PIX4Dmapper inputs are:
- Images: PIX4mapper is based on image processing.
- Image geolocation file (optional): The file that contains the geolocation of the images.
- Ground Control Points (GCP) file (optional): The file that contains the coordinates of the GCPs.
- Coordinate system file (optional): The file that contains information about the coordinate system of the GCPs or the image geolocation.
- GCP/Manual Tie Points marks file (optional): The file that contains the image coordinates of the GCPs and Manual Tie Points marked on the images.
- Point cloud (optional): An external point cloud taken by other sources such as LiDAR can be imported into Pix4Dmapper to generate the DSM and Orthomosaic.
- Processing Area (optional): An area that can be imported and which defines the area for which the outputs will be generated.
- Radiometric calibration image (optional): An image that shows the radiometric calibration target
- Volume measurement vertices/area (optional): Some vertices or a surface (area) that can be imported and which define the area for which the volume measurement will be performed.
- Regions in the Index Calculator (optional): Specific regions for which the Index Maps, the Index values and the Colored Index Maps will be generated.
- Video file (optional): A video file can be imported and used for processing (instead of still images).
Pix4Dmapper is an image processing software. The images can be either JPEG or TIFF files.
| Extension | Description |
|---|---|
| .jpg, .jpeg | JPEG images |
| .tif, .tiff | Monochromatic TIFF Multi-band TIFF (RGB / Infrared / thermal) 1 layer (no pyramid, no multi-page) 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 bit integer, floating point |
Image geolocation file (optional)
Pix4Dmapper can process images with or without geolocation.
If the image EXIF data contains the image position, then the geolocation file is not needed as Pix4Dmapper automatically reads the geolocation from the EXIF data. If the EXIF data does not contain the image GPS position, then a geolocation file is needed. The geolocation file delivered by any camera or GPS system can be edited in order to be compatible with Pix4Dmapper. Pix4Dmapper can also read the geolocation files delivered by the UAVs of 3D Robotics, CropCam and QuestUAV and the cameras of Tetracam.
The files that can be imported in Pix4Dmapper are:
- Latitude, Longitude, Altitude
- Longitude, Latitude, Altitude
- X, Y, Z
- Y, X, Z
- 3D Robotics Flight Log
- CropCam Flight Log
- QuestUAV Flight Log
- Tetracam Flight Log
For geographic WGS84 (latitude, longitude, altitude) image geolocation coordinates. The file is a .csv, .txt, or .dat extension file. It contains four columns per line, and uses a comma to separate the characters.
| Extension | Description |
|---|---|
| .csv, .txt, .dat | Files from which the image geolocation can be imported |
The format of the file is described in the table below:
| WGS84 geographic coordinates |
|---|
| imagename,latitude [decimal degrees],longitude [decimal degrees],altitude [meter]
Example:
IMG_3165.JPG,46.2345612,6.5611445,539.931234 The latitude value is between -90° and 90°. Warning: The latitude must be in the second column and the longitude in the third one.
|
| WGS84 geographic coordinates including orientation |
| imagename,latitude [decimal degrees],longitude [decimal degrees],altitude [meter],omega [degrees], phi [degrees], kappa [degrees]
Example:
IMG_3165.JPG,46.2345612,6.5611445,539.931234,1.698,4.392,90.859 The latitude value is between -90° and 90°. Warning: The latitude must be in the second column and the longitude in the third one.
|
| WGS84 geographic coordinates including orientation and Accuracy |
| imagename,latitude [decimal degrees],longitude [decimal degrees],altitude [meter],omega [degrees], phi [degrees], kappa [degrees],Accuracy Horz [meter],Accuracy Vert [meter]
Example:
IMG_3165.JPG,46.2345612,6.5611445,539.931234,1.698,4.392,90.859,5,10 The latitude value is between -90° and 90°. Warning: The latitude must be in the second column and the longitude in the third one.
|
For geographic WGS84 (longitude, latitude, altitude) image geolocation coordinates. The file is a .csv, .txt, or .dat extension file. It contains four columns per line, and uses a comma to separate the characters.
