Turn drone photos into an orthophoto, elevation model and 3D model
Upload the photos from a Skyplanr mission or from any other flight. Skyplanr builds the orthophoto, the elevation model, the point cloud and the 3D model, and you view, measure and share them in the browser.
Free during the beta: up to 1,500 photos a month and 2 jobs a day per user.
You sign in or create a free account first. No card needed.
What you get
Standard files that GIS, CAD and 3D tools open, and a viewer in the browser for each of them.
Orthophoto
One map image of the whole site, every pixel seen from straight above, as a Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF (COG).
Elevation model (DSM)
The height of the surface, roofs and trees included, as a 32-bit COG GeoTIFF, with a coloured height layer on the map.
Point cloud
The site as millions of coloured 3D points, as COPC, a LAZ 1.4 file that point cloud tools read.
3D model
A textured mesh as GLB and OBJ. Orbit it in the browser, or open it in Blender or a CAD tool.
Quality report
A PDF with the photos used, the ground resolution and the reprojection error: how well the photos fit together.
Three options
- Fast orthophoto
- The orthophoto only. The quickest way to a map image.
- Orthophoto and elevation model
- Orthophoto, elevation model, point cloud and report. The usual choice for a mapping grid.
- 3D model
- All of the above plus the textured 3D model, for buildings and structures photographed at an angle.
How it works
Upload the photos
Drop the photos, a folder or a zip from any flight, or add them to the mission you planned. JPEG, DNG and TIFF upload. If the upload stops, drop the same photos again and it carries on.
The pre-check runs
Your browser reads each photo's position and camera before anything is sent, and for a planned mission it matches the photos to the plan. Then Claude looks at a few small copies, without GPS, and picks the processing settings; rules in code have the last word.
OpenDroneMap processes them
The job runs on OpenDroneMap on a GPU server in an EU data centre. You can close the tab: the job keeps running, and with Mission updates e-mails on, you get one when the results are ready.
View, measure and share
Open the orthophoto and the elevation model on the map, measure distances, areas and heights, orbit the 3D model, download the files, or send a client a read-only link.
What is an orthomosaic?
An orthomosaic, or orthophoto, is one map image stitched from many overlapping drone photos and corrected for camera tilt and the height of the ground, so it has the same scale everywhere. Unlike a single aerial photo, you can measure distances and areas on it and lay it over other map data.
Limits during the beta
- 10 to 600 photos per job.
- Free while processing is in beta: up to 1,500 photos a month and 2 jobs a day per user.
- A confirmed e-mail address is needed for a free job.
- Free jobs share a monthly capacity, so in a busy month a job can wait in the queue.
How accurate it is
Without RTK or ground control points, the results have relative accuracy: distances, areas and heights inside the model are consistent, usually within a few pixels.
The whole model can still sit about 1 to 3 m off in absolute position, and its heights can be off by 5 to 30 m. It is not survey-grade. For work that must tie into coordinates, such as property lines or volumes you invoice, you need ground control points measured with an RTK receiver, or an RTK drone.
Built on OpenDroneMap
Skyplanr runs OpenDroneMap (ODM), the open-source photogrammetry engine behind WebODM, unmodified. You get its results without installing WebODM, Docker or a graphics card: you upload in the browser, and we run the processing.
Plan the flight first
Good results start with the photos: enough overlap, even light and the camera straight down for a map. Skyplanr plans the mapping grid for DJI Fly drones and checks it before you fly.
Questions
Is drone photo processing free?
Yes, while it is in beta: up to 1,500 photos a month and 2 jobs a day per user, with a confirmed e-mail address. AI flight plans have their own allowance and prices.
Do I have to plan the flight in Skyplanr?
No. You can process photos from any flight. When they come from a Skyplanr mission, the pre-check also matches them to the plan.
How many photos can a job have?
10 to 600, from one flight or several over the same site. For a map, fly with about 80% front and 70% side overlap.
How is this different from WebODM?
The engine is the same: OpenDroneMap. WebODM is an interface you install and run yourself. Here you upload in the browser, the processing runs on GPU servers, and the results open in the browser to view, measure and share.
Fly it, then see it.
Upload the photos from your last flight and get the orthophoto and the 3D model back in the browser.