Using UAV/Drone Imagery to Map a Golf Course

Global Mapper Pro® features UAV/drone imagery and data processing methods that are irreplaceable tools for high-intensity land management. Golf courses are a great example; spatial data provides managers with the power to quantitatively explore the land to measure slope, map soils, and more. While elevation data and aerial imagery are available online, it is not guaranteed that the source will have recent, high-resolution data on your location. Collecting your data with a drone to process it with Global Mapper Pro enables you to create high-resolution data when and where you need it.

Processing UAV/Drone Imagery Using the Pixels to Points Tool

Pixels to Points®, often referred to as P2P, is a photogrammetric processing tool in Global Mapper Pro that uses overlapping images to create photo-textured 3D models, orthoimages, and high-resolution point clouds. Golf courses benefit from the accessibility of drone-collected imagery. With Pixels to Points, golf course land managers can generate a 2D orthometric aerial image to give a birds-eye view of the golf course. These make great base maps to display under data or as a basis to digitize sidewalks, sandtraps, and other visible features into vector data for use in analysis. You can also use Pixels to Points to create 3D outputs including a point cloud and a 3D model.

The generated point cloud can be used similarly to traditional lidar in Global Mapper to measure terrain volume, assess structures, create detailed base maps, and more.

• Check out this Industry Showcase to learn more about Global Mapper Pro’s tools for processing point cloud data: Using Machine Learning to Classify Unique Features in Point Cloud Data: Bridge Infrastructure

The Pixels to Points Wizard Simplifies Data Input and Settings Decisions

Are you new to photogrammetry? Have no fear! The Pixels to Points Wizard is designed to make photogrammetric processing approachable for all users by streamlining settings choices. Simply follow the directions to import your drone/UAV images and choose your most important output, including the option to run a quick result for quality assessment of the output. Global Mapper adjusts the Pixel to Points settings to match your input and provides a follow-up option to tweak the settings if desired. You can also choose to create DSM, contour lines, and other options automatically. Use the primary dialog to add control points and assess more advanced settings such as masking and color harmonization.

Easy Accuracy with Automatic GCP Placement

Ground Control Points (GCPs) are an important method for improving accuracy in photogrammetry. Including GCPs in processing enables users to leverage the precision of high-accuracy GNSS units to imagery collected via drone/UAV. This process involves manually assigning the collected GCP location to each image in which it appears. Global Mapper’s new Ground Control Points manager assists with this process by detecting and automatically assigning GCPs to detected images. Read more about using GCPs in this blog: Automatic Identification of Ground Control Points in UAV/Drone Imagery.

*Tip: Use Global Mapper Mobile Pro when collecting GCPs in the field for easy data transfer. Read more about Global Mapper Mobile Pro’s GNSS capabilities.

• Learn more about collecting and processing data by reading Golf Course Maintenance and Field Data Collection.

Analyzing Elevation Data Across the Course

Global Mapper Pro can be used to extract meaningful measurements from the generated point cloud data. Existing course topography can be mapped using contour lines, breaklines, terrain surfaces, and even water movement can be mapped with the watershed tool. Global Mapper’s extensive Terrain Analysis toolset can measure the volume of hazards, model how water will flow across the new terrain, or plan drainage. Future construction can be modeled to assess fairway distances, tree height and placement, create and compare site plans using virtual terrain manipulation tools – and more – all in Global Mapper Pro.

Mapping Slope

If you’re looking for another way to visualize the elevation change in golf course terrain, you can create a slope map or raster. Users can showcase slope values by creating a custom shader or grouping them with the Raster Reclassify tool. In the image below, notice how the raster is colored by slope value. Cells of similar color can be extracted into area features for use with analysis or exported to Global Mapper Mobile® to reference from the field.

Mapping Sight Lines

The Path Profile tool includes a line-of-sight feature that can be used to locate objects or terrain that may hinder the view. Line of sight analysis views a path across the loaded terrain layers, just as a person would form the earth’s surface.

For more information see these related industry scenarios:

• Golf Course Maintenance and Field Data Collection
• Measurement and Manipulation of Golf Course Terrain in Global Mapper Pro

With Global Mapper Pro, the power of photogrammetry comes with the GIS software you need for all-in-one processing. Try out these tools and more by downloading Global Mapper Pro and registering for a 14-day free trial!