| Extension | Description |
|---|---|
| .csv, .txt, .dat | Files from which the image geolocation can be imported |
The format of the file is described in the table below:
| WGS84 geographic coordinates |
|---|
| imagename,longitude [decimal degrees],latitude [decimal degrees],altitude [meter] Example:
IMG_3165.JPG,46.2345612,6.5611445,539.931234 The latitude value is between -90° and 90°. Warning: The longitude must be in the second column and the latitude in the third one.
|
| WGS84 geographic coordinates including orientation |
| imagename,longitude [decimal degrees],latitude [decimal degrees],altitude [meter],omega [degrees], phi [degrees], kappa [degrees] Example:
IMG_3165.JPG,46.2345612,6.5611445,539.931234,1.698,4.392,90.859 The latitude value is between -90° and 90°. Warning: The longitude must be in the second column and the latitude in the third one.
|
| WGS84 geographic coordinates including orientation and Accuracy |
| imagename,longitude [decimal degrees],latitude [decimal degrees],altitude [meter],omega [degrees], phi [degrees], kappa [degrees],Accuracy Horz [meter],Accuracy Vert [meter]
Example:
IMG_3165.JPG,46.2345612,6.5611445,539.931234,1.698,4.392,90.859,5,10 The latitude value is between -90° and 90°. Warning: The longitude must be in the second column and the latitude in the third one.
|
For image geolocation coordinates that are given in any projected coordinate system (X,Y,Z). The file is a .csv, .txt, or .dat extension file. It contains four columns per line, and uses a comma to separate the characters.
| Extension | Description |
|---|---|
| .csv, .txt, .dat | Files from which the image geolocation can be imported |
The format of the file is described in the table below:
| Any projected coordinate system |
|---|
|
imagename,X/Easting [meter],Y/Northing [meter],Z [meter] if the units of the system is meters imagename,X/Easting [feet],Y/Northing [feet],z[feet] if the units of the system is feet |
| Any projected coordinate system including orientation |
|
imagename, X/Easting [meter],Y/Northing [meter],Z [meter], omega [degrees], phi [degrees], kappa [degrees] if the units of the system is meters imagename, X/Easting [feet],Y/Northing [feet],Z [feet], omega [degrees], phi [degrees], kappa [degrees] if the units of the system is feet |
| Any projected coordinate system including orientation and Accuracy |
|
imagename, X/Easting [meter],Y/Northing [meter],Z [meter], omega [degrees], phi [degrees], kappa [degrees],Accuracy Horz [meter],Accuracy Vert [meter] if the units of the system is meters imagename, X/Easting [feet],Y/Northing [feet],Z [feet], omega [degrees], phi [degrees], kappa [degrees],Accuracy Horz [feet],Accuracy Vert [feet] if the units of the system is feet |
For image geolocation coordinates that are given in any projected coordinate system (Y,X,Z). The file is a .csv, .txt, or .dat extension file. It contains four columns per line, and use a comma to separate the characters.
| Extension | Description |
|---|---|
| .csv, .txt, .dat | Files from which the image geolocation can be imported |
The format of the file is described in the table below:
| Any projected coordinate system |
|---|
|
imagename,Y/Northing [meter],X/Easting [meter],Z [meter] if the units of the system are meters imagename,Y/Northing [feet],X/Easting [feet],z [feet] if the units of the system are feet |
| Any projected coordinate system including orientation |
|
imagename, Y/Northing [meter],X/Easting [meter],Z [meter],omega [degrees],phi [degrees], kappa [degrees] if the units of the system is meters imagename,Y/Northing [feet],X/Easting [feet],Z [feet],omega [degrees],phi [degrees], kappa [degrees] if the units of the system is feet |
| Any projected coordinate system including orientation and Accuracy |
|
imagename,Y/Northing [meter],X/Easting [meter],Z [meter],omega [degrees],phi [degrees], kappa [degrees],Accuracy Horz [meter],Accuracy Vert [meter] if the units of the system is meters imagename, Y/Northing [feet],X/Easting [feet],Z [feet],omega [degrees],phi [degrees],kappa [degrees],Accuracy Horz [feet],Accuracy Vert [feet] if the units of the system is feet |
The GPS files that 3D Robotics UAVs deliver are compatible with Pix4Dmapper and do not need any editing.
| Extension | Description |
|---|---|
| .txt, .log, .csv | Geolocation files that 3D Robotics delivers |
The CropCam Flight Log file is the GPS log file that CropCam UAVs deliver. It is compatible with Pix4Dmapper and it does not need any editing.
