How Exactly Does Drone2Map Work?

[Mark_Hotz]

We find ourselves in dire need of using something like Drone2Map to rapidly get georeferenced drone captured imagery into an orthophoto and distributed to the right people that same day.  I have tried using just ArcGIS Pro to demonstrate how difficult it is to import such drone imagery, and then have it georeferenced (which because of bugs I had to do manually) where it can be used immediately in a GIS.  It took days to go through 50-100 images to create a mosaic to use in the GIS, and the accuracy was horrendously poor; hence, our use case does strongly support a need for the software.

I need to learn (and then explain to managers) though how Drone2Map actually works (i.e. the workflow).  If there is any manual adjustment in the GIS needed for this imagery it will not be an easy sell:

• Are the captured images from a drone's camera georeferenced using Drone2Map?  (i.e. will they simply drop right into one's GIS and into their correct location once loaded as a layer?).
• Does one still need to manually shift the captured images (or tiled images) to "fit" once they are in the GIS?
• What sort of post-processing (if any) can one expect to perform after the images have been captured (i.e. after using Drone2Map), or does Drone2Map simply take care of all steps in the workflow?
• If one does the appropriate flight planning, is there a limit to how many images can be stitched together to make one large image (we have elevation restrictions in place here because of two aerodromes)?
• Does Drone2Map take into consideration the pitch, yaw and elevation of the drone, plus the direction the camera was facing at the time images were captured (is the scale, image rotation and precise location correct when brought into the GIS)?

I'm pretty well sold on the technology, but I do still need to properly inform senior managers here just how much this software will improve our drone image capabilities.

Thanks

[Anonymous User]

Hi Mark,

1. Output coordinate system and vertical reference can only be modified if ground control points (GCPs) are not included in the project. If you have GCPs, the output coordinate system and vertical reference of Drone2Map output products is always determined by the coordinate system and vertical reference model of the ground control.

If you don't have GCPs, the coordinate system and vertical reference model used in the creation of Drone2Map products is determined by the coordinate system and vertical reference of the images themselves. If the images have an XY coordinate system of WGS84, Drone2Mapoutput products are created using an XY coordinate system of the relevant UTM zone. These defaults can be modified in processing options.

2. This can be set up in Drone2map path flight in the form of matching pairs or key points, there is a lot of documentation as well as training to help you along the way. Drone2map can work as as sole product for imagery, or can be integrated and further analysis can be completed in ArcGIS Pro. The images can also be utilised in many Esri Products, including web Applications.

3. Drone2map is a standalone Esri Product that created images based on your settings or standard settings such as orthostatic.

Here is a great video to watch regarding Streamlining Imagery with Drone2Map:

https://www.esri.com/training/catalog/57e2a9c79799c32d370ea859/streamline-imagery-workflows-with-dro... 

4. The limit will be depended on many factors

This document is great ins answering your questions above, this also will show you how to set up custom settings in drone2map in accordance to your height restrictions

This document should give you some more information: Processing options—Drone2Map for ArcGIS Help | ArcGIS 

I hope this helpd

Keiren