3D aerial mapping of Cosson Hall, Treasure Island (Pix4D & DroneDeploy) - Eric Cheng

3D aerial mapping of Cosson Hall, Treasure Island (Pix4D & DroneDeploy)

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The abandoned Cosson Hall naval barracks on Treasure Island, San Francisco, shortly before planned demolition. The trees surrounding the building have already been removed. Screengrab from rendering of 3D model of Cosson Hall, Pix4DMapper Pro. February 15, 2016.

I processed 3D models / maps using Pix4DMapper Pro and DroneDeploy using the 569 aerial images I took at Cosson Hall on Treasure Island the other day, and the results are pretty spectacular. The images in this post are actually renderings of the texture-mapped 3D model, and are not photographs. Aerial mapping images shot manually with DJI Inspire 1Zenmuse X5 camera, and Olympus 12mm lens.

Screengrab from rendering of 3D model of Cosson Hall, Pix4DMapper Pro

These sorts of 3D maps could be useful for the folks who will (eventually) be demolishing Cosson Hall. We can also do things like linear, area, and volumetric measurements using the model (using the Pix4D desktop app). Here’s the interactive 3D model:

I had a 3D model from DroneDeploy, but it has since expired from the site.

DroneDeploy is super easy to use: just dump all of your mapping images online, and the maps are created for you. Sharing couldn’t be easier, and can be done by clicking the Share button (although to embed 3D models, you have to click through to the Sketchfab model and share from there).

I also rendered a fly over of the model in Pix4D. I don’t have anything commercial to do with these maps, but if I did, I would certainly pay for these services!

Some folks have been asking what my flights looked like. I did 2 flights: 1 for nadir (top down) imagery, and 1 for obliques. Here is the combined flight path (click through for larger view):