Learning objectives: We’ll learn how to check how far along a process is when it is calculating depthmaps and giving no feedback Along the way, we’ll also learn how to look at the docker images running for WebODM and login to said docker images in order to inspect that status of processing data. Let’s go! So, you threw a really big dataset at WebODM, and … Continue reading Checking a running process in WebODM
So, I did a thing. I created my first personal internet video. It’s about coffee. Well, more specifically about espresso, which like Turkish, Arabic, and Ethiopian coffee types is not just merely coffee, but somehow something much more. Not content with throwing it up on YouTube, I put it on PeerTube: With more than 100 000 hosted videos, viewed more than 6 millions times and … Continue reading Affordable Espresso
In the beginning In a previous blog post, we explored how we can quite effectively derive terrain models using drones over deciduous, winter scenes. We ran into some limitations in the quality of the terrain model: the challenge was removing the unwanted features (things like tree trunks) while retaining wanted features (large rock features). I concluded the post thusly: For our use case, however, we … Continue reading Reconstructing cliffs in OpenDroneMap, or how to beat LiDAR at its own game (part 2)
Introduction If you haven’t seen them already, take a look at Part 1 and Part 2 of this series on using the outputs from OpenDroneMap in blender. After exploring OpenDroneMap outputs in blender for a building and its surrounding landscaping and then a some gingerbread buildings on a dining table, let’s take a look at OpenDroneMap outputs for terrain modeling in blender. It’s not uncommon … Continue reading OpenDroneMap + blender = Fun (Part 3)
(Addendum: see parts 2 and 3 of this post:) https://smathermather.com/2019/12/30/opendronemap-blender-fun-part-2/ https://smathermather.com/2019/12/30/opendronemap-blender-fun-part-3/ A preview of tutorials and fun to come: animation in blender of OpenDroneMap scenes. To be frank, the textured meshes look pretty good in meshlab, but my word they look good in blender, and this is without any special care being taken. More to come… . Continue reading OpenDroneMap + blender = Fun
The problem with typical approaches to scaling up data collection just take a standard flight path and do it a lot of times. This compounds error over the space it’s done in, which with really large data sets results in a notable bowl in the data due to incorrect lens calibration estimates. There are several fixes: If possible, fly with a fixed lens like Sensefly’s … Continue reading Optimizing flight planning for calibration (or Self Calibration of Cameras from Drone Flights, part 4)
In October of 2017, a few collegues and I walked down West Creek, in Parma, Ohio to do some prospective mapping of the stream corridor. The hope was this: that by taking a sequence of photos from within the stream, we could use photogrammetry to reconstruct the corridor and ultimately model water flow through the same corridor. Knowing the the reconstruction of this complex physical … Continue reading Reconstructing stream corridors in OpenDroneMap
Background I have been giving a lot of thought to sustainable ways to handle self calibration of cameras without undue additional time added to flights. For many projects, I have the luxury of spending a little more time to collect more data, but for larger projects, this isn’t a sustainable model. In a couple of previous posts (this one and this one), we started to … Continue reading Self Calibration of Cameras from Drone Flights (part 3)
(Modified excerpt from the OpenDroneMap docs) In a previous post on camera calibration, we discussed the possibility of setting up calibration flights that have the following characteristics: non-parallel (converging) flightlines of 20° with a 5° forward facing camera (assuming 0° is nadir). With OpenDroneMap’s –camera parameter, we can thus import camera models from a calibration flight and use that in a more efficiently flown “traditional” … Continue reading Self Calibration of Cameras from Drone Flights (part 2)
(Modified excerpt from the OpenDroneMap docs) Calibrating the Camera Camera calibration is a special challenge with commodity cameras. Temperature changes, vibrations, focus, and other factors can affect the derived parameters with substantial effects on resulting data. Automatic or self calibration is possible and desirable with drone flights, but depending on the flight pattern, automatic calibration may not remove all distortion from the resulting products. James … Continue reading Self Calibration of Cameras from Drone Flights
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