Exercise: Process Drone Data To Model A Construction Project

Imagery in Action
Exercise
Process drone data to model a
construction project
Section 3 Exercise 1
August 13, 2021
Imagery in Action
Process drone data to model a construction project
Time to complete
55 minutes
Software requirements
ArcGIS Drone2Map license
Introduction
ArcGIS is capable of using imagery from many different sources, including unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAV) or drones. With these new sensors, high-resolution imagery can be captured
and quickly added to your GIS to provide an updated visual look at your study area or for use
in more advanced analytical studies. Several Esri products can help manage your drone data
in your organization, including Site Scan for ArcGIS, ArcGIS Ortho Maker, and ArcGIS
Drone2Map. Site Scan provides the ability to program your drone's flight plan and then create
imagery products in a cloud-based workflow. Ortho Maker is an ArcGIS Enterprise solution
through ArcGIS Image Server. Drone2Map provides a desktop-based workflow that can be
used to create new imagery products based on drone data that you create. Additionally,
ArcGIS Pro's ortho mapping capability can be used to create orthorectified imagery.
Depending on the origin of the input imagery and the organization requirements, the choice
of which application to use can vary for each organization. For this exercise, you will focus on
Drone2Map as the app for your organization.
Exercise scenario
In this exercise, you have been given a fresh set of imagery that was collected from a drone
for a recent residential development. You are a GIS analyst with the company developing the
neighborhood. You have been asked to use this new data to create imagery products that will
be used to show the city the progress on the new development and for the architects to
inspect the progress on the neighborhood. You will use Drone2Map to create the imagery
products and use one of the options to create the imagery products for further analysis and
visualization.
Step 1: Install ArcGIS Drone2Map

Because you will be using Drone2Map in this exercise, you will first need to install the
software before you can use it to create the imagery products.
Copyright © 2021 Esri. All rights reserved. 1

Imagery in Action
a Open a new web browser in private or incognito mode.

Note: To learn how to enable private browsing, see this How to Enable Private Browsing on
Any Web Browser article. (https://links.esri.com/HowToBrowse | https://www.howtogeek.com/
269265/how-to-enable-private-browsing-on-any-web-browser).
b Browse to ArcGIS Drone2Map Help: Turn Your Drone into an Enterprise Productivity Tool
(https://doc.arcgis.com/en/drone2map) and sign in with your course credentials.
c In the upper-right corner of the web page, click Download Drone2Map.
ArcGIS Drone2Map requires 1.8 gigabytes of disk space to download. If the default download
location does not have enough space, you can change the location by following the steps in
this How to Change the File Download Location in Your Browser article (https://links.esri.com/
ChangeDownloadLocation | www.lifewire.com/change-the-file-download-location-4046428).
d After the download completes, double-click the .exe file.
e Follow the installation instructions, accept the Master Agreement, and then accept the
rest of the defaults.
f When you are finished, close the private or incognito web browser.
Step 2: Download the exercise data files

In this step, you will download the exercise data files.
a In a web browser, go to https://links.esri.com/SubdivisionDroneData and download the

Subdivision Drone Data ZIP file.
Note: The complete URL to the exercise data file is https://www.arcgis.com/home/
item.html?id=f467d134bf564bf3bc7dd7d57922c46f.
The size of this dataset is 333 MB. Be sure that your computer has enough space
to download the data.

Imagery in Action
b Extract the files to the C:\EsriMOOC\Data folder.
c When you are finished, close the web browser and File Explorer, if necessary.
Step 3: Input drone data

In this step, you will input your drone data that will be used to create your project.
a Start ArcGIS Drone2Map.
b When prompted, sign in to Drone2Map with your MOOC credentials.
c In the middle of the Drone2Map Start page, click Next, as specified in the following
graphic.

Imagery in Action
Note: You may need to expand the ArcGIS Drone2Map window to see the Next button.
d For the project name, type SubdivisionProgress.
e For the project location, click Browse, and then browse to C:\EsriMOOC, click the Projects
folder to select it, and then click OK.
f In the Add Images section, click Add Folder.
g Browse to C:\EsriMOOC\Data, select the SubdivisionDrone folder, and then click OK.

