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Processing Aerial Survey Data

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 About this tutorial

About this tutorial

In this tutorial, you will import a text (.csv) file containing ground control point (GCP)
names and coordinates and a JobXML (.jxl) file containing aerial survey data. Referenced
photo images are automatically imported along with the JobXML (.jxl) file. Then you will
adjust the aerial photo stations to ensure the highest precision and create three
deliverables: an orthomosaic, a point cloud, and a raster-based digital surface model
(DSM).

Note: If you need additional help at any time you are using the software, press F1 to
display the online help.

Overview of aerial survey data

Aerial survey data is collected using an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), such as a
Trimble UX5 aerial mapping and surveying system.
An aerial survey flight mission consists of an interconnected series of aerial photo station
images, along with autonomous GNSS station positions recorded with each image,
intended to be processed as a single unit. A single flight mission can include one or more
flight blocks, each intended to cover a single polygonal area.
The following figure shows the area that could be covered by either two separate flight
missions or two separate flight blocks contained in a single flight mission.

Each time an aerial photo image is taken, an aerial photo station is created. The
following figure shows the aerial photo stations created for the flight mission.

Processing Aerial Survey Data 2

 Overview of aerial survey data

Before you can use imported aerial survey data to create serial survey deliverables, you
must adjust the aerial photo stations using the Adjust Photo Stations commands. The
commands allow you to make two types of adjustments, which must be performed in
the sequence shown here:
 Relative adjustment - In this adjustment, TBC automatically identifies tie points (a
point in a photo image that represents the same location in an adjacent image) in
aerial images and matches them to correctly orient the aerial photo stations to each
other and reference them to the ground based on autonomous GNSS positions
recorded when the photo images are taken. This is the minimal adjustment required
prior to creating aerial survey deliverables from UAS data.

Note: Deliverables created after only a relative station adjustment has been
performed will be of low quality. The georeferenced position of the deliverables
may be incorrect and there may be misalignment in the point cloud and orthophoto.
If applicable, it is recommended that you perform an absolute adjustment prior to
creating deliverables.

 Absolute adjustment - In this adjustment, TBC adjusts the photo station points
more precisely to the ground.
 For autonomous UAS data (no trajectory data included), a minimum of two
ground control points (GCPs) are required.

Note: A ground control point (GCP) is a surveyed coordinate for a physical feature
(often an easily identifiable printed target) that can be identified on the ground and
is used to georeference images, as described in "Step 5. Perform an absolute photo
station adjustment".

 For trajectory-enabled UAS data, a trajectory of appropriate quality is required.

A camera calibration is included in the absolute adjustment process to provide the
highest precision.

Processing Aerial Survey Data 3

 Step 1. Open the project

The adjustment process you use depends on the UAS data you want to process and
adjust:
 Autonomous UAS data with no GCPs - You can perform only a relative adjustment.
You do not have adequate data to perform an absolute adjustment. You can create
deliverables after the relative adjustment is complete.
 Autonomous UAS data with GCPs - You can first perform a relative adjustment.
Optionally, you can then measure the GCPs to perform an absolute adjustment to
obtain higher precision. You can create deliverables after either the relative
adjustment or the optional absolute adjustment is complete.
 Trajectory-enabled UAS data (baseline processed) with no GCPs - You can perform
a relative adjustment and an absolute adjustment will be performed automatically
immediately after the relative adjustment is complete based on the processed
trajectory data. You can create deliverables after the absolute adjustment is
complete.
 Trajectory-enabled UAS data (baseline processed) with GCPs - You can perform a
relative adjustment and an absolute adjustment will be performed automatically
immediately after the relative adjustment is complete based on the processed
trajectory data. Optionally, you can then measure the GCPs to perform a second
absolute adjustment to obtain the highest accuracy. You can create deliverables
after the first or, optionally, the second absolute adjustment is complete.
For this tutorial, you will be processing autonomous UAS data with imported GCPs. So
you will first perform a relative adjustment. Then you will perform an absolute
adjustment using GCPs. Finally, you will create UAS deliverables from the adjusted data.

