Photogrammetry is a memory and computer-intensive process. You typically need a very powerful computer with a lot of memory to get your job done. Even with a good system, the processing time can take very long and tends to increase exponentially with the number of pictures you add to your photogrammetry project. Also, cloud photogrammetry solutions have limitations on the number of pictures they can process.


Hint! Process your project in smaller chunks or blocks and merge these different blocks as one large project in Virtual Surveyor.


Overview


Options for Creating Virtual Mosaics

To create Virtual Mosaics, Virtual Surveyor has the following tools available:

  • Set the layer order of the different DSMs and Orthophotos (Elevation and Image Terrains). 
    • This functionality allows you to control exactly what DSM/Orthophoto is on top of the other when they overlap.
  • Create clean seams between the different blocks with the clipping tool.
  • We recommend creating your survey, contours, or TIN on the virtual mosaic and exporting the data to a CAD compatible file format (.dxf, .xml, ...). 
    • As another option, however, you can export  your mosaic to one combined GeoTIFF or JPEG2000 file.


Note! You can create virtual mosaics in Virtual Surveyor up to a maximum of 250 km (155 miles) in any direction.



Set the Order of Your Terrain States

  • You can change the order of a Terrain State with Move Up or Move Down functions.
  • The Move Up or Move Down buttons appear when you have selected at least one Image (Orthophoto) or Elevation Terrain (DSM).
  • Click Move Up or Move Down to change the order of the terrain compared to the other terrains.








Clip the Terrain to the Boundary

  • The Clip button appears in the contextual TOOLS tab when you have the Orthomosaic/DSM and a Boundary selected.
  • Once you have both the boundary and terrain selected, click Clip to trim the terrain to the boundary limits.


Export Your Terrain

  • The Export Terrain button is available in the EXPORT tab.
  • Create a boundary for the total area you want to export.
  • Click Export Elevation to .tif or Export Image to .tif to export the orthomosaic to a terrain file.