Image products
The end products of our integrated solution are geospatial data products. These are digital surface models and orthophoto mosaics in visible light - using our default camera - or composite infrared light - using our optional CIR camera. The products are available in different quality levels. In addition, calibration data and raw images are available as an intermediate product for custom processing.
A digital surface model or DSM is a digital representation of ground surface topography including all objects (houses, bridges, trees, etc). DSMs are often used in geographic information systems (GIS) and Computer Aided Design (CAD) environments, and are the most common basis for digitally-produced relief maps and true orthophotos. Industries such as mining, dredging, heavy engineering construction, etc. often rely on topographic ground surveyors for ground measurements and for accurate DSMs.
When the terrain to be measured is rather large - typically tens of hectares to many square kilometres - our visual, aerial mapping solution is more efficient than ground survey work, which can take many days or weeks to complete, depending on the terrain. Our solution also allows for the creation of very dense point clouds - similar in density to a typical aerial LIDAR scanner - but with the advantage of requiring less demanding and costly equipment.
There is a wide selection of suppliers available for aerial orthophoto images. Yet, sometimes the imagery of your area of interest in databases created by conventional remote sensing companies is too outdated or simply non-existent. Also, satellite imagery is not always available when you need it and often lacks the required resolution.
Our solution allows you to obtain proprietary and recent images whenever needed. The raw images are digitally processed into high-quality, true orthophotos using the DSM as ground truth data. The orthophotos are seamless and display lively colours as they do not suffer from atmospheric haze effects. Full-resolution end products are available within hours or days following the survey, depending on the computing power and the size of your project.Using our CIR camera, orthophotos can be created in composite infrared (CIR) light, which is based on near infrared, red and green light as opposed to red, green and blue light (called visual or RGB imagery). This data is used for creating maps with soil types based on IR and colour reflection and is especially useful for creating maps of a certain vegetation index that links colour to vegetation quality (e.g. stress, disease, crop yield, etc). A commonly used format is NDVI or Normalized Difference Vegetation Index.Draping and rendering your orthophoto on your DSM in your GIS or CAD software creates virtual sceneries ideally suited for presenting your work to clients or management.
An intermediate result of our desktop or cloud processing solution is calibration data, consisting of camera calibration data (internal calibration) and image orientation and position data (external calibration). Using this information, our data can be processed in common photogrammetry suites typically used for aerial and satellite data. It allows the user to create custom products. For example, it allows for vectorizing your project using stereo photogrammetry or generating customized geospatial products.
Next to a generic export format, BINGO and ORIMA formats are also available to ensure maximum compatibility with the most commonly used photogrammetry software.