The format is an ASCII .txt file. It uses white space to separate the characters.
The camera is usually mounted on Servo8.
The Camera Trigger Value corresponds to the value that the camera servo takes when an image is triggered.
The first image date corresponds to the date and time the first image is taken. The first image geolocation date corresponds to the date and time of the first image geolocation. These 2 values are used to compute the offset in milliseconds between the first image and first image geolocation, in order to correctly match a geotag with each image.
| Extension | Description |
|---|---|
| .txt | Geolocation file that CropCAM UAV delivers |
The files that QuestUAV delivers are compatible with Pix4Dmapper and does not need any editing.
| Extension | Description |
|---|---|
| .txt, .log, .csv | Geolocation files that QuestUAV delivers |
The file exported by Tetracam's software PixelWrench2 is compatible with Pix4Dmapper and does not need any editing.
| Extension | Description |
|---|---|
| .txt, .log, .csv | Geolocation files that Tetracam's software PixelWrench2 delivers |
Ground Control Points (GCP) file (optional)
The GCPs are points of the area to map with known coordinates.
| Extension | Description |
|---|---|
| .csv, .txt | Files used to import GCPs coordinates into a project |
The GCP file format is a .csv or .txt file (ASCII). It contains four or six columns per line for 3D GCPs and 3 or 5 columns per line for 2D GCPs, and use a comma to separate the characters. The formats are described in the table below:
| 2D GCPs WGS84 geographic coordinates |
|---|
|
label,latitude[decimal degrees],longitude[decimal degrees] Example:
GCP0,46.23456,6.56114 The latitude value is between -90° and 90°. Warning: The latitude must be in the second column and the longitude in the third one.
|
| 2D GCPs WGS84 geographic coordinates with Accuracy |
|
label,latitude[decimal degrees],longitude[decimal degrees],Accuracy X [meter],Accuracy Y [meter] Example:
GCP0,46.23456,6.56114,5,10 The latitude value is between -90° and 90°. Information: For more information about the Accuracy: Menu Project > Image Properties Editor... > Images Table.
Warning: The latitude must be in the second column and the longitude in the third one.
|
| 2D GCPs other coordinate systems |
| label,X/Easting [meter],Y/Northing [meter] if the units of the system are in meters label,X/Easting [feet],Y/Northing [feet] if the units of the system are in feet |
| 2D GCPs other coordinate systems with Accuracy |
|
label,X/Easting [meter],Y/Northing [meter],Accuracy X [meter],Accuracy Y [meter] if the units of the system are in meters Information: For more information about the Accuracy: Menu Project > Image Properties Editor... > Images Table.
|
| 3D GCPs WGS84 geographic coordinates |
|
label,latitude[decimal degrees],longitude[decimal degrees],altitude[meter] Example:
GCP0,46.23456,6.56114,299.931 The latitude value is between -90° and 90°. Warning: The latitude must be in the second column and the longitude in the third one.
|
| 3D GCPs WGS84 geographic coordinates with Accuracy |
|
label,latitude[decimal degrees],longitude[decimal degrees],altitude[meter],Accuracy Horz [meter],Accuracy Vert [meter] Example:
GCP0,46.23456,6.56114,299.931,5,10 The latitude value is between -90° and 90°. Information: For more information about the Accuracy: Menu Project > Image Properties Editor... > Images Table.