Step 1. Open the project

For this tutorial, you will use the project file Processing Aerial Survey Data.vce.

Note: The downloaded ProcessingAerialSurveyData folder contains this PDF file, a Data
folder, and the Processing Aerial Survey Data.vce project file. You will import data from
the Data folder later in this tutorial.

1. In TBC, select File > Open.

2. In the Open File dialog, browse to ..\ProcessingAerialSurveyData\Processing Aerial
Survey Data.vce and click Open.
The project opens in the Trimble Business Center window. No data has yet been
imported.

Processing Aerial Survey Data 4

 Step 2. Select the coordinate system

The project file is read-only. You can perform the tutorial steps without saving the
project file. However, if you are interrupted while performing the tutorial, you can save
it with a new name by selecting File > Save Project As. Then, you can re-open the
project to continue the tutorial at a later time.

Step 2. Select the coordinate system

Before you import aerial survey data into your project, you must select the correct
coordinate system for the survey.
1. In the TBC ribbon, select Photogrammetry > Setup > Change Coordinate System to
display the Change Coordinate System dialog.
2. If it is not already selected, select the Coordinate System and Zone option.

3. Do the following:
a. In the Coordinate System Group list, select United States/State Plane 1983.

Processing Aerial Survey Data 5

 Step 3. Import data

b. In the Zone list, select Wyoming East 4901.

c. Click Next.
The Select Geoid Model dialog displays.

The Predefined Geoid model option is selected by default. (If it is not selected,
select it now.)

Note: The Coordinate System Manager is a standalone utility that gives you access
to your coordinate system database (Current.csd). In the Coordinate System
Manager, geoid models can be predefined. These predefined models are listed in
the Predefined geoid model list.

The default model selection is GEOID 18 (Conus). The default quality setting is
Unknown Quality. There is no need to change the default settings. In addition, there
is no need to specify a vertical datum name.

Note: For this project, you will be importing ground control points (GCPs) with grid
coordinates of Control Quality, so there is no need to change the default Unknown
Quality for the geoid model. However, if the control points were derived from GNSS
data and you were using a Survey Quality geoid, you would need to set the geoid
model to Survey Quality to avoid degrading the quality of the elevation of the
points. If you did not have a Survey Quality geoid, you would not be able to use
GNSS-derived control points.

4. Click the Finish button.

The coordinate system matching the imported aerial survey data is correctly
configured for your project. You are now ready to import aerial survey data into
your project.

Step 3. Import data

For this project, you will import two data files, which are stored in the downloaded Data
folder.
 A text (.csv) file containing the ground control points (GCPs) for the project.

Processing Aerial Survey Data 6

 Step 3. Import data

 A JobXML (.jxl) file containing aerial survey data from a single flight mission: X100
site
To import data, follow these steps:
1. Select Home > Data Exchange > Import.

2. In the Import pane, click the Browse button .

3. In the Browse for Folder dialog, browse to ..\ProcessingAerialSurveyData\Data and
click OK.
The content of the Data folder displays in the Select File(s) list in the Import pane

4. In the Select File(s) list, select 300 Series Control.csv and click the Import button.
5. In the Import Format Editor dialog, verify the selected definition is P,E,N,elev,Code
(Control). Then, click the Import button.

The newly imported GCPs are displayed in the Plan View.

You will use these GCPs to adjust the aerial photo stations later in this tutorial.

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 Step 3. Import data

You are now ready to import the JobXML (.jxl) file containing the aerial survey data.
6. Select Home > Data Exchange > Import and import GuernseyFebFlt1_SO6.jxl.
The newly imported aerial survey data is displayed in the Plan View. In addition, the
photo image files displayed in the Select File(s) list are copied to the project folder.

The imported GuernseyFebFlt1_SO6.jxl file contains the GuernseyFebFlt1_SO6

flight mission, as shown in Home > Data > Project Explorer.

