High-Precision Mapping from Above: Award-Winning Research in Rockfall Monitoring

Best Paper Award for TUM Researcher at International Surveying Conference FIG in South Africa

Award ceremony of the Best Paper Award at the international surveying engineers' conference FIG in South Africa (left to right: Hartmut Mueller, Leonard Trill, Chryssy Potsiou). — Award ceremony of the Best Paper Award at the international surveying engineers' conference FIG in South Africa (left to right: Prof. Hartmut Mueller, Leonard Trill, Prof. Chryssy Potsiou). Image: FIG

Leonard Trill is sitting at the top of Hochvogel with a drone behind him — Leonard Trill at the top of Hochvogel for his successful work on high-precision mapping of rockfall-prone areas. Image: Leonard Trill

Leonard Trill standing on a mountain steering a drone — Leonard Trill developed a high-precision mapping of rockfall-prone areas using drone-based laser scanning. Image: Lukas Lucks

How can risks in alpine regions be identified at an early stage? Leonard Trill, Research Assistant at the Chair of Engineering Geodesy, has found a compelling answer. His work on high-precision mapping of rockfall-prone areas using laser scanners on drones was honored with the Survey Review Biennial Prize 2026 at the FIG conference of the International Federation of Surveyors.

At the core of his measurement concept is flight planning for a laser scanner mounted on a drone, designed to collect highly precise data. The method was tested at the summit of the Hochvogel on the German-Austrian border, a potential rockfall area. The newly developed flight planning approach enables particularly close yet stable flights along rock structures, tailored to the specific requirements of SLAM-based laser scanners (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping, SLAM).

The objective is to detect even the smallest changes in terrain, down to less than two centimeters. The resulting point clouds provide a reliable basis for monitoring alpine hazards and support long-term early warning measures to protect both people and the environment.

The quality of the collected data was confirmed through comparison with classical tachymetric measurements as well as terrestrial laser scanning. The study thus clearly demonstrates the potential of drone-based laser scanning as a forward-looking technology for monitoring alpine hazards.

Full Article:
Trill, Leonard, Raffl, Lukas, & Holst, Christoph (2026). UAV LiDAR flight planning for high-precision rockfall monitoring in alpine environments: first strategies and preliminary results on Mt. Hochvogel. Survey Review, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/00396265.2026.2680325

Paper published for FIG Peer Review Journal:
UAV LiDAR flight planning for high-precision rockfall monitoring in alpine environments: first strategies and preliminary results on Mt. Hochvogel (13705)

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