Service B · Remote sensing & geodata
We read landscapes. Even beneath the forest.
LiDAR and satellite data become terrain models and verified relief maps – for heritage management, research and planning. Reasoned candidate lists of suspected archaeological sites are produced only for heritage authorities and research institutions.
01Relief visualisations
Six views of the same terrain.
No single visualisation shows everything. Only by comparing several do structures separate from coincidence – so we compute the same verified set for every area.
- SVF
- How much sky a point “sees” – pits and hollow ways turn dark.
- LRM
- Small landforms without the regional slope – banks, terraces, ridge and furrow.
- OPN
- Openness above and below – edges independent of lighting direction.
- MSRM
- Relief across several scales – fine and broad structures in one image.
02Method
From point cloud to a reasoned list.
Every step is documented. The result is not a long list of hits, but a short list with a reason for every entry.
01
Data
Collect and combine LiDAR, satellite and map data for your area.
02
Terrain model
Remove vegetation and buildings; the bare ground becomes a digital terrain model (DTM).
03
Relief views
Six verified visualisations, computed on our own pipeline.
04
AI screening
The AI screens the area tile by tile and proposes candidates.
05
Blind review
Each candidate is reviewed without knowing the location; rejections are reasoned and cross-checked.
03Chain of evidence
Every statement has a source.
Forest roads, skid trails, timber yards: much of what looks like a feature in the relief has a mundane explanation. We check every candidate against historic maps and aerial images before it makes the list.
- Rejections with reason and source (map, aerial image, forestry use)
- Open candidates with a survey recommendation – never called a “find”
- No precise coordinates published; location data goes confidentially to the commissioning body only
- #0417Straight edge, 180 mrejected · forest road, aerial 1968 ✓ cross-checked
- #0418Round mound, 14 mopen · survey recommended
- #0421Parallel furrowsrejected · skid trails ✓ cross-checked
- #0426Rectangular hollowrejected · timber yard, map 1987 ✓ cross-checked
- #0430Edge on slopeexplained · vineyard terrace, 19th c. ✓ cross-checked
04Who it is for
For everyone who needs to understand terrain.
01
Heritage authorities
State heritage offices and local heritage protection authorities: pre-screen large areas, plan field surveys, review known sites.
02
Municipalities
Terrain models and relief maps to document the cultural landscape and make its paths visible – for tourism and education too.
03
Research
Universities and research institutions: reproducible analyses with an open method, including areas outside Germany.
04
Planning
Terrain models and relief maps to know the landforms early, before building or afforestation.
05Evidence
Shown, not claimed.
CAA 2026 · Münster
Talk “Context Before Pixels”
At the CAA Joint Chapter Meeting on 17 September 2026 we showed why context comes before pixels – and how AI screening becomes verifiable.
About the talk (German)
Method · 6 relief views
A woodland beneath the leaves
From laser scan to a reasoned candidate list: six relief views, AI screening, blind review – as a case study without locations.
Read the case study
7,764 sites · open geodata
Campingzeile
Geodata that answer a question: sites from OpenStreetMap with weather, driving time and night – our own map product.
Read the case study
06Formats
Start small, area by area.
One area · from €900
Relief map set
Open LiDAR data → terrain model and six verified relief maps as GeoTIFF, ready for your GIS.
On request for authorities and research
Pilot area
AI screening with a blind run, reasoned candidate and survey list, report with method and evidence.
Quote
Project
Larger areas, satellite data, time series and a protected web viewer for project partners.
07Fragen
Frequently asked.
What is remote sensing?
Remote sensing records the earth’s surface from the air or from space. We mainly work with airborne laser scanning (LiDAR), which measures the ground even beneath forest, and with satellite data for large areas.
Where does the data come from?
Mostly from open sources: national and state mapping agencies publish terrain models and laser scans. We state the licence on every map. We do not fly our own surveys.
Does the AI find archaeological sites?
The AI proposes candidates. Whether anything is there is shown by review – at the desk with maps and aerial images, and finally in the field by specialists. That is why we never call an open candidate a “find”.
What do we receive?
Depending on the format: GeoTIFF maps for your GIS, a reasoned candidate and survey list, and a report that makes method, data sources and every rejection traceable.
Do you work outside Germany?
Yes. Satellite data covers the globe and LiDAR is openly available in many countries. Where data is missing, we say so before the project starts.
Which area should we read?
Send us a rough outline or the name of the area. In the intro call we tell you what data exists and what it can show.