Imagery in Action
The Image Count should show 40 images to be added to the project.
h Click Create.
In Drone2Map, you will see 2D and 3D maps added to the display. The flight line pattern in
the 2D map will be visible based on the arrangement of the input data.
i Review the Contents pane on the left, which shows the layers that are currently added to
the map.
1. What do the blue dots represent?
_______________________________________________________________________________
j In the map, in the third column from the left, click the top blue dot for image DJI_0425, as
shown in the following graphic.

Imagery in Action
The Image Viewer will appear in a new window showing the individual image for your review.
You can scroll through the images added to the project. The purpose of the Image Viewer is
to allow for review of the input images before the imagery products are created. Some
images may not be satisfactory for your project, so you can remove those images from the
processing here. You can also mark up images with notes based on your review.
k Close the Image Viewer.
Step 4: Select processing options

In this step, you will choose property options for the imagery products necessary to monitor
the progress of the building construction.
Drone2Map is capable of producing many different imagery outputs. Your specific study
requirements indicate that you must create an orthomosaic, digital terrain models (DTMs), a
3D point cloud, and a 3D mesh.
a On the Home tab, in the Processing group, click Options to open the options for the
project.
In the Options dialog box, you can choose the products that you want to create and the
parameters to use during the processing.
b On the 2D Products tab, confirm that the Create Orthomosaic, Create Digital Surface
Model, and Create Digital Terrain Model boxes are checked.

Imagery in Action
c On the 3D Products tab, for Create Point Clouds, check the LAS box.
The LAS point cloud is a set of points that represents coincident locations in the project area
where several pixels from various input rasters are the same. These keypoints are then used to
create a point cloud that can be used to model different elevation imagery products.
d For Create Textured Meshes, under Multi LOD Mesh, check the SLPK box.
The textured mesh option will create an object that can be viewed in three dimensions. The
mesh can be used to model what the project area looks like as if you were on the ground
looking around at the features.
Your 3D Products tab should look like the following graphic.

Imagery in Action
e On the Initial tab, update Keypoints Image Scale to Full.

The Keypoints Image Scale is related to the number of coincident areas per input raster. The
scale indicates the quality of the processing—the more keypoints, the more refined the output
and the longer the processing time.
f For Matching Image Pairs, confirm that Aerial Grid Or Corridor is selected.
This option is based on the input data. When the drone collects the data, different flight plans
may be used. For this set of input rasters, this option is correct.
Your Initial tab should look like the following graphic.

Imagery in Action
g On the Dense tab, check the Run Dense box.

This option relates to point cloud densification, which will delay the processing but create
more refined results.
h Click OK.
For more information about the specific selections, see ArcGIS Drone2Map Help: Processing
options.
Step 5: Add ground control points

In this step, you will add ground control points (GCPs) to improve the output by linking it to
ground measurements.
a On the Home tab, in the Control group, click the Control down arrow and choose Import
Control.
b In the Import Control window, choose the Import From Drone2Map Control Export
option, and then click OK.
c In the Import Control dialog box, for Drone2Map Control Export, click Browse, and then
browse to C:\EsriMOOC\Data, select the GCP_Subdivision.zip file, and click OK.

Imagery in Action
Three GCPs will be added to the dialog box.
d Click OK to add the GCPs.
The new GCPs will appear in the map as green plus symbols.
GCPs are important for drone data to aid in improving the accuracy of the data collected. As
the quality of the ground control improves, the positional accuracy of the created imagery
products improves.

Imagery in Action
In this step, you indicated the products that you want to create, added GCPs, and configured
the parameters to use during the creation.
Step 6: Produce imagery products

In this step, you will create the 2D and 3D imagery products that you specified in the
processing options. These imagery products will allow you to share the building construction
progress that has been completed so far.
a On the Home tab, in the Processing group, click Start to create the imagery products.
Note: The progress for the project will be indicated at the bottom of the Manage pane on the
right. Depending on your system, the processing times can be lengthy.
The 2D map includes the project data about the images and the flight lines as before, but
now it also includes the 2D products and 3D products created.
b In the Contents pane, turn off the visibility of the Project Data and 3D Products group
layers.

