Besides photo and video, what else can I do with my drone?
Soar is a global decentralised platform for the exchange of drone content. We’re connecting drone operators with consumers hungry for geographically-specific high resolution drone images (still & video), using Soar’s global super-map, similar to Google Earth but at more than 10x the resolution. We’re building a map the world has never seen.
Flying drones can be heaps of fun. By using drone cameras, you can acquire images of a place to share with everyone. Sharing drone content (images and video) is a great way to let others experience the amazing perspectives of the world only accessible by drones. It can also be a great way to earn extra income. If it’s a particularly beautiful scene, such as the town of Manarola in Italy, the observer finds themselves wishing they were there to experience the vista. By taking multiple photos of the same subject from different perspectives, drone operators can heighten the user experience to make others (such as those of us who don’t get out of the house much) feel they’ve come that much closer to experiencing the drone vistas in person.
How does taking photos from multiple prospectives add to the user experience?
The process behind enhancing the user experience using multiple images is called photogrammetry, which in the simplest terms is making measurements from photos. In the case of drones we’re using photogrammetry to stitch multiple aerial images together to create both a large composite aerial image and a three-dimensional map of the earth for that image.
The composite aerial image can then be draped over the 3D map (a.k.a. model) to create a three-dimensional image of the entire scene, one that can be tilted, spun, inverted, or even artificially shaded to help the observers (your friends on the web) enjoy a heightened experience.
A heightened experience through photogrammetry, how so?
Have you ever looked a photo and thought, I wonder what it looks like from over there, above, or even from below? 3D models give the user the opportunity to view a scene or even object from any perspective. Also, as it is a 3D model, you can create virtual fly-throughs, which can give you the perspective of flying over or through the landscape or even a building. Drone owners can create these 3D models, using photogrammetry software (there are even some available for free).
What you need to start building orthomosaics and 3D models
- A GPS enabled drone
- Photogrammetry flight-planning software/mobile app
- Photogrammetry software (often combined with flight planning apps)
Why use a GPS enabled drone? Because the photogrammetry software will require the position and altitude of your photos. GPS will also guide your drone according to the flight paths defined by your flight-planning software.
Why do I need flight-planning software? As we mentioned before, orthomosaics are a composite of many images. In order to create a geometrically correct orthomosaic, a percentage of overlap between images is required to match up common features from one photo to the next. This helps the photogrammetry software stitch the photos together. Your flight-planning software can determine the appropriate GPS coordinates at which to take photos depending on the desired altitude. In short, more photos are necessary at low altitude as there is less of the ground visible to the on-board camera than when at high altitude. Flight-planning software also provides the information necessary for your drone to fly in autonomous mode. Autonomous mode maximises a drone’s capabilities; flight-plan execution (including take off, landing, and achieving waypoints), automatic photo capture, and safety features such as return to launch should you lose radio contact with your drone. At all times the pilot should keep his/her drone in visual contact to abide with Line of Sight regulations and to eliminate any possible mishaps with birds or low flying aircraft.
What does the photogrammetry software do? A GPS-capable drone will write the GPS coordinates to your image files used by your photogrammetry software. Flight-planning software creates a grid of flight paths and photo locations, hence the images are recorded at regular intervals and locations on that grid. The photogrammetry software stitches these images to produce one large geo-referenced image file including all of your photos. Photogrammetry software can also generate Digital Surface Maps (DSMs) which serve as the model over which your orthomosaic is draped. DSMs can be created using multiple images because multiple images of the same subject will expose changes in geometry from the camera to the ground when taken from a new perspective. (And that’s the best explanation I can give without invoking the Pythagorean Theorem!). Note that a DSM defines the surface of photographed elements. Taking things one step further, a Digital Surface Map will define the surface of the earth, stripping out buildings, trees, and the like. Knowing the ground elevation at specific points is required for this.
Orthomosaics, DSMs, & DTMs, who benefits?
The beneficiaries include those who want a heightened user experience and also those who want to use drone images to access more information about the earth’s surface. 3D point clouds generated using photogrammetry software can serve as digital twins, useful for physical 3D modelling and for scaled 3D reproductions using 3D printers.
To add another feather to your drone operator’s cap, you now have capabilities beyond capturing beautiful photographs with your drone. Now you can harness the autonomous capabilities of your drone to create 3D models of virtually* anywhere on earth.
*Anywhere you can legally fly a drone
