LiDAR — Light Detection and Ranging — is a remote sensing method used to examine the surface of the Earth.

LiDAR data is extremely accurate 3D data generated from sensors on the ground or on airplanes. These accurate models can be used by local government planners who need detailed structural plans of the city. LiDAR is also regularly used by archaeologists, computer scientists, and civil engineering companies.

• Data owner: LiDAR
• Coverage (geographical): Glasgow
  
• Coverage (time): 2003
• Who can use this data? Only academic research users

One example of using LiDAR data is our video of movement patterns in Glasgow City Centre:

Credits: This data visualization was created by the Glasgow School of Art's Digital Design Studio on behalf of the Urban Big Data centre. Data used in addition to the iMCD project data includes Lidar's data from 'blue sky' and satellite imagery from EU Spacing Imaging.

Glasgow City Council LiDAR Data

UBDC hosts LiDAR data and its derived 3D city model on behalf of Glasgow City Council. The Scottish Government procured the LiDAR dataset for public use in 2021. The dataset reflects the LAS point cloud data with a density of 4ppm (points per square metre). The data can be accessed from Glasgow City Council’s Open Data Portal. UBDC will generate and publish the new derived 3D city model, using the 2021 LiDAR data, with Glasgow City Council in 2022.