Mapping for elevations - Elite Hobby plan + WebODM
Simple question, searched forums but no clear answer so here goes.
Background: I am a hobby user building a house on my outback property, the house will be built on sloping terrain (no more than 10 degrees of slope), I would like to map the site specifically to work out where on the 6 acres is the flattest spot to minimise the amount of 'cut and fill' to make level ground, and it needs to be reasonably accurate.
I can go old school with a theodolite and some math, but I want to do this with the most modern tech I can afford.
Tech: DJI Air 2s
Software: Dronelink Elite Hobbyist + WebODM
Mission: Map 6 acres on a slope (not more than 10 degree slope)
Required outcome from mission: Have an elevation map for the 6 acres
Desired outcome from mission: Have a 3d model of the 6 acres
I keep seeing the same question but flaky answers regarding the difference between the AGL/MSL and Terrain Follow. All I want to know is what I stated above
'Can I do an elevation map with Elite Hobby by just making a mapping mission, let it fly and then render the results to produce an elevation map'
No I don't want a link to youtube, I watched them all and it's still clear as mud, I can't afford the business plans (I don't fly for profit, just for fun) especially as I'm in Australia and the exchange rate makes the business plans way too expensive for the single task I want to do.
Thanks in advance,
Ben.
Comments
7 comments
Hi Ben Catchlove
If I am understanding correctly, you need to just create an elevation map of an area - not so much a 3d model, where you can rotate around it, etc. but more to just show which parts are higher and lower so that you can level it.
If that is the case then the short answer is, yes, you can do that.
If you run a map mission at a constant altitude relative to take off (ATL) then your software should be able to show that.
I haven't used WebODM before but...you got me thinking and so I have now installed that in a Docker container and I'm running a quick test. I'll let you know how that goes.
But I have definitely done similar things using Maps Made Easy that shows the relative altitude of each area. I assume WebODM will do the same sort of thing.
Update. WebODM worked. The data set I used wasn't ideal for this test, but it did produce a file showing different altitudes of objects (along with a bunch of other stuff).
This was taken at (I believe) 400ft, so starting lower should probably give a more accurate result.
Barry you are a legend, than you so much for not only clarifying but also testing, I can not thank you enough for your clear concise answer.
Cheers,
Ben.
No problem, Ben.
I've actually been meaning to look at both WebODM and Docker for a while, so this was helpful for me too.
BTW - I ran another test later on a larger site that was 90 acres and it did a great job with that one too.
It seems to be struggling with the lastest test, which is a 400-acre site - almost 1,000 images. I've made some changes to hopeully improve memory management that I hope will help. Future changes would also be to let it use the GPU - right now it is all CPU and it is 100% pegged for much of the time (as is memory).
I can quickly see this spiraling in to the need for more memory, or even just a bigger/faster PC :).
I hear you loud and clear, I too think I'll just build up a processing PC, fast SSD drives, CPU's and memory are stupidly cheap compared to yester year when I used to be a gamer.
Well...this is the 400-acre site
What I will probably do is create a virtual machine in AWS. That way I can make it as big as I need and only run it when I need it. Once created they are easy to spin up, use, and then shut down again.
Or...just use this thing
https://webodm.net
Final - note: There is an option to resize the photos before processing - I reduced the size by half (1024 instead of 2048) and it worked for me even on the 400-acre site.
Barry Houldsworth and Ben Catchlove
Please share more; would love to see your WebODM results; e.g., DEM, ortho, and QC report(s), as well as any additional thoughts on WebODM. Thanks! - Kelly
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