Manage and visualize oriented imagery

Note:

This workflow refers to the Oriented Imagery Classic components and data model. Oriented Imagery Classic is a community-supported, add-in solution. This technology will be integrated directly into the ArcGIS system in the future, and the integrated oriented imagery capability will eventually replace Oriented Imagery Classic. Learn more about the fully supported oriented imagery capability of ArcGIS and get answers to questions about what's happening to Oriented Imagery Classic.

Imagery taken looking straight down at the ground, like traditional satellite imagery, can be visualized on a map and incorporated into your GIS. Other imagery, however, is more difficult to visualize and incorporate into your GIS. Such non-nadir oriented imagery includes oblique, bubble, 360-degree, street-side, and inspection imagery, among others.

Oriented imagery from Esri solves that problem, providing a solution for managing, visualizing, and exploring imagery that's taken from any angle.

Collections of oriented images can be accessed and explored in three ways: the Oriented Imagery add-in for ArcGIS Pro, a sample web viewer hosted by Esri, or a web app created using the Oriented Imagery widget for ArcGIS Experience Builder. In both the desktop and web experiences, you can select an oriented imagery catalog, click a location of interest on the map, and explore any available oriented images that depict the selected point in the inset viewer. As you pan and zoom in the oriented image, see the camera's field of view dynamically updated on the map.

The viewer also includes the following:

• Spatial navigation tools designed to work with oriented imagery
• Querying based on current view and filters (including time)
• Image enhancement options
• Linear and height measurement tools (when the imagery supports it)
• Synchronized display of view extent
• Option to display extents and images similar to your current selection
• Option to overlay custom vector layers on oriented imagery and add or edit features
• The ability to superimpose imagery into 3D web scenes (web only)

Collections of oriented imagery are managed using oriented imagery catalogs. This is a data structure that references a point-based feature service that defines the camera location, orientation, and image metadata.

To visualize and explore your own oriented imagery collection, you'll need to create your own oriented imagery catalog. To do this, there are two options. You can use a set of Oriented Imagery Management Tools available from ArcGIS Online. You can also use ArcGIS QuickCapture to gather photos with a mobile device (like your cell phone), then automatically create the oriented imagery catalog if you've enabled the option in your QuickCapture project. Note that for most applications, the images must be web accessible, whether in cloud storage, as attachments in ArcGIS Online, or as a service from ArcGIS Image Server.

The process for creating an oriented imagery catalog in ArcGIS Pro is as follows:

1. You can use the Oriented Imagery Management Tools in ArcGIS Pro to do the following:
   1. Create an empty oriented imagery catalog.
   2. Add imagery to the catalog.
   3. Create coverage features and a coverage map (to show which areas on the map appear in your images).
   4. Publish the oriented imagery catalog to ArcGIS Online.
2. You can upload imagery to the cloud if it isn't already (if you're not loading images as attachments in ArcGIS Online).
3. From ArcGIS Online, you can add the oriented imagery catalog to ArcGIS Pro or the sample Oriented Imagery web app, or use it to create and share a custom ArcGIS Experience Builder web app.

For users who want to create a custom Oriented Imagery app to share their imagery, you can leverage the Oriented Imagery widget available in the ArcGIS Online edition of ArcGIS Experience Builder). For more advanced developers, there is also an Oriented Imagery API and a detailed description of the oriented imagery catalog schema to help create and customize applications.

Explore the following resources to learn more about managing and visualizing oriented imagery.

Note:

The Oriented Imagery add-in and management tools require ArcGIS Pro 2.2+. To create an oriented imagery catalog, you'll also need web-accessible imagery and an ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise account. To create an app with the Oriented Imagery widget, you'll need an ArcGIS Online account.

Imagery workflow resources

Review the community-supported tools and best practices for working with and automating imagery and remote sensing workflows:

• Start by exploring a gallery of example apps to see what you can do with oriented imagery.
• To view and explore oriented imagery catalogs in ArcGIS Pro, download the free Oriented Imagery add-in for ArcGIS Pro.
• To create and manage your own oriented imagery catalogs, download the Oriented Imagery Classic Management Tools from ArcGIS Online. (An oriented imagery catalog is a prerequisite for visualizing your own oriented imagery in ArcGIS.)
• Follow the Create an oriented imagery catalog tutorial to get hands-on experience creating your own oriented imagery catalogs to manage oriented imagery.
• Share your own oriented imagery catalogs quickly with an example 2D app or an example 3D app.

ArcGIS help

Review the following reference materials for ArcGIS products:

• Read more about the Oriented Imagery widget in ArcGIS Experience Builder, which you can use to create custom Oriented Imagery web apps.
• Learn how to configure ArcGIS QuickCapture to automatically capture photo metadata that enables the use of oriented imagery in ArcGIS.

ArcGIS blog articles, stories, and technical papers

Review the following supplemental guidance about concepts, software functionality, and workflows:

• Read this story for an overview of oriented imagery
• In this story, learn the basics of oriented imagery using 2D and 3D apps.
• Read this story to see how to digitize features in oriented imagery.
• In this story, learn about the Oriented Imagery add-in for ArcGIS Pro.
• Learn more about using ArcGIS QuickCapture to gather images and create an oriented imagery catalog.
• Learn more about the 2.6, 2.5, and 2.2 releases of Oriented Imagery.

Developer resources

Visit the Oriented Imagery GitHub repository to read a detailed schema for oriented imagery catalogs and documentation for the Oriented Imagery API.

Esri Community

Use the Imagery and Remote Sensing community to connect, collaborate, and share experiences.