Warning: The latitude must be in the second column and the longitude in the third one.
|
| 3D GCPs other coordinate systems |
| label,X/Easting [meter],Y/Northing [meter],z[meter] if the units of the system are in meters label,X/Easting [feet],Y/Northing [feet], z[feet] if the units of the system are in feet |
| 3D GCPs other coordinate systems with Accuracy |
|
label,X/Easting [meter],Y/Northing [meter],z[meter],Accuracy Horz [meter],Accuracy Vert [meter] if the units of the system are in meters Information: For more information about the Accuracy: Menu Project > Image Properties Editor... > Images Table.
|
Coordinate system file (optional)
The coordinate system file is a .prj file that contains information about a particular coordinate system. It is optional.
| Extension | Description |
|---|---|
| .prj | File used to describe the datum and the coordinate system used |
The information contained in the .prj file specifies the:
- Name of Geographic coordinate system or Map projection
- Datum
- Spheroid
- Prime meridian
- Units used
- Parameters necessary to define the map projection, for example:
- Latitude of origin
- Scale factor
- Central meridian
- False northing
- False easting
- Standard parallels
For more information about how to obtain or create a .prj coordinate system syntax file: How to obtain or create a .prj coordinate system syntax file.
GEOGCS["GCS_North_American_1927",DATUM["D_North_American_1927",SPHEROID["Clarke_1866",
6378206.4,294.9786982],PRIMEM["Greenwich",0],UNIT["Degree",0.0174532925199433]]]
GCP / Manual Tie Point marks file (optional)
The GCPs/Manual Tie Points need to be marked on the images. Once marked, their image coordinates can be saved into a .txt, .csv or xml file (GCP/ Manual Tie Point marks file). This allows the user to use the same GCPs/Manual Tie Point marks next time needed to run the same project (e.g. adding new images to an existing project) without having to manually re-mark the GCPs/Manual Tie Points.
| Extension | Description |
|---|---|
| .txt, .csv, .xml | Files used to import GCP image coordinates |
The GCP/Manual Tie Point image coordinate file can be a
| Pix4D Marks file | ||
|---|---|---|
| It contains the image name, the GCP/Manual Tie Point label and the images coordinates. Optionally, it can contain the zoom level at which the points have been marked on the images (using Pix4Dmapper) and the image directory. This file can be exported from Pix4Dmapper. For more information: 204924709.
The coordinate system has as origin the upper left part of the image. Its axes are oriented as shown in the image below:
The GCP image coordinates are given in pixels: imagename, GCP/Manual Tie Pointlabel, image coordinate x, image coordinate y, (optional) zoom level, (optional) image directory Example:
R0079100.JPG,mtp31,2018.3314,1621.3729,1.9755, C:\Users\pix4d\Desktop\marks
The zoom level and the image directory are optional.
Important: It is always recommended to import the Pix4D marks file with zoom level. The zoom level at which GCPs/ Manual Tie Points are marked has an impact on the GCP/Manual Tie Point error obtained in the Quality Report. Usually the higher the zoom level, the more precisely the GCP/Manual Tie Point is marked. These GCPs/Manual Tie Points will have more impact on the reconstructed model than GCPs/Manual Tie Points marked in a lower zoom level and lower error values are expected for these GCPs.
|
||
| Bingo text file | ||
| It contains the GCPs/Manual Tie Point image coordinates. It is an ASCII .txt file in Bingo format.
Each image is described in a block starting with the image name and ending with -99. The line containing the image name has 2 elements separated by a white space: image_name other_string The other lines in the image block describe the GCP/Manual Tie Point position of the image. The line has 3 elements separated by a white space. GCP/Manual Tie Point_name GCP/Manual Tie Point_positionX GCP/Manual Tie Point_positionY The GCP/Manual Tie Point_name has to be the name of a GCP/Manual Tie Point that has already been imported/created in the project. The coordinate system has as origin the center (Cx, Cy) of the image (not the principal point). Its axes are oriented as shown in the image below:
The GCP image coordinates can be given in millimeters or in pixels. |
||
| XML structure file | ||
| It is an xml file. For an example of a XML structure file: What is the XML structure file?.
