American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing

What American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing does

The American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) is a non-profit professional membership society founded in 1934 and headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (with a Bethesda, Maryland mailing footprint), serving individual practitioners in photogrammetry, remote sensing, lidar, GIS, and UAS disciplines. The society is governed as a 501(c)(6) membership organization with no parent company or institutional ownership.

ASPRS's core technology assets are the PE&RS (Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing) peer-reviewed journal, published via IngentaConnect with a 3.0 Impact Factor and open-access monetization ($750-$2,000 per article), and a portfolio of industry standards including the ASPRS Positional Accuracy Standards and the LAS lidar specification maintained by a quarterly-reviews working group. The society runs twelve professional certification tracks spanning GIS/LIS, lidar, photogrammetry, remote sensing, UAS, and metrology. Distribution is organized around the Annual Conference at Geo Week (full passes $875-$1,075), an International Technical Symposium, regional and student chapters, workshops priced $195-$350, and a Higher Logic-powered community platform.

Revenue is generated from membership dues ($175 standard, $50 student), conference and workshop fees, open-access publication charges, store sales, and sustaining corporate memberships (10+ sponsors including Woolpert, GeoCue, Leica Geosystems, NV5 Geospatial, and Dewberry). The society does not publicly disclose revenue. Strategic posture is membership-driven standard-setting, federal workforce endorsement (O*NET Ally), and partnership-led extension into adjacent commercial venues such as the Commercial UAV Expo and the Esri co-branded GeoAI Challenge.

Name

American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing

Legal name

American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing

Website

https://asprs.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1934

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

ASPRS is a 90-year-old non-profit professional society serving geospatial practitioners in photogrammetry, remote sensing, lidar, and UAS, generating revenue through $175 memberships, the PE&RS journal, and annual Geo Week conferences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Geospatial Professional Association Services

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Standards, Metrology & Accreditation Bodies (BPAIAOAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Digital Assessment Platforms & Computer-Based Testing Authorities (EDADAFAK)

Keywords

• Geospatial professional association
• Photogrammetry remote sensing
• Professional certification programs
• Peer-reviewed scientific journal
• Annual geospatial conferences

Headquarters

HQ city

Bethesda

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees providing access to journals, certification, conferences, and member benefits. Standard membership $175/year, student membership $50/year.
2. Conference Registration: Revenue from annual conferences including Geo Week, regional conferences, and technical symposiums. Full conference passes range from $875-$1075, student passes $400.
3. Workshop Fees: Additional fees for professional development workshops offered at conferences and regional events. Certification prep workshops $195-$350.
4. Open Access Publication Fees: Authors pay to make publications open access. First OA article free for members ($2000 for non-members), additional articles $750 for members, $2000 for non-members.
5. Publications and Store: Sale of publications, books, and merchandise through the ASPRS store with member discounts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

ASPRS is a non-profit scientific association that advances the geospatial sciences by delivering professional membership services, peer-reviewed publications, industry conferences, and standardized certification programs for photogrammetry, remote sensing, lidar, GIS, and UAS practitioners. It publishes the PE&RS journal, hosts the Annual Conference at Geo Week and International Technical Symposium, runs certification tracks for GIS/LIS technologists, lidar technologists, mapping scientists, photogrammetrists, remote sensing technologists, UAS technologists, and metrologists, and maintains industry standards such as the ASPRS Positional Accuracy Standards and the LAS lidar specification.

Product overview

ASPRS operates as a professional membership society offering a portfolio of publications, conferences, workshops, and certifications. The core product is PE&RS (Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing), a peer-reviewed journal with a 3.0 impact factor. The society organizes the Annual Conference at Geo Week (February 16-18, 2026) and an International Technical Symposium (October 2025), both featuring technical sessions and networking. ASPRS provides professional certification in photogrammetry, lidar, GIS, remote sensing, and UAS disciplines, along with professional development workshops offering PDH certificates. The organization supports education through multiple scholarships and awards including Lifetime Achievement, Fellow Member, and various paper awards totaling over $1,500 in prizes. GeoChallenge competitions engage students and early career professionals with geospatial technology themes including GeoAI.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PE&RS: Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing - the official journal of ASPRS published in partnership with Ingenta Connect

Products and services

• PE&RS (Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing)
• ASPRS Annual Conference at Geo Week
• ASPRS Workshops
• ASPRS Professional Certification Programs
• ASPRS Scholarships and Awards Program
• GeoChallenge Competition
• ASPRS International Technical Symposium

