topo mapping program

[bburnett15]

I have a not big personal project that would help me a great deal if I could do a detailed topo survey of an area that’s not more than 200 ft x 200 ft.
Because of the detail required for cut and fill, id like to be able to generate a plan that has contours every 1-2 vert feet.
before you ask (or tell me): I am a licensed Part 107 Pilot, i am not a licensed site professional or surveyor. I am a licensed Architect but this is for a schematic design of a personal , pro-bono project. I may not need to use this again- but if I find that it works well fir what i need, i may be able to use it on other projects.
Is there a mapping app or program you have used that sounds like what i need or that you could recommend?
Thanks!

 

[brett8883]

I have a not big personal project that would help me a great deal if I could do a detailed topo survey of an area that’s not more than 200 ft x 200 ft.
Because of the detail required for cut and fill, id like to be able to generate a plan that has contours every 1-2 vert feet.
before you ask (or tell me): I am a licensed Part 107 Pilot, i am not a licensed site professional or surveyor. I am a licensed Architect but this is for a schematic design of a personal , pro-bono project. I may not need to use this again- but if I find that it works well fir what i need, i may be able to use it on other projects.
Is there a mapping app or program you have used that sounds like what i need or that you could recommend?
Thanks!

It’s extremely complicated but I’ll point you in the right direction.

Note that without ground control points or an RTK drone your resolution of two feet isn’t realistic for absolute altitude (MSL) but you may be able to achieve that as a relative resolution for such a small area. For the altitude to be accurate you’d need at least one point you know the exact altitude to calibrate your map.

Use DroneDeploy to do your mapping mission. They have a free 14 day trial you can make use of.

Once you upload your images according to the DroneDeploy directions you’d need to export the elevation data with the “Raw Elevation Data” option checked. It will ask you which coordinate system you want to export with and it’s not the default option. I can’t remember which one it is off hand but if your click the (?) on this parameter it will give you a run down of what each system is used for so select the one that it says is good for use in ArcGIS.

This will create 3 files one of which is a GeoTiff file. Though you can open it as a photo it isn’t meant for that purpose and won’t appear to be much of anything.

You can then import that file in ArcGIS Pro as a raster file. In ArcGIS pro you can create contours with the provided tools. Google this for more information.

ArcGIS Pro has a free trial as well but there are hoops to jump through namely you have to give yourself a license to use all the various plug-ins.

If you just need a generally understanding of the topography you might be able to just use DroneDeploy web app to view the elevation data. It’s a heat map though no contours.

 

[brett8883]

https://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcma...ow-to-derive-contour-lines-from-a-surface.htm

Contour (3D Analyst)—ArcMap | Documentation

ArcGIS 3D Analyst geoprocessing tool that creates a feature class of contours from a raster surface.

desktop.arcgis.com

Linkto directions for using the contour tool in ArcGIS

 

[Meta4]

Is there a mapping app or program you have used that sounds like what i need or that you could recommend?

There are several mapping apps to plan the mission, fly a precise grid and acquire overlapping images.
DroneDeploy is one of the most used examples.
You can have DD or one of their competitors process the images and create orthophoto maps and contour plots.
Or you can process the images your self with Agisoft Metashape.
Here's some detail from a 0.25 metre contour plot I did to assist with a golfcourse development.

 

[Meta4]

Use DroneDeploy to do your mapping mission. They have a free 14 day trial you can make use of.

The free trial is for DroneDeploy's processing.
The app is free to use anytime.

 

[brett8883]

There are several mapping apps to plan the mission, fly a precise grid and acquire overlapping images.
DroneDeploy is one of the most used examples.
You can have DD or one of their competitors process the images and create orthophoto maps and contour plots.
Or you can process the images your self with Agisoft Metashape.
Here's some detail from a 0.25 metre contour plot I did to assist with a golfcourse development.

How long did it take to process that map on your computer?

 

[Meta4]

How long did it take to process that map on your computer?

Several of hours for a fairly big area.
The OP is asking about an area of approx one acre, so that should be fairly quick

 

[brett8883]

Several of hours for a fairly big area.
The OP is asking about an area of approx one acre, so that should be fairly quick

And adding the contour lines was pretty easy? That’s probably a better process then the one I laid out. Lots of hoops to jump though with mine

 

[Meta4]

And adding the contour lines was pretty easy? That’s probably a better process then the one I laid out. Lots of hoops to jump though with mine

Very easy in Metashape .. just tick the right boxes and let the computer do the heavy lifting.
It must be millions of calculations.

 

[bburnett15]

Thank you! This sounds good, i think im off to the races!