{"id":2353,"date":"2026-06-04T10:28:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T08:28:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocad.com\/blog\/?p=2353"},"modified":"2026-08-26T14:06:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T12:06:31","slug":"how-ocad-helps-you-with-positioning-and-mapping-in-the-field","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocad.com\/blog\/2026\/06\/how-ocad-helps-you-with-positioning-and-mapping-in-the-field\/","title":{"rendered":"How OCAD Helps you With Positioning and Mapping in the Field"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In this blog post, we\u2019ll show you the tools OCAD offers for adding great base data to your mapping project\u2014tools that help you determine your location in the field and allow you to identify and map terrain features, vegetation, and man-made objects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you\u2019ll see at the end of this article, all of this base data can be used in the OCAD App<\/a> to map efficiently and accurately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LiDAR<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you have access to up-to-date LiDAR data, consider yourself lucky. With LiDAR data, you can create excellent base maps that not only allow you to pinpoint your location but also help you identify many map features. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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OCAD calculates two types of Contour Lines<\/strong><\/a><\/em>: smoothed (green) and not-smoothed (blue). Use the not smoothed contour lines as a background during field mapping, which includes all the details. To draw contour lines on the PC, you can start with the smoothed contours and adjust them as needed using the Reshape<\/a> function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Hill Shading Map<\/a><\/em><\/strong> reveals numerous terrain features that are not visible in the contour lines, such as roads, forestry tracks, gullies, small pits and knolls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Feature Map<\/a><\/em><\/strong> is similar to the Hill Shading Map, but also shows features that are close to the ground such as stones, walls, tree trunks, fences, or cars which were previously not or only poorly recognizable on background maps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Las Intensity <\/strong><\/em>Map<\/em><\/strong> helps you to distinguish between deciduous and coniferous trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Vegetation Height Map<\/em><\/a><\/strong> shows vegetation features ranging from open areas (yellow) and ground vegetation (red) to dense vegetation (green), open forest (white) and high trees (blue). The latter can be particularly useful in open forest with few ground vegetation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Vegetation Base Map<\/a><\/em><\/strong> is similar to the Vegetation Height Map but focus more on the runabilty of the terrain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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GPS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

GPS is another key tool for determining position, especially when there is no or insufficient Lidar data available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your mobile device does not have a built-in GPS module, or if the built-in module is not accurate enough, you can connect it to an external GPS receiver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the OCAD App, you can use GPS not only to determine your location, but also to directly capture sketches and objects<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We recently published a comprehensive article titled GPS in Orienteering Map Map Making<\/em><\/a> that provides information about GPS and its use with OCAD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cadastral maps<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Detailed cadastral maps are particularly useful for sprint maps, and they often allow you to pinpoint your exact location and map many features such as buildings, roads or boundaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can import cadastral maps into OCAD in various formats<\/a> (Shape, GeoPackage, DXF) or load them as a WMS\/WMTS<\/a> background map.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Areal images \/ Orthophotos<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In open terrain, aerial photos and orthophotos can help with positioning and recognizing objects that are not visible on cadastral maps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You have the following options for loading a georeferenced aerial photo into OCAD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n