Photogrammetry guide: How to get from the drone photo to 3D printing drone and camera Photogrammetry Blender Freshly printed Article in c’t 23 / 2020 read Photogrammetry digitizes the world, for example for the new Microsoft Flight Simulator . It uses data from satellite and aerial photography to render realistic-looking cities across the virtual world. This is partly done with algorithms that use photos to determine the height or the pitch of the roof of millions of houses. For example 192 Cities shine with really exact building reconstructions. You can also make such digital copies yourself and even use them to create models that you can touch. Requirements are a high-quality camera drone, photogrammetry software and a 3D printer.

Photogrammetry has existed since over 100 years. But only now is the technology showing its full potential thanks to the computing power of modern computers and a flood of available aerial photographs. For the reconstruction, you often photograph an object in such a way that the photos overlap like a panorama. So that the computer can infer the shape of a 3D model, each point must be visible on at least two photos. The procedure looks for striking common points, so-called connection points, on different photos. These are, for example, corners or striking texture details such as stains. The algorithm calculates both the position and orientation of the camera, referred to as “outer orientation” in photogrammetry, and the position of the connection points based on the angles to one another. With enough points a point cloud is created. The mathematics corresponds to the classic measurement by triangulation, only automatically and with many more connection points. An algorithm (“triangular meshing”) uses the point cloud to determine a model with closed surfaces. Finally, textures can be placed on this. In contrast to competing processes such as laser scanning, these are already available thanks to the photos.

The areas of application for the technology are diverse. It is used in surveying, for example when preparing topographic maps or for cadastral surveys. In the construction industry, volumes of excavated earth, for example, are calculated using photogrammetry to determine removal and landfill costs. It is also useful to document accident sites in 3D or to reconstruct entire cities for films or games. We show you how you can use this technology and a commercially available drone to create a 3D model yourself and then use a 3D printer to produce a real model. The tower of a control room from the 12. Century. The method works for smaller objects without a drone, a smartphone camera is sufficient for a 3D model of grandma’s heirloom.

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