Intro to Aerial Mapping

Tools that make maximize your bird’s-eye-view

- Gus Calderon

Aerial maps can be created from a collection of aerial photos that are stitched together with computer software. A batch of overlapping, vertical aerial photos is processed and referenced with their GPS position. The processed aerial maps are used in many industries such as agriculture, emergency response, construction, mining, and environmental monitoring. When they’re made at regular intervals, aerial maps can document changes to a specific area in a process known as “change detection.” Multiple aerial maps, collected over time, can be compared with current and past images to detect patterns that are not visible from the ground. Change detection is essential for many applications such as monitoring snowpack, vegetation density, and storm erosion. While several companies have developed mapping solutions, this article will focus on three that are compatible with the most common line of DJI drones: Maps Made Easy, DroneDeploy, and Pix4D.

USING THE SOFTWARE