What Is an Orthomosaic Map? How These Maps Are Helping Catch…

The time period orthomosaic map appears to be arising increasingly these days.

At InterDrone this 12 months there have been whole periods dedicated to the method behind creating orthomosaic maps, in addition to the worth they current for varied purposes.

But what’s an orthomosaic map, and the way are individuals really utilizing them within the area?

Here is an efficient definition to get us began:

An orthophoto, orthophotograph or orthoimage is an aerial photograph geometrically corrected (“orthorectified”) such that the size is uniform: the picture has the identical lack of distortion as a map. Unlike an uncorrected aerial photograph, an orthophotograph can be utilized to measure true distances, as a result of it’s an correct illustration of the Earth’s floor, having been adjusted for topographic reduction, lens distortion, and digital camera tilt.

– Wikipedia.com

Put merely, an orthomosaic map is an in depth, correct picture illustration of an space, created out of many pictures which have been stitched collectively and geometrically corrected (“orthorectified”) in order that it’s as correct as a map.

Here’s a bit of an orthomosaic map of the Facebook campus (view the total, interactive map right here):

Note: The precise map permits you to zoom in a lot nearer, so as to get extremely detailed visible data on the positioning mapped.

How Are People Using Orthomosaic Maps within the Field?

Even although we’ve offered a definition, for those who haven’t really labored with an orthomosaic map (or talked to somebody who has), this all should still sound fairly summary.

To make issues extra concrete, let’s check out some particular examples of how orthomosaic maps are being utilized in actual life. By how individuals use these maps, we’ll have the ability to shed extra mild on what they’re.

Police and Fire Departments

Police and hearth departments are utilizing orthomosaic maps in a number of methods:

  • Mapping extremely frequented areas in cities, akin to malls and faculties. In the occasion of an lively shooter situation, hearth, or different catastrophe that might require an evacuation or some sort of tactical response, these maps will help responders higher perceive the precise scenario they’ll be going through once they arrive on the scene, and put together themselves accordingly.
  • Documenting crime scenes. Sometimes there isn’t sufficient time to completely comb a criminal offense scene in particular person, and even for those who do, you may miss one thing. An orthomosaic map permits investigators to look again over a criminal offense scene after they’ve left—at InterDrone, we heard a narrative a couple of bloody cellphone being situated with certainly one of these maps, which finally helped establish a suspect in a murder investigation.
  • Mapping after disasters. Orthomosaic maps can present detailed accounts of the harm in a given location in order that responders can perceive what they’re strolling into, and precisely assess the harm carried out to the infrastructure and surrounding space.

Check out this fireplace loss evaluation orthomosaic map to see how these maps can be utilized to doc harm following a hearth.

gurnee-police-flood

Real Estate

Orthomosaic maps are being utilized in actual property to offer detailed, interactive maps of properties, which assist realtors of their efforts to promote them. An orthomosaic map made for actual property functions may very well be of a small space, akin to a home, or it may cowl 1000’s of acres of property.

Typically they’re used to showcase massive properties or estates, since it may be tough to indicate a potential shopper your complete piece of land and/or particulars of the buildings on the property when they’re so unfold out.

Below is a bit of an orthomosaic map of a college and farm in New Zealand. This is the sort of property that might be actually onerous to seize on the bottom, and even by strolling round in particular person, making it excellent for an ortho map.

drone-ortho-farm

Note: This image is barely a portion of the total ortho map. Check out the total, interactive map on the DroneDeploy web site.

Construction

Orthomosaic maps will help present detailed updates on the progress of a building mission, since they let you zoom in and see totally different elements of the constructing(s) below building, in addition to associated sources.

Here is an picture taken from an orthomosaic map of a hospital that’s below building:

drone-ortho-hospital-construction

Check out the total interactive map on DroneDeploy.

Conservation

Orthomosaic maps will help conservationists of their efforts in numerous methods by offering an in depth, correct map of the situations in a given space.

Mapping forests and their development, sand dunes and their actions, or the extent of water in an space that homes a protected species of birds—these are all examples of how ortho maps are getting used within the area in the case of conservation.

drone-forest-photo
Image supply

Agriculture

Want to know the way your crops are doing right this moment? Or how they have been doing on the identical day a 12 months in the past?

Ortho maps will help farmers get insights into how their crops are doing, and likewise permit for protecting a extremely correct document of the crops on a chunk of land over time.

drone-stock-1
Image supply

To study extra about orthomosaic maps and the way they’re getting used, try the National Digital Orthoimagery Program. The NDOP manages and coordinates overhead imagery for civil authorities wants all through the U.S.

You also can check out DroneDeploy’s Drone Map Gallery for extra examples of orthomosaic and different varieties of maps created by drones—they’ve one of the crucial thorough libraries of examples that we’ve discovered on the net.

Want to dive into drone mapping? Check out our free newbie’s information to drone mapping software program. For an even deeper dive, enroll in our associate course, Mapping and 3D Modeling 101.

Zacc Dukowitz

Director of Marketing

Zacc Dukowitz is the Director of Marketing for UAV Coach. A author with skilled expertise in schooling expertise and digital advertising, Zacc is captivated with reporting on the drone business at a time when UAVs will help us reside higher lives. Zacc additionally holds the rank of nidan in Aikido, a Japanese martial artwork, and is a broadly revealed fiction author. Zacc has an MFA from the University of Florida and a BA from St. John’s College. Follow @zaccdukowitz or try zaccdukowitz.com to learn his work.

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