Drone Accuracy & Cloud-Based Photogrammetry

Drones are quickly becoming the go-to means for the collection of on-demand aerial imagery across industries such as construction, surveying, insurance, and mining. The ability to quickly capture drone-generated images and use cloud-based photogrammetry platforms to process high-quality orthomosaic maps and 3D models gives professionals the ability to make linear point-to-point measurements without the need to manually capture data in dangerous areas including industrial jobsites, quarries, roofs and other elevated structures. While photogrammetry techniques provide efficiency and improved safety, accuracy of these planimetric measurements have been called into question.In this whitepaper, we explore the relative accuracy of two-dimensional measurements from models generated with imagery collected from industry-standard DJI drone platforms and processed using the DroneDeploy map engine, using data captured from a ground control system on the roof of DroneDeploy Headquarters.Read the report to learn:The principles behind photogrammetry & modelingOur findings on the average margin of error across each drone model and cameraBest practices for reducing the error margin in order to produce more accurate planimetric measurements and orthomosaic maps