Imagery in Action
The 2D imagery products are displayed in two group layers: the Imagery Products group
layer, which contains the Orthomosaic layer, and the DEM Products group layer, which
contains the Digital Surface Model (DSM) and Digital Terrain Model (DTM) layers.
Step 7: Review the Processing Report

In this step, you will review the imagery products created to assess their relative quality and fit
for your analysis. There are several ways to evaluate the imagery products, including visual
review, coverage area review, and output statistics.
a On the Home tab, in the Processing group, click Report to open the Processing Report.

Imagery in Action
The Processing Report includes different statistics about the production process and some
statistics about the product generated.
Ground sampling distance (GSD) is the distance between center points of each pixel. The
GSD is the size of the pixels on the ground in the orthomosaic. The GSD is related to the
spatial resolution for the output.
2. In the Summary section, what is the average GSD reported?
_______________________________________________________________________________
When considering how well the processing project performed, one measure is if all the
images used as input have been used to create the imagery products.
3. In the Quality Check section, how many images were calibrated in the project?
_______________________________________________________________________________
b Minimize the Processing Report.
c In the Contents pane, in the Imagery Products group layer, double-click the Orthomosaic
layer to open its properties.
d On the Source tab, expand Raster Information.

One of the advantages of drone data is that the sensors are capable of extremely high-
resolution data. With such a fine spatial resolution, you are capable of recognizing small
features within the orthomosaic.

Imagery in Action
4. What is the cell size reported?
_______________________________________________________________________________
e Close the layer properties.
f Restore the Processing Report.

Hint: In the bottom-left corner of the app, right-click Processing Report and choose
Maximize.
g Scroll down to the Overlap section of the report, and then consider the green area
depicted in the graphic.
The graphic indicates the coverage area in the project relative to the number of overlapping
images. The green areas have the most coverage, which improves the quality of the output in
that area when you have that much overlap. As you review the output, consider the areas in
the center of the imagery product to be more accurate than the areas with less input.
h Close the report.

Imagery in Action
Step 8: Review 2D imagery products

In this step, you will review the 2D imagery products that were created in the processing.
a In the Contents pane, right-click Orthomosaic and choose Zoom To Source Resolution.
b Pan the display to the right until you see the cul-de-sac shown in the following graphic.
Drone imagery data is collected at a lower altitude and is capable of creating high-resolution
imagery.
5. In the bottom-left corner of the map, what is the reported scale?
_______________________________________________________________________________
At this scale, you can see many different features very well. This orthomosaic will work well for
construction managers to visually inspect the area for defects or other errors.
c On the Analysis tab, in the Measure group, click Area.

The orthomosaic is orthorectified and can be used for measuring features. Orthorectified
images have been processed to apply corrections for optical distortions from the sensor
system and apparent changes in the position of ground objects caused by the perspective of
the sensor view angle and ground terrain.
The orthometric qualities of the drone data can be used to provide information to a new
homeowner about the final aspects of their new home. For instance, the actual length and

Imagery in Action
total area covered by the driveway created can be measured and provided to the
homeowner.
d Measure the area of the driveway indicated in the following graphic by clicking the outline
of the driveway.
Note: If you need to pan the map, hold the C key to temporarily activate the Explore tool.
e Finish the measurement by double-clicking the last point.

6. What is the area reported?
_______________________________________________________________________________
7. What is the perimeter reported?
_______________________________________________________________________________
f In the Mensuration Results pane, select the measurement, click the Delete button , and
then click Yes to delete the results.
g Close the Mensuration Results pane.
Step 9: Review the point cloud

In this step, you will review the 3D products created for the project, which include the LAS
point cloud and textured mesh. The LAS point cloud is visible in the 2D map and functions as
a LAS dataset with classified points. The textured mesh is only visible in the 3D scene.

Imagery in Action
a In the Contents pane, turn on the visibility of the 3D Products group to see the LAS Point
Cloud layer.
b Right-click LAS Point Cloud and choose Zoom To Layer.
Each LAS point has been classified to allow you to create multiple elevation models and allow
the use of the LAS point cloud for other lidar-related products in ArcGIS, including a LAS
dataset. The classification is performed during the creation process to indicate what the
individual point is displaying.
For more information about LAS datasets, see ArcGIS Pro Help: What is a LAS dataset?
c In the Contents pane, turn off the visibility of the Orthomosaic layer and the DEM
Products group layer.
d On the Home tab, in the Layers group, click Basemap and choose Dark Gray Canvas.

