AHN: Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland

Project number: 10191285

Project summary

A detailed elevation model of the whole country using Airborne Laser Altimetry
Right in that flat Netherlands differences in elevation are very important. Before the end of this century the elevation levels of the entire Netherlands, i.e. every square of 4x4 metres, will be mapped. A plane using a laser scanner measures every pit and every hump. The results of this new technique, called laser altimetry, has various and divergent applications. Whether town planner or designer of computer games, one is happy with this new development.
Like a bird we fly over the North of Amsterdam. Below us, high-rise flat buildings, neatly placed beside one another, seem to be moving in and out of the picture. We fly across a road where we can see cars and close to a sports hall we take a sharp turn. At the edge of the lake there seem to float big green blobs in the water. There are weeping willows that have been filtered out the elevation file, but which are still visible in the aerial photograph. Trees lining the road are also filtered out, but the maker of the video has put back the stems so as to emulate the real picture of the suburb as well as possible. Another mouse click and there, on the screen, follows a repeat of virtual Flight Across The Netherlands by the end of the year it will be possible to have a virtual flight across half of the Netherlands.