Please note, this document was reissued in January 2023 as a professional standard. It was previously published in September 2021 as a guidance note. The regulatory requirements remain the same. For more information on the document category changes, see the text part way down on this page.
Recent years have seen an enormous increase in the availability and use of all kinds of geospatial imagery, from the advent of accessible earth observation and satellite systems such as Copernicus and the rapid development of LiDAR, to the evolution of UAV systems and a revolution in hybrid sensors.
Aerial survey capabilities have also been further improved by enhanced digital processing, improved navigation and control systems, and increasingly accurate GNSS use in ground/airborne control. This is an exciting and fast-moving sector, and is increasingly used in applications such as environmental and land management, topographical mapping, site surveys, construction and infrastructure, coastal management, building condition reports and much more.
This professional standard is intended for use by land, sea, engineering and environmental professionals who are acting in an advisory capacity, and by survey-knowledgeable clients who specify their own surveys. It is also intended to be used by earth observation and aerial survey specialists.
It will help clients communicate their goals, and what they expect to receive in terms of:
- types of data
- accuracy
- resolution
- survey detail and
- final deliverables.
It will help both parties clarify issues such as project constraints, related costs, achievable accuracies and timescales.
This professional standard represents a full revision of Vertical aerial photography and digital imagery (5th edition), RICS guidance note. New sections on LiDAR and hyperspectral, bathymetric LiDAR, multispectral and thermal imaging systems have been added.
The following topics are covered in this standard:
- pre-project considerations, including the different data capture platforms available and planning requirements
- techniques of aerial photography, LiDAR, sensing in the non-visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum and earth observation, and
- future developments in earth observation and aerial survey techniques.
This standard also contains sample specifications, achievable accuracy tables, a new combined accuracy table and an expanded glossary and reference appendix.
Published date: 27 March 2023
