Introduction to Photogrammetry

Dr. Muhammad Zulkarnain Abdul Rahman

Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
 Table of contents
1. Definition of photogrammetry
2. Main idea of photogrammetry
3. Applications of photogrammetry
4. UAV photogrammetry
5. UAV photogrammetry components
6. Type of UAV system
7. Sensors for UAV system
8. UAV classification
9. Technical principal of photogrammetry
10. Photogrammetry workflow
11. Best Photogrammetry Software
12. Flight planning
13. UAV Photogrammetry Vs Other technology
 Definition of Photogrammetry
Photogrammetry - the art, science and technology of acquiring
information of physical object and environment through the
process of recording, measurement and intepretation of
photographic image, pattern of electromagnet energy and other
phenomenon (Slama, 1980; Wolf, 1983).
 The main idea of Photogrammetry

FUNDAMENTAL TASK
Establish the geometric
relationship between the
image and the object as it is
01
existed at the time of the
imaging event
EXTRACT INFO
After the relationship

02 established – we can
derive information
about the object
strictly from its
imagery
METHOD OF
RELATIONSHIP
Analog vs Digital
03
 Application of Photogrammetry

Medical Mapping
Topography, landuse,
Surgery, cosmetic etc.. landcover, base
map,agriculture etc…

Archeology Planning & Design

Highway, bridge, pipeline,
Historical sites, artefact, transmission line, dam
historical building etc… etc…

Architecture & Hazard

Engineering management
Building, monuments, Flood, landslide,
model or car, ships, aero technological hazard,
plane, instruments etc… earthquake etc…
 UAV Photogrammetry
A Drone/UAV - "powered, aerial vehicle that does not carry a human operator, uses
aerodynamic forces to provide vehicle lift, can fly autonomously or be piloted remotely,
can be expendable or recoverable, and can carry a lethal or nonlethal payload“

Other names for UAV Remotely Piloted Vehicle (RPV), Remotely Operated Aircraft
(ROA), Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), Unmanned Vehicle Systems (UVS), Unmanned
Aircraft System (UAS) is also being used (Colomina et al., 2008).
UAV’s Photogrammetry components

01
MULTI-ROTOR
• Small camera in the air for
a short period of time
• The easiest and cheapest
option
• Limited endurance and
speed, making them
unsuitable for large scale
aerial mapping
Type of UAV system
02
FIXED WING
• Use a wing like a normal
aeroplane to provide the lift
rather than vertical lift rotors
• Efficient energy consumption
• Able to cover longer distances,
map much larger areas, and
loiter for long times
monitoring
• Inability to hover in one spot
03 04
SINGLE ROTOR
• Very popular in manned FIXED WING VTOL
aviation, but currently
only fill a small niche in • Merging the benefits of fixed-
the drone world wing UAVs with the ability to
• Has the benefit of much hover is a new category of
greater efficiency over a hybrids which can also take
multi-rotor off and land vertically
• Complex, cost, vibration,
and also the danger of
their large spinning blades
 DJI Phantom 4 Pro
Cost = $1,600

