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Capturing images for aerial surveying

Aerial surveying starts in the field, not in the software. Most datasets come from a drone, but MapperTool is not tied to any particular aircraft or camera. What the platform needs is drone imagery that carries position data, captured with enough overlap to reconstruct.

What you can upload​

  • Photos from any drone, consumer or professional.
  • Photos from a handheld camera, as long as they carry position data.
  • Multispectral imagery, for NDVI.
  • Radiometric thermal imagery, for a thermal orthomosaic.

The one real requirement​

Every image must contain GPS coordinates and camera metadata in its EXIF. That is what lets the platform align the photos with each other and place the result in real-world coordinates.

Warning

Photos that lost their metadata, for example after being sent through a messaging app or re-exported by an editor, cannot be processed. Always upload the originals.

Quality is decided in the field​

Processing cannot add detail that was never captured. Blurry, sparse or inconsistent photos produce gaps and distortion no matter which settings you choose.

Two pages cover the rest:

In this section​

02.01Flight basicsHow to fly a mapping mission. Nadir for orthomosaics, oblique and crosshatch for 3D, terrain follow on large sites, overlap settings and safety rules.02.02Image requirementsWhat your photos need for processing. EXIF GPS on every image, multispectral imagery for NDVI and radiometric imagery for thermal maps.