UAV lidar and photogrammetry imaging applications are growing rapidly. Using GPS enabled UAVs for aerial surveying is very cost effective when compared to hiring an aircraft with photogrammetric solutions equipment.
UAVs are relatively inexpensive and many organisations will have their own UAV fleet, thus, allowing for rapid surveys over large land areas and infrastructure projects where required.
The use of quadcopters and multirotors in photogrammetry and Digital Photogrammetric Mapping is still in the very early stages but growing very fast. There are many terrific opportunities in various sectors.
If you are interested in pursuing a UAV photogrammetry business or similar, you must purchase the best quadcopter and sensors you can. There will be several opportunities for owners with quality UAV lidar and photogrammetry equipment.
What Exactly Is UAV Photogrammetry
Photogrammetric Solutions is the science of making measurements from photographs. The result from photogrammetry is typically a map, a drawing or a 3D model of some real-world object or land mass.
3D Maps and Models
In order to create 3D maps from aerial photogrammetry, the camera is mounted on the drone and is usually pointed vertically towards the ground. For using photogrammetric solutions equipment to create 3D models of monuments or statues, the camera is mounted horizontally on the UAV.
Numerous overlapping photos of the ground or model are taken as the UAV flies along an autonomous programmed flight path called a waypoint. To overlap photos of an object or land by 80 to 90% would be difficult to complete accurately by pilot navigation. It is important to have a UAV which has waypoint navigation technology.
The Photogrammetric Solutions and Lidar Uses
Through the use of UAV photogrammetry and lidar mapping, there are many products which can be extracted from the aerial imagery. These products include:-
• DEM / DTM / DSM (surface models)
• Orthophoto’s (geospatially corrected aerial images)
• 3D Building Models and Contour Maps
• Planimetric features and Volumetric Surveys
