OpenDroneMap

Last updated
OpenDroneMap
Developer(s) OpenDroneMap
Initial release2013
Stable release
3.5.0 / 11 April 2024;49 days ago (2024-04-11) [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 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 the OpenMVS library to generate a dense point cloud from which it generates meshes. After that, the Geospatial Data Abstraction Library and the Point Data Abstraction Library are used for orthomosaic generation and georeferencing. [4]

OpenDroneMap can also process 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] If local system resources are inadequate to process a given dataset, the WebODM interface can also offload processing to the WebODM Lightning cloud service. [9] [10]

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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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unmanned aerial vehicle</span> Aircraft without any human pilot on board

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, area coverage, 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">Aerial photography</span> Taking images of the ground from the air

Aerial photography is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography.

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

Photogrammetry is the science and technology of obtaining reliable information about physical objects and the environment through the process of recording, measuring and interpreting photographic images and patterns of electromagnetic radiant imagery and other phenomena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orthophoto</span> Geometrically corrected aerial photograph

An orthophoto, orthophotograph, orthoimage or orthoimagery is an aerial photograph or satellite imagery geometrically corrected ("orthorectified") such that the scale is uniform: the photo or image follows a given map projection. Unlike an uncorrected aerial photograph, an orthophoto can be used to measure true distances, because it is an accurate representation of the Earth's surface, having been adjusted for topographic relief, lens distortion, and camera tilt.

<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.

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<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">GDAL</span> Translator library for raster and vector geospatial data formats

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Integrated Land and Water Information System (ILWIS) is a geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing software for both vector and raster processing. Its features include digitizing, editing, analysis and display of data, and production of quality maps. ILWIS was initially developed and distributed by ITC Enschede in the Netherlands for use by its researchers and students. Since 1 July 2007, it has been released as free software under the terms of the GPL-2.0-only license. Having been used by many students, teachers and researchers for more than two decades, ILWIS is one of the most user-friendly integrated vector and raster software programmes currently available. ILWIS has some very powerful raster analysis modules, a high-precision and flexible vector and point digitizing module, a variety of very practical tools, as well as a great variety of user guides and training modules all available for downloading. The current version is ILWIS 3.8.6. Similar to the GRASS GIS in many respects, ILWIS is currently available natively only on Microsoft Windows. However, a Linux Wine manual has been released.

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

PhotoModeler is a software application that performs image-based modeling and close range photogrammetry – producing 3D models and measurements from photography. The software is used for close-range, aerial and uav photogrammetry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CATUAV</span> Spanish UAV manufacturer

CATUAV S.L. is a technology-based private company that offers aerial services using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Its headquarters are located in the Moià airfield in the BCN Drone Center, 40 km north of Barcelona, Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yuneec International</span> Chinese aircraft manufacturer

Yuneec International, established in 1999 in Hong Kong, China, is wholly owned by ATL Global Holding AG of Switzerland. The company has a research and development center headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, a global market and marketing headquarters in Kaltenkirchen, Germany, and an OEM factory in Kunshan, Jiangsu, China. Initially focused on manufacturing electric remote-controlled model airplanes, Yuneec introduced human-crewed aircraft to the U.S. market through GreenWing International. The company's Yuneec International E430 was the first electric human-crewed aircraft designed for commercial production. Since 2012, Yuneec has concentrated on developing and producing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). By the end of 2016, the company had established a new R&D center, Advanced Technology Labs Ltd, near Zurich, Switzerland, and had begun its global expansion.

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">3D Robotics</span> American drone company

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

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

Pix4D is a Swiss software company that specializes in photogrammetry. It was founded in 2011 as a spinoff from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Computer Vision Lab in Switzerland. It develops a suite of software products that use photogrammetry and computer vision algorithms to transform DSLR, fisheye, RGB, thermal and multispectral images into 3D maps and 3D modeling. The company has 7 international offices, with its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

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

Cyphal is a lightweight protocol designed for reliable intra-vehicle communications using various communications transports, originally destined for CAN bus, but targeting various network types in subsequent revisions. OpenCyphal is an open-source project that aims to provide MIT-licensed implementations of the Cyphal protocol. The project was known as UAVCAN prior to rebranding in March 2022.

References

  1. "Releases". Github. Retrieved 5 May 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 .
  9. "AE593/AE593: WebODM: An Open-Source Alternative to Commercial Image Stitching Software for Uncrewed Aerial Systems". Ask IFAS - Powered by EDIS. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  10. "WebODM Lightning: Frequently Asked Questions". webodm.net. Retrieved 2024-05-30.