'Lower spec' post processing packages?

Ranger Bob · Mar 9, 2017

Hi everyone

Hope you can help. I'm in the process of acquiring a P4P to provide aerial imagery to assist my work. Most of the images obtained (stills rather than video) will be used as is or processed into orthomosaics - with both to be imported into a layer in ArcMap which other staff can then utilise too.

The original plan was to capitalise on an existing floating license of Agisoft Photoscan for PP but this is now not going to happen and so I'm left a little bit stuck in this regard.

One solution might be to purchase a stand-alone laptop and a simple PP package. All the usual programs such as Pix4D etc. are going to be too expensive for me to get, plus I won't be able to subscribe to anything on a monthly basis or keep on buying a mapping PP service. What I need instead is a modest PP program I can buy outright. I am unlikely to need point clouds and 3D modelling - really all I want is to be able to stitch images together into 2D orthomosaics and then import them into ArcMap 10.2.2, and use the geo-tagging to locate photos accurately. If it will also stitch panoramas then that would be an added bonus but again not essential. Does anyone know if such a program exists and where I might find some details of it?

In the same theme, if I get a laptop to do this on what kind of specs will it need to have? Does anyone know of any specific models which they have used successfully for PP work? I appreciate that >images will require >specs; so can anyone tell me from experience how many images they normally acquire on a one-battery flight with a P4P (if it is possible to nail something like that down)?

Thank you in advance

Bob

dronie326 · Mar 9, 2017

I'm not sure how big of an area you plan on flying but you might look into Maps Made Easy. The offer free PP as long as its below a certain size.

Mike Stonerock · Mar 9, 2017

I saw the same thing on Maps Made Easy and may be trying it myself. You might be able to stay under the limit by stitching several pieces together on a large project.

Richard R · Mar 10, 2017

Mike Stonerock said:
I saw the same thing on Maps Made Easy and may be trying it myself. You might be able to stay under the limit by stitching several pieces together on a large project.

I use MME. Just finished a 50+ acre survey that resulted in <2 inch pixels. Was able to do it while keeping the number of points within the 'free' processing limit.

Ranger Bob · Mar 10, 2017

Hi again - thank you for your replies. I did start to look at MME with the idea of perhaps only post-processing small areas (to keep under the 250 limit) and then later stitching them together to create a larger orthomosaic. I couldn't find any reference to outputs though - is it possible to move the smaller completed orthomosaics from MME into ArcMap; and how would I stitch the smaller ones into a large one (does this facility exist in either MME or ArcMap)?

Thanks

Bob

Richard R · Mar 11, 2017

Don't know about Arcmap, but not in MME. There is probably a pixel limit, but look into some of the panorama picture stitching software like Hugin or PTGui.

leegreen13 · Mar 14, 2017

If you are using Maps Made Easy for commercial projects, be certain your clients know the MME terms of service. Basically MME reserves all writes to use or redistribute the content.

"You retain ownership of all content that You contribute to the Services, but in order to provide the Services hereby grant Maps Made Easy a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, transferable right and license (with the right to sublicense), to use, copy, cache, publish, display, distribute, modify, create derivative works, and store such content and to allow others to do so."

AggieMike92 · Mar 24, 2017

Ranger Bob,

I'm in the process of acquiring a P4P to do the same thing. I'm a forestry consultant and would like to fly my own ortho-mosaics from time to time. Keep me posted on your progress.

Richard R · Mar 25, 2017

AggieMike92 said:
Ranger Bob,

I'm in the process of acquiring a P4P to do the same thing. I'm a forestry consultant and would like to fly my own ortho-mosaics from time to time. Keep me posted on your progress.

One of the outputs from MME, is a klm file. You may be able to load several maps into google earth and view them all at the same time.

AggieMike92 · Mar 25, 2017

That is possible, but I too use ArcGIS and would like to create the ortho-mosaics to use in that program...primarily to calculate acreage.

DesertRat · Mar 26, 2017

You might want to check out DroneMapper. DroneMapper Rapid is free, but it has a 75 image limit, and can only be used with nadir photos from a DJI product. It's literally "stupid easy" to use, and will create geotiff's easily usable with ESRI software (or just about any other GIS software). There aren't a lot of options for processing, which can be a drawback, but it does a great job for the price. The DEM output will be 8x of the imagery native resolution and the orthos will be 4x, which is a bit limiting (but it is free).

They have two other pay for version that offer more bells and whistles, The Remote version is limited to 400 images, and the DEM can be 8X or 4X the photos native resolution, and the orthos can be 4x or 2x, but at $499 it looks like a really decent offering for anyone just needing basic DEM/Orthophoto generation. The Remote Expert version has the most bells and whistles (options), and at $1,999 it looks like a good deal too, and have larger projects (1,000 image limit).

This may not work for you, but it sounds like it might fit you needs and price point.

Ranger Bob · Apr 15, 2017

Hi all

Thanks for the advice and suggestions. I've also discovered an ESRI product designed for use with ArcMap called Drone2Map which I've asked our GI bods to get a copy of (free trial) to see if that is a solution (I believe it is compatible with DJI aircraft from other posts I've seen on here).

My I2 arrived the other day and I charged it all up and updated firmware today to then discover 3 of the 4 motors (both red and surprisingly 1 white too) have the dreaded loose prop problem so I can't fly it - frustration or what?

DesertRat · Apr 15, 2017

I think, if I'm not mistaken, Drone2Map is an integrated ESRI implementation of Pix4d "into" ArcGIS/ArcMap. The annual licensing fee is also similar to Pix4d.

r62ewa · Apr 16, 2017

DesertRat said:
I think, if I'm not mistaken, Drone2Map is an integrated ESRI implementation of Pix4d "into" ArcGIS/ArcMap. The annual licensing fee is also similar to Pix4d.

This is correct. I have used both Drone2Map and Pix4D and they are the same program, it's just Drone2Map is what ESRI calls their version which Pix4D produced for them.

AggieMike92 · Apr 25, 2017

Ranger Bob,
Any updates? I have been using MME for a few small test projects. It works fairly well.
I'm going to try DroneMapper Rapid too. I can't afford the E$RI version at $1500 per year.

dgriffiths · Jun 24, 2017

Have any of you guys used OpenDroneMap? It's free and I've had really good results with it.. only limiting factor for me is memory, 8GB is good for about 200 images, after that though it will crash if using docker. Not sure if running straight from your own build would improve this

AggieMike92 · Jul 1, 2017

dgriffiths said:
Have any of you guys used OpenDroneMap? It's free and I've had really good results with it.. only limiting factor for me is memory, 8GB is good for about 200 images, after that though it will crash if using docker. Not sure if running straight from your own build would improve this

It looks interesting but maybe a little challenging. I'll give it a try when I have a little time.