Explore LiDAR in 3D

Explore LiDAR in 3D is a beginner-level course designed for analysts and GIS professionals who want to work confidently with LiDAR point cloud data for elevation modeling and environmental applications. LiDAR data is inherently three-dimensional, yet many errors in analysis occur when users treat it like traditional 2D raster data. This course focuses on building correct mental models and practical skills for working with LiDAR from visualization through validation. Across three structured lessons, learners progress from understanding and exploring LiDAR point clouds in a 3D viewer, to generating a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) from ground-class points, and finally to evaluating vertical accuracy using control points. Rather than emphasizing software clicks, the course emphasizes why each step matters, helping learners make sound decisions that support real-world use cases such as flood modelling. Through short videos, targeted readings, Coach-led reflections, and hands-on labs, learners practice loading and interpreting point clouds, creating terrain surfaces correctly, and assessing whether elevation outputs are fit for purpose. By the end of the course, learners will be able to confidently visualize LiDAR data in 3D, generate a DEM from ground points, and evaluate its vertical accuracy—skills essential for delivering reliable elevation models in environmental and risk-analysis workflows.