Flight Time = 28 minutes

Coverage = 150 acres

Camera = 20MP Exmor R CMOS

Max Speed = 44 mph

Primary use: ameture videography &

imagery
DJI Inspire 1
Cost = $2,800

Flight Time = 18 minutes

Coverage = 100 acres

Camera = 12MP & 16MP

Max Speed = 49 mph

Primary use: videography & inspection

work
DJI Spreading Wings S1000
Cost (package)= $8,900

Flight Time = 15 minutes

Coverage = 100 acres

Camera = Professional grade

Max Speed = 58 mph

Primary use: Professional photos & industrial

applications
Event 38: E384
Cost (package)= $3,300

Flight Time = 100 minutes

Coverage = 400 acres

Camera = 18-28 MP

Max Speed = 29 mph

Primary use: surveying & mapping

Assembly video
Sensefly Ebee RTK
Cost (package)= $25k

Flight Time = 40 minutes

Coverage = 300 acres

Camera = 20 MP

Max Speed = 40 mph

Primary use: Surveying & mapping

Takeoff video
Trimble UX5
Cost (package)= $50k

Flight Time = 50 minutes

Coverage = 400 acres

Camera = 24 MP

Max Speed = 50 mph

Primary use: surveying & mapping

Photo of launch
Firefly6
Cost (package)= $7,500

Flight Time = 45 minutes

Coverage = 400 acres

Camera = 24 MP

Max Speed = 40 mph

Primary use: surveying & mapping

 Sensors for UAV system
Thermal
FLIR Vue Pro,
Multispectral FLIR Vue Pro R ,
SLANTRANGE FLIR Duo Pro R,
3P, Parrot DJI Zenmuse XT
Sequoia Premium / FLIR
RedEdge® by Thermal
MicaSence Camera, DJI
Zenmuse XT2

Normal RGB Hyperspectral

LiDAR
camera HYSPEX Mjolnir V-
Snoopy A-Series
DSLR, compact 1240
Drone LiDAR
camera, built-in Hyperspectral
System, Phoenix
camera Camera, Hyspex
Miniranger-UAV
Mjolnir S-620
LIDAR Solution,
Hyperspectral
Velodyne
Camera, Hyspex
SWIR-384, Hyspex
VNIR-1800
UAV classification
 Photogrammetry concept
Stereoscopic parallax
• The displacement of an object caused
by a change in the point of observation
is called parallax.
• Stereoscopic parallax is caused by
taking photographs of the same object
but from different points of
observation.
 Photogrammetry concept
• We need to have vertical photo
• Overlapped photos
 Causes of Y-parallax
• Essential condition for comfortable stereoscopic viewing:
the line joining corresponding images be parallel with the
direction of flight
• If not: Y-parallax exits
• It appears because:
– Improper orientation of the photos
– Variation in flying height
– Tilt of the photos
• Most serious Y-parallax is due to improper orientation of
the photos

01
FLIGHT PLANNING
• Area of interest
• Spatial resolution (GSD)
• UAV system
• Camera/Sensor
• Endlap/sidelap
• Flight altitude
• Flight lines
• Control points
• Check points
• Camera calibration
Photogrammetric workflow
02 03
DATA DATA
ACQUISITION PROCESSING
• Fight approval • Interior orientation
• Weather condition • Relative orientation (require
• Terrain condition tie points)
(flat or undulating • Absolute orientation
terrain) to maintain (requires GCP)
scale or resolution • Orthorectification
• Obstacles • Generation of point clouds
• Coverage of photos • Generation of DSM
• Generation of DTM
• Generation of orthophotos
04
OUTPUT
• Digital Terrain Model (DTM)
• Digital Surface Model (DSM)
• Orthophoto
• 3D Building Models
• Contour Maps
• Planemetric features (road
edges, heights, signs, building
footprints, etc)
• Volumetric Surveys
• Report on the quality of output
 Best Photogrammetry Software

