You can create 2D and 3D products in ArcGIS Drone2Map. Each of these products is different and can be refined with a variety of options. It is important to understand the expected results of generating a product. The following sections describe each of the products you can create in ArcGIS Drone2Map and their use cases.
2D products
You can enable or disable 2D products in ArcGIS Drone2Map in the Manage pane or in the processing options. Some products include a variety of configuration options that can modify their appearance or quality.
Image Collection
The Image Collection product in ArcGIS Drone2Map is a mosaic dataset from which all other products are derived. Since it is required for processing in ArcGIS Drone2Map, the layer is always checked. When you run an adjustment, the imagery in the Image Collection mosaic dataset is block adjusted to better align it. This allows the software to generate solution points and seamlines to cleanly mosaic the imagery together. Because the Image Collection is a mosaic dataset, you can use it in other software such as ArcGIS Pro for other types of analysis, but it is recommended that you run an adjustment first.
Orthomosaic
The Orthomosaic product is an orthorectified image that is derived from the image collection. It uses the Esri World Elevation service by default to adjust and rectify the imagery. It is created as a three-band RGB .tif image in the coordinate system of the project. You can refine orthomosaics in the processing options to output at higher or lower quality by adjusting the project's resolution.
True Ortho
The True Ortho product is an orthorectified imagery product, but it is fully corrected to be a nadir-displaying image. This means that the sides of objects such as buildings or mountains are no longer present, even to the edges of the project area. Your view is a true vertical standpoint from all features in the project area. This is achieved by first creating a very detailed digital surface model (DSM)—for example from Dense Image matching on well overlapping imagery using pixel-wise stereo. Subsequently, this very detailed surface is used to generate an output ortho image by blending source image pixels rectified in their position given their pixel-accurate elevation
Production of the True Ortho product is fully automated and requires no editing of seamlines or removal of objects, reflections, or inconsistent colors. It is ideal for change detection and feature extraction because the top-down view is consistently reproducible with other flights. The True Ortho product is created as either a three-band RGB or single-band thermal .tif image in the coordinate system of the project. You can refine the True Ortho product in the processing options or using preprocessing tools.
Digital Surface Model
The Digital Surface Model (DSM) product is an elevation surface generated using aerial triangulation. Point clouds are generated using matching overlapping images to determine heights for features in the images. These point clouds are then filtered by standardized lidar class codes to provide a classification type for the features. With the DSM product, all surface-level features are present, which includes objects such as buildings, vehicles, and vegetation. Once created, the DSM product is symbolized and assigned a scale based on the elevation values.
Digital Terrain Model
The Digital Terrain Model (DTM) product is an elevation surface generated using aerial triangulation. Point clouds are generated using matching overlapping images to determine heights for features in the images. These point clouds are then filtered by standardized lidar class codes to provide a classification type for the features. With the DTM product, all above-surface-level features are filtered out to provide an elevation surface depicting only the terrain or the earth's surface. Once created, the DTM product is symbolized and assigned a scale based on the elevation values.
3D products
3D products in ArcGIS Drone2Map are derived using high-quality point clouds. You can enable or disable them in the Manage pane or processing options. Some products include a variety of output formats that can be used in other software for further analysis or presentation.
DSM Mesh
The DSM Mesh product converts the DSM elevation surface into a triangle mesh. Areas with more variation in height will have more triangles than areas without variation. Since the DSM is used as a source for the geometry of the mesh, it is considered to be a 2.5-dimension mesh product. The product imagery is applied to the resulting mesh, giving it a more realistic appearance. The DSM Mesh product output is an .slpk file by default but can be created in other formats, such as DAE, OBJ, OSGB, and 3D Tiles.
3D Mesh
The 3D Mesh product uses the dense image matching points created during the Dense step to generate a high-detail textured triangle mesh. Because the dense point cloud is used for the geometry of the 3D Mesh product, you maintain a high level of detail on features since points are generated around all angles of that feature. This provides 3D features that are consistent with the real-world object being portrayed regardless of the viewing angle. The 3D Mesh product output is an .slpk file by default but can be created in other formats, such as DAE, OBJ, OSGB, and 3D Tiles.
Point Cloud
The Point Cloud product is a point layer with z-values attached to each point. The points are created through the Dense processing steps and are generated through triangulation using overlapping imagery. Each point is assigned a z-value, and grouped together, they depict larger features in three-dimensional space. The Point Cloud product is symbolized as RGB points by default, so the points resemble what is seen in the imagery, but in 3D. You can modify the symbology of the Point Cloud product to also display elevation or intensity. Point clouds are created as a single .slpk file by default but can be output in LAS format as smaller individual tiles.