Aerial Survey Planner
Estimate ground resolution, image count, flight time, and batteries for any mapping or survey mission.
Mission estimate
- Ground resolution (GSD)
- 2.67 cm/pixel
- Image ground footprint
- 141 × 105 m
- Photos to capture
- 120
- Flight lines
- 8
- Total flight distance
- 2.8 km
- Estimated flight time
- 6 min
- Batteries needed
- 1
An indicative engineering estimate for a regular grid survey over a square area. Real results vary with site shape, wind, and launch accuracy.
About this tool
Before any aerial mission that produces a map or a 3D model, there are numbers you should know up front: how sharp is each pixel on the ground? How many photos must you capture? How many batteries? This calculator estimates all of that from the site area, flight altitude, and camera specs — using the same standard photogrammetry equations flight-planning software relies on.
What the numbers mean
- Ground resolution (GSD): the real distance on the ground that a single pixel represents. Lower cm/pixel means more detail — 2 cm/px reveals cracks that 5 cm/px misses.
- Front and side overlap: how much consecutive photos and neighbouring lines repeat the scene. High overlap (80/70) is needed for a clean 3D reconstruction, but it raises the photo count.
- Flight lines and photo count: drive the mission duration and how heavy the processing will be afterwards.
- Batteries: calculated assuming 80% of each battery's time is usable, leaving a safe landing reserve.
How to use it
Set the site area in hectares, then choose the flight altitude (lower gives higher resolution but a longer mission), and pick the camera or enter its specs manually. Watch the ground resolution: for inspecting a structure aim for 1–3 cm/px, while for open-ground maps 4–8 cm/px is enough and saves time. The figures assume a regular square site; long or irregular sites may need more photos and batteries.
Common questions
Does this replace flight-planning software?
No. It is a quick estimation tool for planning and initial pricing before a mission. Actual execution is done with flight-planning software that draws the route on a map and triggers the camera automatically.
Why does the photo count change so much with overlap?
Because each increase in overlap shortens the distance between photos and lines, so the count rises non-linearly. This is the core trade-off in photogrammetry: reconstruction quality versus mission time and data size.
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