• DroneDeploy 3D mapping mobile app

• Pix4D Mapper photogrammetry software
• DroneDeploy Enterprise 3D Map Software
• AutoDesk ReCap photogrammetry Software
• SimActive Correlator3D™ Software
• Maps Made Easy orthophoto and 3D models software
• 3DF Zephyr photogrammetry software
• Agisoft PhotoScan photogrammetry software
• PrecisionHawk 3D map software
• Open Drone Map photogrammetry software
• ESRI Drone2Map for ArcGIS
• Agisoft Metashape 3D Software
 Orientation procedures for Digital
Photogrammetry
• Still require 3 steps: 1) Interior 2) Relative and 3)
Absolute orientation
• Digital photogram allows greater automation process
• Interior orientation
– Requires pointing the fiducial marks and the fiducial marks
can be found by means of template matching of the
standard image of fiducial mark
– Once all fiducial marks are located – a 2dimensional
transformation can be computed to relate image
coordinate (row and column) with fiducial axis system
 Exterior Orientation
• Defines the position and orientation of the camera when the
photo was acquired by associating GCP coordinates (X,Y,Z)
with the image space coordinates
• Defines the relationship between ground space coordinate
system (X,Y,Z) and the image space coordinate system (x,y,z)
• Three rotation angles are commonly used to define angular
orientation
– Omega (ω)
– Phi (φ)
– Kappa (ĸ)
 Relative orientation
Reconstruct relative geometry of two images
• Produces a relative model
• Not concerned about absolute scale or ground coordinates
• Hold one photo fixed, adjust other to fit
• 3 rotations: ω (omega), Φ (phi), Κ (kappa)
• 3 translations: X, Y, Z (but X doesn’t matter at this step)
 Orientation procedures for Digital
Photogrammetry
• Relative orientation
– Pattern matching assisted process
– Small arrays of left image in the standard pass point
are matched with the subarrays from the right image
– Once a sufficient pass points have been matched
(generally minimum 6 points) a relative orientation
can be computed
– The accuracy of the orientation can be improved by
increasing additional matched points
– Increase redundancy in the least squares solution
 Absolute orientation
Reconstruct actual photo/ground relationship
• “Scaling” & “leveling”
• Coordinate transformation from block coordinates to ground
coordinates
• Need to have control points (both sets of coordinates known)
• Based on collinearity equations
 Orientation procedures for Digital
Photogrammetry
• Absolute orientation
– 3D measurement must be made on the GCP which appear in the
model/photos
– With a standards marker the GCP can be searched by using a
standard template image
– Or the marker of the GCP can be manually located by the user.
Depending on the transformation function once the minimum
number of GCP has been achieved (2nd polynomial requires at
least 3 GCPs) the remaining GCP can be automatically located by
the system
– Block aerotriangulation on the digital images allows automation
in the absolute orientation
– Block aerotriangulation determines exterior orientation for each
image
 Ground sampling distance (GSD)
• The distance between two consecutive pixel centers measured on the
ground
• The bigger the value of the image GSD, the lower the spatial resolution of
the image and the less visible details
• The GSD is related to the flight height: the higher the altitude of the flight,
the bigger the GSD value
How to select Camera Focal Length and Flight Altitude
considering the desired Ground Sampling Distance and
Terrain to map?

• At a defined altitude, increasing the focal length:

– A smaller area is captured, and therefore:
– The Ground Sampling Distance (GSD) value will decrease: one pixel will
capture a smaller area and therefore the image will have a higher
spatial resolution.

• At a defined focal length, decreasing the altitude:

– A smaller area is captured, and therefore:
– The GSD value will decrease: one pixel will capture a smaller area and
therefore the image will have a higher spatial resolution.
How to select Camera Focal Length and Flight Altitude
considering the desired Ground Sampling Distance and
Terrain to map?

• Overlap:
– Low altitude with big focal length will request a very high image rate in
order to maintain a good overlap.
– For a given focal length and a given image rate, increasing the altitude
will increase the overlap.
 Ground control point (GCP)
• A ground control point (GCP) is a point of known coordinates in the area
of interest.
• Its coordinates have been measured with traditional surveying methods or
have been obtained by other sources (LiDAR, older maps of the area, web
map service).
• Ground control points can be used in Pix4D Desktop to increase the
absolute accuracy of the project.
• Well distributed and well defined GCPs

GCP coordinate data is used to align and geo-

reference photogrammetric data to their correct
geospatial position.

