Oriented imagery is an ArcGIS-wide capability that allows you to integrate nontraditional imagery into your GIS. Oriented imagery provides a comprehensive solution for efficient management, visualization, and exploration of imagery captured from any angle.
Oriented images
The oriented imagery capability supports most types of imagery if you have the required metadata. Supported types of oriented imagery include oblique drone imagery, close-range inspection images, and street-level images taken by mobile devices. Oriented imagery is not suitable for orthorectification due to several factors, including high oblique orientation (where the camera field of view is partially or completely above the horizon), insufficient metadata, confusing content in the background, or features with significant vertical structure.
Oriented imagery is ideal for integrating non-nadir (oblique) imagery into your GIS. Oriented imagery also supports traditional nadir and low-oblique images that are familiar to GIS users, but a dynamic or tiled image service may be better suited for these imagery formats.
In addition to a variety of formats, the oriented imagery capability also supports images acquired from various sources, including aerial platforms, drones, terrestrial vehicles, handheld devices, and tripods.
Oriented imagery management workflow
Collections of oriented imagery are managed using oriented imagery datasets created in ArcGIS AllSource. A dataset can be created and managed in a geodatabase using geoprocessing tools in the Oriented Imagery toolbox. The dataset defines both collection-wide properties, such as the elevation source, as well as image-specific metadata, such as the camera location and orientation. The images are not stored in the oriented imagery dataset; instead, the dataset references to where the images are stored. The images can be in local or network storage, or they can be in publicly accessible cloud storage.
When the oriented imagery dataset is added to a map, it is visualized as an oriented imagery layer. You can also create an optional coverage footprint feature class to depict the oriented imagery dataset on a map.
The oriented imagery layer can be shared to ArcGIS Online or an ArcGIS Enterprise portal in the same way as any other operational layer. When published, the oriented imagery layer is added to a feature layer item. You can also publish the coverage footprint features as a polygon layer in the same feature layer item. The local image files can be added as feature attachments to the oriented imagery layer using the tool Generate Service From Oriented Imagery Dataset in the Oriented Imagery toolbox. This allows you to store the images as part of the oriented imagery feature service, and control access to the images using layer permissions. The oriented imagery layer when added to a web map in Map Viewer or a map in ArcGIS AllSource, can be viewed with the oriented imagery viewer.
Note:
When using ArcGIS Enterprise portals, oriented imagery layers can only be created in versions 11.2 or later.
Oriented imagery viewer
The oriented imagery viewer allows the exploration and exploitation of oriented images. Click a point on a map or a scene, and view any image in the collection that depicts that point. You can view assets from multiple directions and enhance contrast, brightness, and sharpening to better view an image. As you pan and zoom in an image, the camera's field of view dynamically updates on the map and can be related to any vector data in the map.