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 Step 4. Perform a relative photo station adjustment

In the Plan View, the icons representing the aerial photo stations point in the
direction the aircraft was traveling when the image was recorded. Its black interior
color indicates the station has not yet been adjusted. A connecting line runs through
each of the aerial photo stations contained in the flight block. A polygonal border
line identifies the perimeter of the flight mission.
Underneath each photo station icon is a thumbnail of the captured reference image,
which can be more easily viewed when you zoom in on the Plan View. You will hide
these images later in the tutorial.

Step 4. Perform a relative photo station adjustment

In this adjustment, TBC automatically identifies tie points (a point in a photo image that
represents the same location in an adjacent image) in aerial images and matches them
to correctly orient the aerial photo stations to each other and reference them to the
ground based on autonomous GNSS positions recorded when the photo images are
taken.
To perform a relative adjustment of the aerial survey photo stations, follow these steps:

Processing Aerial Survey Data 9

 Step 4. Perform a relative photo station adjustment

1. In the TBC ribbon, select Photogrammetry > Adjust > Adjust Photo Stations.
The Adjust Photo Stations command pane displays. Since GuernseyFebFlt1_SO6 is
the only flight mission in the project, it is selected by default in the Mission drop-
down list.

2. On the Adjustment tab, click the Adjust button.

The aerial photo stations within the selected flight mission are adjusted using tie
points and their autonomous GNSS positions. The Process View tab displays to show
the progress of the process.

Note: The progress also displays in the Trimble Business Center button on the
Windows taskbar by way of a colored bar moving across the button's background.
When the process is complete, a check mark is displayed on the button and a
notification is displayed in a pop-up Desktop Alert.

When the tie point adjustment process is complete, the Apply Adjustment and
Discard buttons are displayed on the Process View tab.

Note: If the UAS data had included a trajectory that had been processed in TBC, an
absolute adjustment would have been performed automatically after the relative
adjustment completed. Since this project does not include a processed trajectory,
no absolute adjustment was performed automatically. Instead, you will perform an
absolute adjustment manually using the imported GCPs as described in "Step 5.
Perform an absolute photo station adjustment".

3. On the Process View tab, click the Apply Adjustment button to save the adjustment
results in the project.
4. In the Flight Mission Adjustment Report message dialog that displays, click Yes to
display the report.

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 Step 4. Perform a relative photo station adjustment

The report includes the following information (as applicable), much of it in easy-to-
understand graphical views.
 General project information
 Flight overview information (camera locations, strip definitions, and tie points)
 Tie point distribution (distribution and number of images containing each point)
 Camera calibration (camera data, distortion values, and image residuals)
 Block adjustment results (parameters, accuracy, and mean standard deviation of
translations/rotations/ground control points)
 Exterior orientation (camera locations and standard deviations)
 GNSS statistics (residuals and tie point locations)
 Ground control points (if applicable; errors, residuals, and standard deviations)
Following are a few examples of graphics with keys.

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 Step 4. Perform a relative photo station adjustment

By viewing the adjustment results, you can often make a determination about the
accuracy of the adjusted aerial survey data. After viewing the report, you can close
it.
In TBC, the adjustment is applied and the project is automatically re-computed. The
aerial photo station icons displayed in the Project Explorer and Plan View change
from black to yellow indicating a relative adjustment has been performed.

Processing Aerial Survey Data 12

 Step 4. Perform a relative photo station adjustment

You can see that several of the points include red flags in the Plan View. If you
select Home > View > Flags Pane, you can see the points exceed the computational
settings for horizontal point tolerances specified in the Project Settings dialog.

For additional information, select any of the flagged points in the Project Explorer
or Plan View, right click, and select Point Derivations Report.

A delta value of 6m to 10m can be expected with this data set after only a relative
adjustment. When you perform an adjustment using ground control points (GCPs),
as described in the next step, some of these horizontal deltas should fall within the
specified tolerances.
The Results tab displays information about the tie point adjustment. By viewing the
adjustment results, you can make some determination about the accuracy of the
adjusted aerial survey data.

Processing Aerial Survey Data 13

 Step 5. Perform an absolute photo station adjustment

You are now ready to perform a manual absolute adjustment using the imported GCPs.