Imagery in Action
The point cloud is based on the LAS file and is classified according to a preset classification
scheme.
e In the Contents pane, open the LAS Point Cloud layer properties.
f In the Layer Properties dialog box, click the LAS Filter tab.
You can see the classification codes, return values, and classification flags on this tab. Each
point in the LAS Point Cloud layer is classified during the creation process. These
classifications allow you to filter the point cloud to show portions of the data depending on
your desired output. The classification codes denote what the point represents.
Note: These codes are generated by the tool and may need to be manually refined further if
errors are noticed.
8. What are the classification codes reported in the dialog box?
_______________________________________________________________________________
g Close the layer properties.
h In the Contents pane, turn on the visibility of the DEM Products group layer and turn off
the visibility of the 3D Products group layer.

Imagery in Action
The DSM is created from the LAS point cloud and indicates the surface elevation throughout
the raster. The buildings, trees, and other surface features are visible in this visualization. The
values in this raster can be used for measuring the height of features.
i Turn off the visibility of the DEM Products group layer and turn on the visibility of the 3D
Products group layer.
j Right-click LAS Point Cloud, point to LAS Filter, and choose Ground.

Imagery in Action
The points in the LAS point cloud with the Ground option enabled removes the classified LAS
points that are not classified as Ground. This version of the point cloud was used to create the
digital terrain model (DTM) to visualize the "bare earth" in the project.
k Turn off the visibility of the 3D Products group layer.
l Turn on the DEM Products group layer and turn off the visibility of the Digital Surface
Model.
The DTM visualizes the ground elevation, or "bare earth" visualization, of the drone data. This
visualization models what the area would look like if the features were removed. The
buildings, trees, and other surface features are removed and only the ground is displayed.
When the LAS point cloud is created, each point is classified according to a classification
scheme that indicates whether the LAS point is the ground or another feature.
This visualization is an estimate of the "bare earth" and should not be considered
more than an estimation.
Step 10: Review imagery products in a scene

In this step, you will review the output in a local scene. The local scene allows you to pivot the
display to show the data in three dimensions and provides a unique perspective of the data.
a At the top of the map view, click the 3D Map tab to view the data in three dimensions.

Imagery in Action
Note: It may take a moment for the data to load.
b In the Contents pane, in the 3D Products group layer, right-click the Mesh layer and
choose Zoom To Layer.
The flight lines should be visible above the 3D mesh.
c Zoom in closer and tilt the scene.

For more information about how to use 3D navigation, see ArcGIS Pro Help: Navigation in
3D.
d Rotate the scene until the flight lines are aligned, as shown in the following graphic.

Imagery in Action
Note: The 3D mesh results can be improved by increasing the LOD Texture Quality and
adding more oblique input data to improve the sides of the buildings.
With the flight lines visible, you can see the position of the drone during the collection of the
imagery.
e Save the project and exit ArcGIS Drone2Map.

You have learned how to create imagery products with Drone2Map based on your drone
data. Many possibilities are available within ArcGIS to continue your analysis or visualization
projects.
f If you would like to further engineer your data, continue exploring the output from ArcGIS
Drone2Map in the following stretch goal.
Stretch goal (Optional)

Throughout this course, you will see exercise stretch goals. These goals include ways that you
can continue or enhance the work that you completed during the exercise.
Stretch goals are community-supported (meaning that your fellow MOOC participants can
assist you with the steps to complete the stretch goal using the Lesson Forum), and they are a
great opportunity to work together to learn.

Imagery in Action
To continue engineering your data and exploring the output from ArcGIS Drone2Map,
perform the following tasks:
1. In a web browser, browse to the Subdivision Progress 3D Mesh scene layer.
Note: The complete URL for this layer is https://www.arcgis.com/home/

item.html?id=f4089c2d183542c0bb4f96d278043dcb.
2. Click Open In Scene Viewer.
3. Use the tools provided in the toolbar in the upper-right corner of the scene to answer all
or some of the following questions:
• What is the average height of the tallest model home in the scene?
• Which house has the largest fenced-in yard?
• When the shadows are enabled, which houses have shaded backyards on August 25,
2021, at 4:00 PM, Central Time (UTC-6 CST - US and Canada), which is the time zone
that this Texas neighborhood is in?
• Which house has the driveway with the most area, and what is the measurement?
For more information about Scene Viewer, see ArcGIS Online Help: Get started with Scene
Viewer and Scene navigation.
Use the Lesson Forum to post your questions, observations, and screen capture examples to
identify which homes best represent the answers. Be sure to include the #stretch hashtag in
the posting title.