Quantifiable outcome

• Peer review process: 3 days to first decision, 35 days review time, 90 days submission to acceptance
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• O*NET (U.S. Department of Labor)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASPRS is recognized as an O*NET Ally in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Labor. This partnership establishes ASPRS as an official workforce development partner for the geospatial profession, connecting the society's certification and standards with national workforce classification systems.
• Geo WeekcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASPRS annual conference is co-located with Geo Week, the premier event for integration between built environment, geospatial technologies, and commercial 3D technologies. A single full conference pass provides access to both Geo Week and ASPRS sessions. Geo Week features over 50 sessions and 225+ exhibitors.
• Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerESRI provides funding for the Esri Award for Best Scientific Paper in GIS and has provided ESRI Press Library collection for the International Education Literature Award. ESRI also partners on the GeoAI GeoChallenge competition.
• EsrimajorGTM or Marketing PartnerASPRS GeoAI GeoChallenge competition partnered with Esri to encourage development of applications using remotely sensed data and Esri GeoAI tools. Winners showcased at Geo Week and featured in PE&RS.
• 3DEO Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerASPRS partnered with 3DEO Inc. for the 2024 GeoChallenge focused on Geiger-mode lidar data. 3DEO provided three unique datasets and software licenses for Applied Imagery Quick Terrain Modeler and GeoCue LP360.
• IngentaConnectcoreTechnology or IntegrationIngentaConnect hosts the PE&RS journal, providing platform for peer-reviewed publication delivery and archive access.
• Higher LogiccoreTechnology or IntegrationHigher Logic provides the ASPRS Community platform powering member discussions, event calendars, resource libraries, and member networking.
• WoolpertminorOthersSustaining corporate member of ASPRS. Woolpert hosts the ASPRS EGLR 2025 Annual Technical Meeting at their office near Dayton, OH.
• GeoCueminorOthersSustaining corporate member of ASPRS. GeoCue provides LP360 software for GeoChallenge competitions.
• Leica Geosystems AGminorOthersSustaining corporate member of ASPRS specializing in airborne systems.
• NV5 GeospatialminorOthersSustaining corporate member of ASPRS.
• DewberryminorOthersSustaining corporate member of ASPRS.
• Ayres AssociatesminorOthersSustaining corporate member of ASPRS.
• GPI Geospatial Inc.minorOthersSustaining corporate member of ASPRS.
• Surdex CorporationminorOthersSustaining corporate member of ASPRS.
• ACI USA Inc.minorOthersSustaining corporate member of ASPRS.
• Merrick & CompanyminorOthersSustaining corporate member of ASPRS.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• URISA (Urban and Regional Information Systems Association): GIS-focused professional association offering certifications (GISCI), workshops, and an annual conference. Closely comparable model — membership, geospatial certifications, annual conference — but with a GIS rather than photogrammetry primary focus.
• Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors (MAPPS): Trade association for private geospatial firms — many of which (Woolpert, NV5, Dewberry, Merrick) are ASPRS sustaining members. Closely comparable member ecosystem; MAPPS runs joint certification workshops with ASPRS.
• American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM) / NSPS combined entity: Legacy surveying and mapping federation historically overlapping with ASPRS membership and standards work. Operates comparable certification and member programs in adjacent geomatics disciplines.
• International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO): Membership association for property assessment professionals offering certifications (Cadastral Mapping, GIS), standards, and an annual conference. Comparable professional certification + standards + conference model in a niche adjacent field that uses geospatial data.
• American Association of Geographers (AAG): U.S.-based scholarly and professional society for geographers with peer-reviewed journals, annual meeting, and member services. Comparable membership society model serving an adjacent discipline that overlaps with geospatial sciences.
• International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS): Global counterpart to ASPRS covering photogrammetry and remote sensing with international working groups, peer-reviewed publications (ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing), and quadrennial congresses. Most direct peer by mission, membership model, and technical scope.
• National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS): U.S. professional society for licensed surveyors offering certification (Certified Survey Technician), advocacy, and continuing education. Highly comparable membership, certification, and advocacy model in the adjacent surveying profession.

Broad incumbents

• American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE): Large 180,000+ member engineering professional society offering certifications, peer-reviewed journals, and standards. Comparable membership-society business model covering overlapping domains (surveying, geomatics, infrastructure).
• IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS): Technical society within IEEE covering remote sensing, geoscience, and geospatial technology with peer-reviewed publications (IEEE TGRS), conferences (IGARSS), and education. Broader/incumbent due to IEEE scale, but directly comparable technical scope and member benefits model.
• AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants): Large U.S. professional membership organization running a portfolio of professional certifications (CPA, CGMA), continuing professional education, and a member journal. Comparable professional society business model at much larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/asprsorg
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCt-SsnhtCXaVd65HGIdL4YA
• Facebookfacebook.com/110562729005724
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/american-society-for-photogrammetry-and-remote-sensing
• Instagraminstagram.com/asprs_org

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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