Step 5. Perform an absolute photo station adjustment

In this adjustment, TBC adjusts the photo station points more precisely to the ground
using ground control points (GCPs). A camera calibration is included in the absolute
adjustment process to provide the highest precision.
For this project, easily identifiable printed targets were used to identify GCPs. You will
make five photogrammetry observations to each GCP target to provide more precise
referencing of the aerial photo stations than was possible using only the relative
adjustment with tie points.

Note: Each GCP target requires a minimum of two observations. However, to ensure
good block geometry and redundancy, it is recommended that the two observations
come from different flight strips (paths) and you include three additional observations
as checks.

As you can see, this flight mission includes five flight strips. Strips 1, 3, and 5 each
include five photo stations. Strips 2 and 4 each include four photo stations.

Processing Aerial Survey Data 14

 Step 5. Perform an absolute photo station adjustment

GCP 11 (circled above), the first GCP you will observe, can be easily observed from both
flight strips 4 and 5. By making five observations to GCP 11, you are sure to include
observations from both flight strips.
To perform an absolute adjustment of the aerial survey photo stations, follow these
steps:
1. In the TBC ribbon, select Photogrammetry > Adjust > Adjust Photo Stations with
GCPs.
The Adjust Photo Stations With GCPs command pane displays. Since
GuernseyFebFlt1_SO6 is the only flight mission in the project, it is selected by
default in the Mission drop-down list.
2. Select the Absolute Adjustment tab. Then click in the Point ID field and select GCP
11 in the Project Explorer or Plan View.
You can also type 11 in the field.

Processing Aerial Survey Data 15

 Step 5. Perform an absolute photo station adjustment

Note: Only GCPs with coordinate quality of Control or Survey can be used in an
adjustment. The control points in this project all have Control quality.

3. Click the Add button located to the right of the field, or press the Enter key.
The following occur:
 The selected GCP is added to the Control Points list.

 The aerial photo stations with photo images most likely to include the GCP are
displayed in the Photo stations list.
 The photo image from the first station in the Photo stations list is displayed on a
new Station View tab. The associated GCP is used to center the photo image on
the tab.

Processing Aerial Survey Data 16

 Step 5. Perform an absolute photo station adjustment

In the Control Points list, you can use the Status drop-down list to select any of the
following status options for the selected GCP:
 Enabled - Include all photogrammetry observations of the GCP in the
adjustment.
 As check - Make photogrammetry observations to the GCP to calculate the
point's position, but do not include the GCP in the adjustment. This GCP will be
used as a check for precision.
 Disabled - Do not use the GCP in the adjustment.
For this tutorial, you will keep the default status of Enabled.
4. To make a photogrammetry observation to the GCP on the newly displayed Station
View tab, click in the Pixel Picker field. Then, using the Pixel Picker view control,
click as accurately as possible on the GCP target located near the vehicle in the
photo image (1 in the figure below).

Note: In the image for photo station R0011747, two ground targets can be seen. Do
not select the target located farthest from the vehicle (2 in the figure below). This
target is not located on a GCP, but instead it is identifying a point of interest that
can be surveyed using photogrammetry observations after the adjustment is
complete.

Processing Aerial Survey Data 17

 Step 5. Perform an absolute photo station adjustment

When using the Pixel Picker, note the following:

 Toggle between the two Pixel Picker display options – dynamic view (1 below)
and static view (2 below) – by pressing Ctrl + Shift.

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 Step 5. Perform an absolute photo station adjustment

The dynamic view option causes the Pixel Picker to display as a magnifier with a
reticle, enabling you to dynamically select the precise location for a
photogrammetry observation on the photo image. To change the reticle for the
Pixel Picker, press Ctrl + Alt.
The static view option causes the Pixel Picker to display as a small selection
cursor that, when clicked, opens a window with a magnified view of the photo
image showing the selected area. You can then select the precise location for a
photogrammetry observation on the photo image in the magnified view.
 Use your mouse wheel to zoom in or out. Press the mouse wheel and move
your mouse to move the image on the Station View tab.
 Once the Pixel Picker is close to the object you want to select, you can press the
arrow keys on your keyboard to move it in small increments. When you are
ready to make your selection, press your left mouse button or press the Enter
key.
After you take your observation, the photo station's Status changes to "Enabled" in
the Photo stations list.
By default, the Auto advance on select option is selected to specify that the next
station in the list be automatically selected each time you make a photogrammetry
observation.

