Image Composite Editor

Some of you may already know about Microsoft's Image Composite Editor (ICE) http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/.../projects/ice/. It's a free program for stitching photos together, for panoramas as an example.

Another use I've adapted it for is landscape surveys for areas larger than one aerial photo can cover. So, using a camera-equipped quadcopter such as the Phantom 3, you can capture multiple photos, then have the program stitch them together. Not a scenic panorama, but a useful composite for comparison of a given location that you can compare over time. Here's a low resolution photo example (using 36 aerial photos) I put together recently using my Phantom 3 Pro and the ICE program:

Attachment 82701

There is also a 3D photo program that can render the same photos in 3D format, but that costs almost $200 bucks and your computer needs some real kick to handle the rendering: http://www.agisoft.com/

Thought some of you might like to know about this type of photo software ...

gringorio

Cool, do you do much mapping with your drone?

Doesn't seem like much interest here in the subject ... But yes, I've taken video for both a National Wildlife Refuge and an Audubon research station here in Arizona and they want more, mostly for documenting landscape changes over time and for public education.

The same aerial applications could be used for canyoneering, rock climbing and river running ...

Have you started to get involved with any of the 3d geo mapping at all?