Visible targets are designed to be easily seen in

photos with a center point that can be accurately
and precisely marked.
 Ground control point (GCP)
• Minimum 3 GCPs to solve elements of exterior orientation for absolute
orientation process
• Direct geo-referencing requires onboard GPS instrumentation and IMU in
aerotriangulation
• Indirect geo-referencing uses GCPs
• Ground Control Points, or GCPs, are marked points on the ground that
have a known geographic location.
• In aerial surveying, a drone can be used to autonomously collect photos of
the survey area. If used, GCPs must be visible in these aerial photos.
• The photos are then processed in the cloud using drone mapping
software. A common solution for collecting and processing drone data,
used by many mapping professionals, is DroneDeploy.
• Services like DroneDeploy create 2D orthomosaics, 3D models, digital
elevation models (DEMs), and 3D point clouds from drone images.
• For aerial survey applications GCPs, are typically required as they can
enhance the positioning and accuracy of the mapping outputs
 Camera Calibration
Camera calibration is the process of finding the true parameters of the
camera that took your photographs. Some of these parameters are
focal length, format size, principal point, and lens distortion.
Camera Calibration
 Image acquisition plan for terrain with height
variations
• Single flight following the terrain elevation variation (recommended)
• It is the recommended method since the GSD will be constant for the
project since the height difference between the UAV and the terrain is
maintained.
 Image acquisition plan for terrain with height
variations
• Multiple flights at different constant altitudes
• Perform multiple flights at different altitudes with the flight lines perpendicular
to the slope. It is important that the there is overlap between the flights.
• The GSD will be approximately constant for the project since the height difference
between the UAV and the terrain is maintained.
 Image acquisition plan for terrain with height
variations
• If the height difference between the UAV and the terrain is not maintained
(keeping constant flight altitude):
• It will affect the GSD: The GSD will not be the same over the whole project
because of the variations in elevation of the terrain. In Figure 3, the obtained GSD
in A has less resolution than in B.
• It will affect the overlap: The overlap will be lower in the higher point B, if the
image rate is the maintained.
• It may affect the reconstruction or even fail if the height difference between the
higher and lower point is twice or higher (if the highest GSD exceed twice the
lowest GSD)
 Suitable flight plan
General case
• The recommended overlap for most cases is at least 75% frontal overlap (with
respect to the flight direction) and at least 60% side overlap (between flying
tracks).
• It is recommended to take the images with a regular grid pattern (Figure 1).
• The camera should be maintained as much possible at a constant heightover the
terrain / object to ensure the desired GSD.
 Suitable flight plan
Forest and dense vegetation
• Trees and dense vegetation often have a very different appearance
between overlapping images due to their complex geometry (thousands
of branches and leaves).
• Therefore, it is difficult to extract common characteristic points
(keypoints) between the images.
• In order to achieve good results, it is recommended to use a grid image
acquisition plan as the one described in the General Case section by
applying the following changes:
1. Increase the overlap between images to at least 85% frontal overlap and at least 70%
side overlap.
2. Increase the flight height: At higher altitude, there is less perspective distortion
(therefore causing less appearance problems) and the dense vegetation has better
visual properties.
 Suitable flight plan
Flat terrain with agriculture fields
• In cases where the terrain is flat with homogeneous visual content such as
agriculture fields, it is difficult to extract common characteristic points
(keypoints) between the images.
• In order to achieve good results, it is recommended to use a grid image
acquisition plan as the one described in the General Case section by
applying the following changes:
1. Increase the overlap between images to at least 85% frontal overlap and at least 70%
side overlap.
2. Fly higher. In most cases, flying higher improves the results.
3. Have accurate image geolocation
 Suitable flight plan
Building reconstruction
• Reconstructing 3D buildings requires a specific image acquisition plan:
1. Fly around the building a first time with a 45° camera angle.
2. Fly a second and third time around the building increasing the flight height and
decreasing the camera angle with each round.
3. It is recommended to take one image every 5-10 degrees to ensure enough overlap,
depending on the size of the object and distance to it. Shorter distance and larger
objects require images every less degrees.
 Suitable flight plan
Corridor mapping
• Mapping corridors such as railways, roads or rivers requires at least 2 flight
lines
• For a dual track it is recommended to use at least 85% frontal overlap and
at least 60% side overlap.
• It is possible to use nadir images or oblique images (with an angle
between 0º (nadir) and 45º pointing in both tracks to the center of the
corridor). For flat terrain it is recommended to use nadir images.
 Flight planning software

• Drone deploy
• DJI GSP pro
• Topoflight
UAV Photogrammetry Vs Other technology