5. Repeat this procedure to make four more photogrammetry observations to the

selected GCP, for a total of five observations.

Processing Aerial Survey Data 19

 Step 5. Perform an absolute photo station adjustment

The stations positioned higher in the Station list are most likely to provide a view of
the GCP.
An epipolar line representing each photogrammetry observation is displayed in
subsequent photo images.

In addition, when you are done, five epipolar lines display in the Plan View, where
you can see that observations have been made from two flight strips to GCP 11: four
from strip 5 and one from strip 4. Yuu can also see that the epipolar lines do not all
intersect on the GCP. After the absolute adjustment is complete, they will.

Processing Aerial Survey Data 20

 Step 5. Perform an absolute photo station adjustment

6. After making your fifth observation to GCP 11, click in the Point ID field, select GCP
12, and make five observations to the point. Then, repeat this procedure for GCPs
13, 14, and 15.
Control point 12:

Control point 13:

Control point 14:

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 Step 5. Perform an absolute photo station adjustment

Control point 15:

7. After you have made five photogrammetry observations each to GCPs 11 through
15, click the Adjust button.
The selected aerial photo stations are adjusted using the GCPs. The Process View
tab displays to show the progress of the absolute adjustment process.

Notes: As with the relative adjustment, progress also displays on the TBC taskbar
button. When the process is complete, a check mark is displayed on the button and
a notification is displayed in a pop-up Desktop Alert.

When processing is complete, the Apply Adjustment and Discard buttons are
displayed on the Process View tab.
8. On the Process View tab, click Apply Adjustment to save the adjustment results.
9. In the Flight Mission Adjustment Report message dialog that displays, click No.
The adjustment is applied and the project is automatically re-computed. The aerial
photo station icons displayed in the Project Explorer and Plan View change from
yellow to white to indicate they are adjusted with ground control points.

Processing Aerial Survey Data 22

 Step 5. Perform an absolute photo station adjustment

In the Plan View, you can see that the five epipolar lines now intersect at GCP 11
when GCP 11 is selected in the Adjust Photo Stations with GCPs command pane.

10. Select the Results tab to view information about the GCP-based absolute
adjustment.
In addition to the information displayed as a result of the adjustment with tie points
(relative adjustment), the Results tab now also includes observation residuals. By
viewing the adjustment results, you can make some determination about the
accuracy of the adjusted aerial survey data.

Processing Aerial Survey Data 23

 Step 6. Create aerial survey deliverables

Optionally, based on your results, you could choose to remove one or more GCPs
from the adjustment. To do this, on the Absolute Adjustment tab you would select
Disabled for the point in the Status drop-down list and click the Adjust button to re-
adjust the aerial photo stations. However, for this tutorial there is no need to
remove ground control points.
You are now ready to create aerial survey deliverables from the adjusted flight mission
data.

Step 6. Create aerial survey deliverables

In this step, you will use the Create Deliverables command to create a point cloud,
elevation raster, and orthomosaic from the adjusted aerial survey data

Note: An orthomosaic is a photo composed of multiple georeferenced orthophotos that

have been corrected for topographic relief and lens distortion. It can be used to
measure true flat distances because it is an orthographic (non-perspective)
representation of the Earth's surface.

1. In the Photogrammetry ribbon, select Deliverables > Create Deliverables to display

the Create Deliverables command pane.

If your project included a boundary, you could select it to specify that deliverables
be created only from within the bounded area. Or, you could create a new boundary
by clicking the Create Boundary button located in the command pane toolbar.
However, for this tutorial you will not use a boundary.
You use the Elevation type drop-down list to select the elevation type you want to
use to create elevation raster and/or orthomosaic deliverables.

