Using satellite images for measurements.

by D C on June 14, 2022 with No Comments

What if a drone can’t be used for aerial measurements? Last year, we were asked by a client to provide some aerial imagery to help with a query regarding the positions of some elements of a construction site compared to the positions stated in a planning application. The area concerned appeared to be spread across a couple of kilometres squared with the only space suitable for Take off/Landing (TOAL) appeared to be a couple of Byways Open to All Traffic … Read More

Bright spots on your drone photos and videos?

by D C on August 31, 2021 with No Comments

Why is there a bright spot on my drone photos and videos? Occasionally, when photos and videos are taken from drones, you can see quite a bright spot, normally when the sun is behind the camera and very bright.Here’s an example of such a scenario, a photo taken in the South Shropshire countryside, early in February. You can clearly see the ‘bright spot’ arrowed on the right hand side of the image. Drone photo showing a ‘white spot’ in bright … Read More

EASA Drone Regulations from 31st December 2020.

by D C on December 3, 2020 with No Comments

EASA Drone regulations. From the 31st December 2020 the existing drone regulations in the UK are being replaced with new EASA regulations which means changes in the way that commercial drone operations are conducted. We have recently renewed out Permission for Commercial Operations until December 2021 in order to remain compliant with existing regulations (Which will be in effect for the next few years) But to ensure the we can provide services going forward, With the possibility of flying suitable … Read More

A quick multispectral drone survey of a field.

by D C on June 8, 2020 with No Comments

Agricultural imaging of a newly planted field by drone. On one of my walks during the Covid-19 ‘lockdown’ I happened across a field which had been planted during the previous winter. Several storms since it had been plated had done a huge amount of damage, washing what appeared to be a huge amount of soil, and crops out of the field, leaving it is a sorry state. I thought it would be ideal to use the field as a target … Read More

360 degree panoramas and virtual tours for business.

by D C on February 3, 2020 with No Comments

360 degree panoramas and ‘virtual tours’ now available. From the1st February 2020, ClearSkyImaging are pleased to be able to offer clients 360 degree panoramas and 360 degree virtual ‘tours’. These can be a wonderful way to display organisations’ properties, events, locations and surroundings on their websites to provide visitors with an interactive tour of their facilities. Virtual tours have been hugely important during the Coronavirus pandemic, and are sure to be very popular for a vast range of businesses and … Read More

Drone mapping and modelling an Iron Age landscape.

by D C on January 14, 2020 with No Comments

Drone mapping within an Iron Age Settlement. Maps. It has to be said, here at clearskyimaging we do love a good map or two! So much so that we have undertaken courses in mapping and photogrammetry with drones, and QGIS in order to present any mapping data we obtain for clients. Being based in Shropshire, within the Welsh marches, we do have a fair bit of history too.Here, we took the opportunity to investigate a local Iron Age hillfort, … Read More

Things to consider when hiring a drone pilot.

by D C on November 27, 2019 with No Comments

Hiring a drone pilot. Update – Drone rules are changing at the end of December 2020. But people hiring drone operators must ensure that the operators have the necessary COMMERCIAL insurance in place for the work being undertaken. Hiring a drone or UAV pilot can be a time consuming, and confusing experience. Further confusion may have been generated by the ‘Drone and Pilot Registration’ regulations introduced in the UK by the CAA in November 2019.Here we have a brief run … Read More

OpenDroneMap on CentOS 7

by D C on November 19, 2019 with No Comments

Installing a Low Cost (or No Cost) Drone mapping solution on CentOS 7 Linux. Drone mapping and 3D modelling solutions range from free or very reasonable cost, to very high end solutions, with a price tag to match! Here we’re going to install a free, open source application, onto a free Operating System. Having previously installed, and utilised OpenDroneMap on a Mint 18 Linux Laptop and Workstation, as well as a Windows 10 Desktop, we took the opportunity, when rebuilding … Read More

Aerial 3D Photogrammetry without a drone or UAV.

by D C on October 30, 2019 with No Comments

How on earth could we produce a 3D model, where drones are not allowed? When researching a route to a training establishment for a recent QGIS training course, we were intrigued to see a ‘pin’ on Google Maps for a something called ‘Arthur’s Stone’, which appeared to be a small neolithic burial chamber, overlooking the ‘Golden Valley’ in Herefordshire. We immediately wondered just how this would look as a 3D model! Investigating the site further, it became clear that it … Read More

A 3D model of the Treasury in Petra (without even visiting!)

by D C on March 16, 2019 with No Comments

Never having been to Petra, and not really being able to visit any time soon, I was inspired by a post on packet39.com where they created a 3d ‘model’ of the Treasury building there. I thought I’d give it a try. But instead of using commercial software to generate the point cloud and mesh, I thought I’d give it a go with COLMAP, using this excellent tutorial over at sketchfab. So I downloaded 100 or so images of the Treasury … Read More

blog