What is an Orthomosaic Map and How is it Made?
If you have ever seen a high-resolution aerial image of a project site where every pixel has a real-world GPS coordinate attached to it, that is an orthomosaic. It is not just a photo. It is a geometrically corrected, spatially accurate map that you can measure distances on, overlay with design drawings, and use directly in GIS software. It is one of the most useful deliverables a drone survey produces.
The Difference Between a Photo and an Orthomosaic
- Perspective distortion at edges
- No geographic coordinates per pixel
- Cannot measure distances accurately
- Cannot overlay with CAD drawings
- Scale varies across the image
- Geometrically corrected, uniform scale
- Every pixel has real GPS coordinates
- Measure distances directly in GIS
- Overlays perfectly with design drawings
- Usable as base map in ArcGIS, QGIS, AutoCAD
How an Orthomosaic is Made
Photogrammetric processing in progress. The software identifies thousands of matching feature points across overlapping images to build the 3D reconstruction.
What is an Orthomosaic Used For?
Any project that needs a current, accurate visual base of a site can use an orthomosaic. For solar parks, the orthomosaic feeds directly into layout software for panel placement optimisation. For urban planning, it replaces outdated satellite imagery with fresh, high-resolution data. For transmission line projects, it provides the corridor visual base for all further analysis and design.
Orthomosaics are delivered as GeoTiff files that open in ArcGIS, QGIS, Global Mapper, AutoCAD Map, and Civil 3D without any conversion. If you are working with spatial data and you do not have a current orthomosaic of your project site, you are working blind.
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