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 Step 6. Create aerial survey deliverables

 Digital Terrain Model - Select this model if you need a fast output to represent
the "true" terrain. Since the terrain is often covered by vegetation and artificial
structures, TBC will deduce the terrain model from the surface observed in the
aerial images. Note that this works fine for smaller artificial image content and
when there is a light coverage of vegetation and/or structures, as long as there
is enough image content around these objects providing real ground
information. Otherwise, point filtering will be required to extract the terrain
model using this option.
The DTM creation process uses a feature-based matching method in order to
create the point cloud quickly. However, point cloud colorization is not possible
with this algorithm so a colorless point cloud will be generated.

 Digital Surface Model - Select this model if you intend to create a colorized
point cloud as part of your deliverables. A DSM is closer to the observed surface
of the earth than a DTM (vegetation and artificial structures included). And,
unlike a DTM, a DSM is processed using an algorithm that uses pixel-based
mapping, which supports point cloud colorization.

 Digital Surface Model (Highest Quality) - Select this model if you intend to
create a colorized point cloud of the highest quality and/or a true orthomosaic
as part of your deliverables. DSM (Highest Quality) uses Semi Global Matching
(SGM) to obtain higher quality deliverables than those provided using the other
DSM option.
Note that classic orthomosaics are typically the main deliverable required for
rapid mapping projects or open terrain without dense building construction.
However, true orthomosaics provide the most metrically accurate
representation of the visible surface. And, true orthomosaics are supported by a
growing number of visualization and mapping software applications, including
Google Maps and ArcGIS.

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 Step 6. Create aerial survey deliverables

The following figure shows the difference between the way a true orthomosaic
and a classic orthomosaic capture a tall structure.

The following examples show a classic orthomosaic on the left and a true
orthomosaic on the right.

2. In the Elevation type drop-down list, select Digital Surface Model.

3. In the Point Cloud Density options group, select the High density option for the
point cloud.
A high-density point cloud provides higher quality rendering and contains four times
more points than a low-density point cloud, but takes longer to create.
The Output folder field defaults to the project folder. The Name field, which
specifies the name to use for each of the deliverable files to be created, defaults to
the flight mission name. There is no need to change for this tutorial.
4. Ensure that each of the output options is checked and default settings are selected.
 Create point cloud:
 File format = LAS (*.las)
 Elevation raster:
 Resolution = High

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 Step 6. Create aerial survey deliverables

Resolution options include:

- Low provides quick processing with good results when you are not
concerned with rendering vertical structures.
- Medium provides good results when rendering vertical structures, and you
want a faster processing time than the High option provides.
- High -provides the best results when rendering vertical structures.
 File format = Tiff (*.tif)
 Create orthomosaic:
 Resolution = High
 File format = Tiff (*.tif)
Optionally, you could check the Make background transparent check box to specify
that orthomosaic background pixels (pixels not covered by any of the ortho images)
be rendered transparent. But you will not do so for this tutorial.
5. Click the Create button.
The Process View tab displays showing the progress of the deliverables creation
process.
When the process is complete, all newly created files are located in the project
folder.
6. Click the Import button on the Processing View tab to import the newly created
files into your project.
7. In the Import Errors message dialog, click No.
All newly created files are located in the project folder.
Nodes representing the imported files and newly created objects are displayed in
the Project Explorer.

8. Optionally, in the TBC ribbon, select Home > View > View Filter Manager. Then,
select to show or hide the newly created objects.

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 Step 6. Create aerial survey deliverables

The following example shows the imported scans/point clouds hidden and the
imported georeferenced orthomosiac displayed in the Plan View.

On closer examination, you can see that the referenced station images are still
displayed.

To hide these individual referenced images, in the View Filter Manager, uncheck
Photogrammetry > Reference Image (Plan View).

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 Step 6. Create aerial survey deliverables

This next example shows the imported point cloud displayed in the 3D View.
Although georferenced images are still selected for display in the View Filter
Manager, the 3D View does not support the display of georeferenced images.

You can export from the project any of the newly created deliverables. See the TBC Help
for instructions.
This concludes the tutorial.

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