volume and structural footprint enable accurate replacement cost estimation and property underwriting.
Urban Densification Studies
Floor area ratios, shadow analysis and zoning compliance assessment for urban planners and municipality spatial teams.
Energy & Solar Feasibility
Building volume and orientation data supports energy consumption modelling and rooftop solar potential assessments.
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.
Site levelling, cut-fill calculations and earthworks volume planning.
Irrigation layout, water flow direction and soil erosion management.
Site drainage design, foundation planning and road alignment.
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.
5G network tower placement optimisation for rural and urban connectivity.
Surveillance coverage mapping and identification of blind spots.
Evaluating unobstructed views for property valuation and development approvals.
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.
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.
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.