Imagery in Action
Answers to Exercise Questions
1. What do the blue dots represent?

The blue dots are the enabled images in the project.
2. In the Summary section, what is the average GSD reported?

The reported GSD is 1.59 cm / 0.62 in.
3. In the Quality Check section, how many images were calibrated in the project?
There were 40 images calibrated, which are all the images in the folder.
4. What is the cell size reported?

The cell size is 0.06 meters.
5. In the bottom-left corner of the map, what is the reported scale?

The reported scale is 1:240.
6. What is the area reported?

The area should be approximately 50 square meters.
7. What is the perimeter reported?

The perimeter should be approximately 30 meters.
8. What are the classification codes reported in the dialog box?

All, Ground, Low Vegetation, High Vegetation, Building, and Road Surface are the
classification codes reported.

Exercise: Process Drone Data To Model A Construction Project

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Imagery in Action

Process drone data to model a construction project

Step 1: Install ArcGIS Drone2Map

Copyright © 2021 Esri. All rights reserved. 1

a Open a new web browser in private or incognito mode.

c In the upper-right corner of the web page, click Download Drone2Map.

d After the download completes, double-click the .exe file.

Step 2: Download the exercise data files

a In a web browser, go to https://links.esri.com/SubdivisionDroneData and download the

Copyright © 2021 Esri. All rights reserved. 2

b Extract the files to the C:\EsriMOOC\Data folder.

Step 3: Input drone data

a Start ArcGIS Drone2Map.

b When prompted, sign in to Drone2Map with your MOOC credentials.

Copyright © 2021 Esri. All rights reserved. 3

d For the project name, type SubdivisionProgress.

f In the Add Images section, click Add Folder.

Copyright © 2021 Esri. All rights reserved. 4

The Image Count should show 40 images to be added to the project.

Copyright © 2021 Esri. All rights reserved. 5

k Close the Image Viewer.

Step 4: Select processing options

Copyright © 2021 Esri. All rights reserved. 6

Copyright © 2021 Esri. All rights reserved. 7

e On the Initial tab, update Keypoints Image Scale to Full.

Copyright © 2021 Esri. All rights reserved. 8

g On the Dense tab, check the Run Dense box.

Step 5: Add ground control points

Copyright © 2021 Esri. All rights reserved. 9

Three GCPs will be added to the dialog box.

d Click OK to add the GCPs.

Copyright © 2021 Esri. All rights reserved. 10

Step 6: Produce imagery products

Copyright © 2021 Esri. All rights reserved. 11

Step 7: Review the Processing Report

Copyright © 2021 Esri. All rights reserved. 12

b Minimize the Processing Report.

d On the Source tab, expand Raster Information.

Copyright © 2021 Esri. All rights reserved. 13

4. What is the cell size reported?

e Close the layer properties.

f Restore the Processing Report.

h Close the report.

Copyright © 2021 Esri. All rights reserved. 14

Step 8: Review 2D imagery products

c On the Analysis tab, in the Measure group, click Area.

Copyright © 2021 Esri. All rights reserved. 15

e Finish the measurement by double-clicking the last point.

7. What is the perimeter reported?

g Close the Mensuration Results pane.

Step 9: Review the point cloud

Copyright © 2021 Esri. All rights reserved. 16

b Right-click LAS Point Cloud and choose Zoom To Layer.

Copyright © 2021 Esri. All rights reserved. 17

g Close the layer properties.

Copyright © 2021 Esri. All rights reserved. 18

Copyright © 2021 Esri. All rights reserved. 19

k Turn off the visibility of the 3D Products group layer.

Step 10: Review imagery products in a scene

Copyright © 2021 Esri. All rights reserved. 20

Note: It may take a moment for the data to load.

The flight lines should be visible above the 3D mesh.

c Zoom in closer and tilt the scene.