Drone Mapping—Explained Simply
Mapping with drones is done using a technique called photogrammetry. Photogrammetry is the science of making measurements based on photographs. The result is typically a map, measurement, or 3D model of a real object or scene. Many of the maps we use today are created using photogrammetry and images taken from airplanes.
Mapping with drones is very similar to this; the main difference is the low altitude at which a UAS can fly, which allows for higher-quality imagery and enables us to take even more accurate measurements.
Drone Mapping—When Can You Use It?
What benefits can drone mapping offer your business? Above all, it will save time and simplify data collection.
Applications can be found in:
- Construction
- Management Overview
- Site Progress
- Improving Communication Among Stakeholders
- Site Survey
- Security Overview
- Virtual Design and Development
- Volume Calculations
- Inspection
- Inspection of hard-to-reach areas
- Insurance Assessment
- Damage Assessment (Insurance and Agriculture)
- Agriculture
- Damage Assessment (Insurance)
- Thermal and Multispectral Imaging
- Irrigation Optimization
- Crop Rotation
- Illness Survey
What do you need?
To perform photogrammetry—also known as drone mapping—using a drone, you’ll need the following:
- a drone, possibly with RTK support (see below)
- a GNSS RTK receiver
- Software for processing all data (e.g., 3D Survey)
Drone
You can do drone mapping with any type of drone, but what matters is the number of megapixels and the precision with which your drone can fly while taking the photos. This is where RTK comes into play. Because a drone has RTK support, it will position itself very precisely when taking the photo. This position is then recorded as part of the photo data and saved in a separate file. This data will subsequently help the processing software (3D Survey) to stitch everything together with greater accuracy.
Software – 3D Survey
This is the most essential element of drone mapping: processing all the collected data into something that you or your client can use.
If it were possible to do this manually, the process could take years of painstakingly stitching and adjusting the images so that they fit together and create a truly orthographic image. Fortunately, we now have computers to do that for us!
The software makes it easy for us to compile a comprehensive overview of sites, buildings, and infrastructure and to present this information in various easy-to-manage formats. The most frequently used feature is the ability to take precise measurements of length, area, and volume directly from the images.
dronedepot.live is an authorized distributor of 3D Survey software. If you’d like to learn more about this software, you can find it here.
