OpenDroneMap

Last updated
OpenDroneMap
Developer(s) OpenDroneMap
Initial release2013
Stable release
3.3.4 / 9 December 2023;40 days ago (2023-12-09) [1]
Repository github.com/OpenDroneMap/ODM
Written in Python
Operating system Windows, Linux, MacOS
Available inEnglish
Type 3D computer graphics software, photogrammetry, computer vision
License AGPLv3 [2]
Website opendronemap.org

OpenDroneMap is an open source photogrammetry toolkit to process aerial imagery (usually from a drone) into maps and 3D models. [3] [4] [5] The software is hosted and distributed freely on GitHub. [6]

Contents

OpenDroneMap has been integrated within American Red Cross's in-field Portable OpenStreetMap system. [7]

Overview

OpenDroneMap can be controlled either from a command-line interface or through a web interface (WebODM). It is recommended to run OpenDroneMap using Docker. [8]

OpenDroneMap uses OpenSfM, CMVS and other libraries to perform the specific tasks in its workflow. Before processing the images, it can lower their resolution in order to save computational resources. OpenDroneMap uses the OpenSfM library to detect and match features, create tracks and determine their 3D positions along with the positions of the cameras. Then it uses either the OpenMVS or CMVS library to generate a dense point cloud from which it generates meshes. After that, the OpenDroneMap uses the Geospatial Data Abstraction Library and the Point Data Abstraction Library for orthomosaic generation and georeferencing. [4]

OpenDroneMap can also process the aerial videos by cutting them into still images. [8]

Performance

OpenDroneMap supports parallel computing and can utilize GPUs. It has a split-merge feature, which significantly reduces the performance, but allows computers with small amount of RAM to process large datasets. The official recommendation is to use 128 GB of memory to process 2500 images. [8]

It was determined that the optimal number of CPU cores for large datasets is 20, and there is little to no performance gain beyond 20 cores. [8]

Related Research Articles

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An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs were originally developed through the twentieth century for military missions too "dull, dirty or dangerous" for humans, and by the twenty-first, they had become essential assets to most militaries. As control technologies improved and costs fell, their use expanded to many non-military applications. These include aerial photography, precision agriculture, forest fire monitoring, river monitoring, environmental monitoring, policing and surveillance, infrastructure inspections, smuggling, product deliveries, entertainment, and drone racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital elevation model</span> 3D computer-generated imagery and measurements of terrain

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aerial photography</span> Taking images of the ground from the air

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Photogrammetry</span> Taking measurements using photography

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Aerial archaeology is the study of archaeological remains by examining them from a higher altitude. In present day, this is usually achieved by satellite images or through the use of drones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NASA WorldWind</span> Open-source virtual globe

NASA WorldWind is an open-source virtual globe. According to the website, "WorldWind is an open source virtual globe API. WorldWind allows developers to quickly and easily create interactive visualizations of 3D globe, map and geographical information. Organizations around the world use WorldWind to monitor weather patterns, visualize cities and terrain, track vehicle movement, analyze geospatial data and educate humanity about the Earth." It was first developed by NASA in 2003 for use on personal computers and then further developed in concert with the open source community since 2004. As of 2017, a web-based version of WorldWind is available online. An Android version is also available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aerial survey</span> Method of collecting geophysical data from high altitude aircraft

Aerial survey is a method of collecting geomatics or other imagery by using airplanes, helicopters, UAVs, balloons or other aerial methods. Typical types of data collected include aerial photography, Lidar, remote sensing and also geophysical data (such as aeromagnetic surveys and gravity. It can also refer to the chart or map made by analysing a region from the air. Aerial survey should be distinguished from satellite imagery technologies because of its better resolution, quality and atmospheric conditions. Today, aerial survey is sometimes recognized as a synonym for aerophotogrammetry, part of photogrammetry where the camera is placed in the air. Measurements on aerial images are provided by photogrammetric technologies and methods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virtual globe</span> 3D software model or representation of Earth or another world

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">3D scanning</span> Scanning of an object or environment to collect data on its shape

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">GDAL</span> Translator library for raster and vector geospatial data formats

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Structure from motion (SfM) is a photogrammetric range imaging technique for estimating three-dimensional structures from two-dimensional image sequences that may be coupled with local motion signals. It is studied in the fields of computer vision and visual perception.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PhotoModeler</span> Software application

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservation Drones</span> Conservation organization

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PrecisionHawk was a commercial drone and data company. Founded in 2010, PrecisionHawk is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina with another global office in Toronto, Canada and satellite offices around the world. PrecisionHawk is a manufacturer of drones (Lancaster) and has more recently focused heavily on developing software for aerial data analysis (DataMapper) and drone safety systems (LATAS). PrecisionHawk is a member of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration Pathfinder Initiative and the NASA UTM Program. An angel investor in the company, Bob Young, founder of Red Hat, became CEO in August 2015. In August 2016, PrecisionHawk became the first U.S. company to receive an FAA exemption to commercially fly drones beyond the operator's visual line of sight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pix4D</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">GigaMesh Software Framework</span> Software framework for processing and analyzing 3D mesh data

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References

  1. "Releases". Github. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  2. "LICENSE". Github. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  3. Ruggeri, Luca. “OpenDroneMap: Open Source Project for Processing Aerial Drone Imagery”, Open-Electronics.org, 27 Dec 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  4. 1 2 Batlle, Jose Martinez (2019-07-07). "Digital photogrammetry of historical aerial photographs using open-source software". Eartharxiv ePrints. Bibcode:2018EaArX....BNA95M. doi:10.31223/osf.io/bna95. hdl:10654/44283. S2CID   240378478 . Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  5. Parka, J. W. (19 July 2016). "Development of Open source-based automatic shooting and processing UAV imagery for Orthoimage Using Smart Camera UAV" (PDF). The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences. XLI-B7: 942. Bibcode:2016ISPAr41B7..941P. doi: 10.5194/isprs-archives-XLI-B7-941-2016 .
  6. Baker, Jason (12 Feb 2018). "8 open source drone projects". Opensource.com. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  7. "OpenDroneMap — Use Cases". Elrha. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Gbagir, Augustine-Moses Gaavwase; Ek, Kylli; Colpaert, Alfred (2023). "OpenDroneMap: Multi-Platform Performance Analysis". Geographies. 3 (3): 446–458. doi: 10.3390/geographies3030023 .