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I'm in the process of buying a 7.5 acre plot of land in a wooded, hilly area. I would estimate that the elevation varies about 50 feet from the bottom of the creek to the top of the hill. I would like to find a good method for measuring the topography of the land so I can create a 3D model. It would be tremendously useful to be able to try out different land development ideas and to simulate locations for future buildings.

My low-tech version of doing this would be to set up a laser level and go around taking elevation measurements in a 3' or so grid pattern. As I thought about that, I realized that smartphones and similar devices have quite a few sensors built in that might make this a lot easier.

I learned about software that will use a drone to capture data and images to automatically generate a topo map and 3D model. Drone Deploy is one such tool. I do have a DJI Phantom 4, but I don't know if it's feasible to fly such an intricate path among trees to scan the entire property. I wonder if there's another way to use this amazing modern hardware (phone or drone) to make my task easy.

I would appreciate hearing any thoughts and ideas about this!

JamesA
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The thing with dronedeploy is that you fly above the trees usually 30meters is ok. In a cross pattern.

Why do you want to fly between the trees? You have to explain that first.

Mats Bohlinsson
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  • I assumed that I'd have to fly below the treetops to capture the ground elevation instead of the elevation of the treetops. Would the software be able to distinguish between the trees and the ground? – JamesA Nov 16 '21 at 03:40
  • Most cases yes, unless you have very dense forest. In that case you can use refernce points. You get an 3d map with the ground and the trees. – Mats Bohlinsson Nov 16 '21 at 10:31
  • Oh that's very good to learn! Yeah, that would make this very easy. I think there's a trial period for Drone Deploy, so I can give that a shot. Thank you! – JamesA Nov 16 '21 at 15:15