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Procurement of Integrated Airborne Lidar and Aerial Imaging System - Geomatics team manned flight lidar and 4 band camera instrumentation
AI Summary
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs intends to issue an open tender for the procurement of two fully integrated airborne LiDAR and aerial imaging systems that will be operated by the Environment Agency’s Geomatics team. These systems are required to support comprehensive terrestrial and coastal mapping for flood and coastal risk management, incident response, and the delivery of statutory geospatial products. The acquisition is aimed at replacing the Agency’s existing dual‑sensor configuration, with the objective of improving operational efficiency, reducing processing complexity, and enhancing overall data quality across their remote‑sensing programme.
Each system must deliver high‑accuracy digital elevation data coupled with four‑band NIR‑RGB imagery suitable for orthophoto production and a broad range of geospatial outputs. It should include a comprehensive software suite that supports end‑to‑end workflow from mission planning—allowing the import of ArcGIS shapefiles—through data acquisition, processing, and quality assurance, and shall fully comply with industry‑standard formats and UK coordinate systems. The LiDAR component must operate reliably over a broad range of flight altitudes, maintaining consistent point density and intensity data, and be equipped with a class IV laser capable of detecting returns from low‑reflective surfaces at high survey heights. A tightly coupled GNSS/IMU solution supporting multiple satellite constellations must provide robust positional accuracy, and the imaging system must be seamlessly integrated to enable simultaneous capture without separate hardware or software, thereby ensuring precise synchronization and alignment of all datasets.
Description
The systems will be used for mapping the terrestrial and coastal environment to fulfil our statutory requirements principally for flood and coastal risk management and incident response.
The Environment Agency (EA) currently operates an airborne remote sensing programme, utilising lidar alongside RGBN cameras and from a light aircraft platform.
EA have run the programme for many years and are looking to renew their current lidar and camera capabilities.
The EA is looking for the Contractor to supply a fully integrated airborne lidar and aerial imaging system designed to deliver high-accuracy digital elevation data and 4 band NIR-RGB imagery.
The camera must produce 4-band metric imagery suitable for orthophoto production and complementing the lidar data to support a wide range of geospatial outputs.
The system must include a comprehensive software suite to support mission planning and execution, data acquisition, processing, and quality assurance. It must enable efficient workflow management, including compatibility with industry-standard formats and UK-specific coordinate systems. Mission planning tools must allow for the import of ArcGIS shapefiles.
All contractors must demonstrate the robust performance of their systems through evidence of operation in real world environments. This should include performance data collected within the UK or in equivalent high-humidity conditions, demonstrating that the system can operate effectively and reliably under representative environmental conditions.
Overall, the system must be delivered as a cohesive, end-to-end solution that ensures consistency, reliability, and efficiency from mission planning through to point cloud outputs and RGBNIR imagery.
The system must represent a clear advancement over the Environment Agency’s current dual-sensor configuration, improving operational efficiency, reducing processing complexity, and enhancing overall data quality.
The lidar component must be capable of operating across a broad range of flying heights whilst maintaining consistent point density and accuracy. It must deliver reliable surface representation through evenly distributed point spacing and high-quality reflected laser pulse intensity data. The system must incorporate a class IV laser that is capable of detecting returns off low reflective surfaces from higher survey altitudes.
The system must utilise a tightly coupled GNSS/IMU solution, supporting multiple satellite constellations to ensure robust positional accuracy in a wide range of operational environments. The integration between the positioning system, lidar sensor, and camera must be seamless, ensuring precise synchronisation and alignment of datasets.
The aerial imaging component must be fully integrated with the lidar system, enabling simultaneous data capture without the need for separate hardware or software systems.
If you are interested in bidding for the Authority's requirement please email your expression of interest to wayne.lamport@defra.gov.uk
Estimated date of publication of contract notice: 2026-09-07T23:59:59+01:00
Engagement process description
UK02 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Lot: 1
Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted: En