The coordinate system has as origin the upper left part of the image. Its axes are oriented as shown in the image below:
The GCP image coordinates are given in pixels. |
A Point Cloud generated by an external source such as LiDAR technology can be used in Pix4Dmapper to generate the DSM and Orthomosaic. If such a Point Cloud is used, the Point Cloud generated by Pix4Dmapper is not taken into account for the DSM and Orthomosaic generation.
| Extension | Description |
|---|---|
| .xyz, .laz, .las | 3D point cloud that can be imported as an external point cloud to generate the DSM and the orthomosaic |
If there is no need to generate the outputs for the entire area covered by the images, it is possible to import a file that defines the Processing Area. For more information about the Processing Area: Menu View > rayCloud > Left sidebar > Layers > Processing Area.
The file can have any coordinate system of the Pix4Dmapper database.
| Extension | Description |
|---|---|
| .shp, .kml | Describes the Processing Area for which the outputs will be generated |
Radiometric calibration image (optional)
If there is need to calibrate and correct the image reflectance, taking the illumination and sensor influence into consideration, an image in which a reflectance target with known albedo values is shown can be imported. For more information: Menu Process > Processing Options... > 3. DSM, Orthomosaic and Index > Index Calculator.
| Extension | Description |
|---|---|
| .tif, .tiff, .jpg, . jpeg | Image in which the calibration target for which the albedo values are known is showh. |
Volume measurements vertices / area
If there is need to define the volume of a specific area, it is possible to import a .shp file with this area or the vertices that define this area. This .shp file can be generated by Pix4Dmapper or by another software (GIS, CAD). For more information about how to export a volume .shp file with Pix4Dmapper: How to export Volumes.
| Extension | Description |
|---|---|
| .shp | Describes the area for which the volume measurement will be performed. |
Regions for the Index Calculator
If there is need to define specific areas for which the Index Maps, the Index values and the Colored Index Maps will be generated, it is possible to import a .shp with the regions.
| Extension | Description |
|---|---|
| .shp | Describes the regions for which the Index Maps, the Index values and the Colored Index Maps will be generated. |
Pix4Dmapper can process video frames.
| Extension | Description |
|---|---|
| .avi, .mp4, .wmv, .mov | Video files that can be imported into Pix4Dmapper |
- It is not recommended to record videos for accurate mapping: The quality of the results will almost always be inferior to the results generated using still imagery.
- 4K videos from cameras such as GoPro 4 and DJI provide reasonable results.
- Full HD videos are usually not sufficient to get reasonable results.
For more information about how to use videos for processing: How to use Videos for Processing.
Hi,
Is it possible to use geotagged or non-geotagged images simultaneously with a colored depth map from an RGB-D camera? Is pix4D going to merge them to produce a colored pointcloud by taking advantages of all the present informations?
Hi Roger,
As for now, Pix4Dmapper does not support the RGB-D cameras so the additional information won't be taken into account.
Best
Hi,
Can pix4d generate depth/disparity maps? If yes, at what stage of the processing pipeline?
Hi,
For example, could I create a model with 2 sets of data:
First set: jpeg from UAV, all GPS
Second set: point cloud from Leica Lidar
So Could I put them all for the initial process, or could I process one then the other one, then merge them after ?
Thank you
Hello,
Japheth Kimeu The Pix4Dmapper doesn't create a disparity map, it generates the point cloud with the real world coordinates (x,y, and Z) if your image has geotagged in it. For more information, I would recommend you to go through our support article on What is... (a densified point cloud? an orthomosaic? etc.)
Dominic Fillion You can't create a 3D model combining the point cloud data obtained from the image and the Lidar at the same time. You have to use other third-party software such as CloudCompare, to do so. However, you can create the 3D model separately from the image and point cloud obtained from Lidar. For more information, I would recommend you to go through our support article on How to import a Point Cloud delivered by an External Source into Pix4Dmapper.
Regards
Hi Kapil (Pix4D),
Excuse me, could pix4d import gopro8 (with GPS enabled) video files to generate an large area image? (Put the Gopro8 blow on a drone to take the video)
thank you & have a good day : )
Hello,
We are using PPK processing for a Phantom 4 RTK. We are importing a file which has coordiantes and accuracy, but not orientation. We wish to kepp the orientation recorded by Phantom 4 RTK.
Can we import Coordinates and Accuracy without Orientation? If not, how do I import the accuracy for over 3,000 images?