Two films follow Rolf Gerber in his work on the topographical landscape model: aerial photogrammetry, satellites and digital field surveys

From images taken from the sky to surveys conducted in valleys, forests and mountains, Rolf Gerber's work shows how swisstopo builds and updates the topographic landscape model, a precise and continuously updated digital representation of Switzerland.

Due swisstopo videos, both in German and one of them accompanied by French subtitles, they follow Rolf Gerber in his work on topographic landscape model (TLM) and allow you to enter the process by which the territory of the Switzerland It is progressively transformed into a digital representation. At the heart of the story are different but complementary technologies: Aerial photogrammetry, satellite observation, geodata and on-site inspections.

TLM provides a fundamental basis for digitally describing the natural and artificial elements that characterize the territory. Roads, waterways, buildings, forests, infrastructure, and numerous other geographic objects are represented through structured and updated data. The result can be read as a digital twin of Switzerland, capable of accurately portraying the country's configuration and the transformations that have occurred over time.

The videos show above all how this representation is the result of the integration between technology and human workAerial imagery allows us to observe vast swaths of territory and identify numerous changes, while satellite information adds further analytical possibilities. Not everything, however, can be determined exclusively remotely: there are situations in which it is necessary to verify directly on-site what the images show or where they do not allow interpretation with sufficient certainty.

This is where the work of Rolf Gerber becomes particularly significant. Field activities also lead swisstopo specialists to isolated valleys, forest areas and mountain regions, where geographical reality must be compared with available data. Direct observation allows for confirmation, correction, or integration of information and therefore represents an essential step in quality control.

The construction of the digital twin does not consist in the simple production of a large three-dimensional image. At its basis there is a complex geographic data infrastructure in which each element must be located, classified, and kept up-to-date. It is this information structure that makes the model usable for different applications and transforms territorial observation into an operational tool.

The value of the project emerges above all from its applications. The geodata produced by swissstopo form a basis for cartography and can be used in territorial planning, infrastructure design, environmental analysis and numerous digital servicesThe public availability of this information also allows institutions, businesses, researchers, and citizens to develop further applications based on an official geographic base.

The two videos thus show what lies behind a seemingly immediate digital representation of Switzerland. Airplanes, satellites, computer tools, and ground surveys all contribute to the same process, in which technological precision and human expertise remain closely linked.

Following Rolf Gerber on the field, the digital twin of Switzerland It therefore takes on a concrete dimension: not just a virtual model, but a continuously verified and updated wealth of information, capable of connecting the physical territory to its digital representation and providing a common basis for understanding, planning, and managing the country.

Der digital Zwilling der Schweiz: So bildet swisstopo das Land ab

The numerical jumeau of Switzerland: comment swisstopo reconstitutes the territories

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