Documentation

Software Changelog (link)

Help & Knowledge Base (link)

Rapid, Remote and Remote Expert Operating Instructions (pdf)

Imagery Processing and Photogrammetry 101 (link)

Aerial Data Collection Guidelines and Mission Planning (pdf)

Verify Imagery Geotags (pdf)

KAP UAV Canon Camera CHDK Exposure Control Script (link)

DroneMapper CHDK Installation / Canon PowerShot SX260HS (pdf)

DroneMapper CHDK Setting Screenshots (pdf)

Ground Control Point Information (pdf)

Viewing DroneMapper GIS Products (pdf)

Transferring Imagery to DroneMapper (pdf)

DroneMapper GIS Products and Global Mapper Tutorial (2D/3D/Cut/Fill Measurements) (pdf)

DroneMapper FAA 333 Exemptions - Benefits, Limitations and Suggestions (pdf)

Pteryx UAV: Aerial Mapping Secrets (pdf)

Rapid, Remote & Remote Expert Information

RAPID Quick Start Guide (link)

Imagery and Data Collection Applications (link)

Example Aerial Oblique / NADIR Imagery Data Collections (link)

Drone Mapping Software EULA, Trial/Evaluation Licenses (link)

Processing Oblique or Oblique + NADIR Imagery in 3D Mode (link)

Using GCP (Ground Control Points) and the GCP Tool (link)

Installation Troubleshooting and Hints (link)

3rd Party Libraries, Tools, Open Source, Licenses and References (link)

DroneMapper Geospatial Accuracy and Ground Control Points (link)

Build a "bare earth" DTM from UAV imagery with DroneMapper, LAStools and Global Mapper (link)

Build an Enhanced and Traditional NDVI with DroneMapper and Global Mapper (link)

Generate Contour Lines from Digital Elevation Model (link)

Cut/Fill/Volume and Pile Volume from Digital Elevation Model (link)

Generate a GCP Report with Elevation RMSE (link)

Clip Orthomosaic or Digital Elevation Model to Area of Interest (AOI) (link)

Export Orthomosaic to KMZ Format (link)

FAQ & Information

  • Imagery must have at least 60% in-track overlap and should have at least 50% cross-track/orthogonal overlap.
  • Imagery has overlap between cross-track and in-track image frames.
  • Images must contain required EXIF information. (Camera Make, Model, Image Width, Image Height, Focal Length, DateTimeOriginal)
  • Shutter Speed >= 1/1000th, Auto ISO, White Balance set to ‘Sunlight’, ‘Day’ or ‘Cloudy’ depending on conditions.
  • Images are shot with one camera and focal length.
  • Images are geo-tagged.
  • Non-NADIR images should be removed if processing a NADIR only collect (Images from Turns, Landing, Takeoff)
  • Images should not be pre-processed so EXIF metadata is preserved.
  • Images are NADIR or near vertical if processing a NADIR only collect. 6 megapixel or greater, at least 12 megapixel recommended.
  • Images are TIF or JPEG format and no corrupt images/headers. Images are same width x height. (4000×3000)
  • Images are same aspect ratio. (4:3 recommended)
  • Flight Path should be Parallel Line (aka Lawn Mower) or other large overlapping style.
  • Flight Path should provide sufficient coverage of survey area. Sufficient coverage means 60% – 80% overlap, less than 50% overlap yields less data for gradient generation in that direction.
  • Flight should be from sufficient elevation. (i.e. >80 meters) Flights below 50m or less should have identifiable terrain features.
  • Use a GPS enabled camera with Latitude, Longitude and Elevation EXIF tags.
  • Required EXIF tags include Camera Make, Model, Image Width, Image Height, Focal Length, DateTimeOriginal.
  • Geo-tag your photos using GeoSetter (GUI), exiftool (command line) or a similar tool.
Using the guidelines above will yield the best results while using the DroneMapper cloud processing platform or our desktop software. Each job requires a large amount of memory, disk space and processing power to complete. You are paying for this processing time, so it is smart to input the best quality dataset possible. We recommend using Chrome or Firefox with DroneMapper cloud.
An example of a good imagery collection using a DJI Phantom 3 Advanced.
good-flight-path1
An example of a good imagery collection using a DJI Phantom 3 Advanced with MaxMax NIR camera.