PyScripter for ArcGIS 10.2

This tutorial is for my GEOG 490 students. I hope others find use in it too.

PyScripter is another Python GUI (Graphical User Interface) similar to the ones we've been using in class (IDLE and PythonWin). PyScripter has several advantages over these other programs, mainly the ability to auto-complete ArcPy, which really speeds things up.

Cameras for SfM

Camera choice for SfM is important...but maybe more important is taking the right photos. Taking the right photos is the subject of an upcoming post, but for now we'll just focus on cameras. I'll go over the setups we have running and also talk about some of the pitfalls of certain cameras.

Helicopter Aerial Photography

Just finished collecting data for the last part of my dissertation (Hooray!!!). Just thought I'd share some of the results. The photos were processed with Agisoft Photoscan Pro and the orthophotos ended up with a resolution of 5cm (which is exactly what I wanted). Great first results and special thanks to Mark Croghan at the Bureau of Reclamation for the funding and Troy Woydziak at Baker Aircraft for his great piloting.

Kinect Software Links

Here is some of the software I've tried out for getting data out of a stock XBOX 360 Kinect. There is a ton of info out there on hacking the Kinect to do your bidding in terms of 3D scanning.
SCANECT
RGB Demo
SCENECT

All of these use the OpenNI drivers for the Kinect

Bonus...some academic lit. on using the connect as a sensor
by Ken Mankoff in Earth Surface Processes and Landforms

The Kinect: a low-cost, high-resolution, short-range 3D camera

- http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/esp.3332/abstract

Updated SfM Software Links

My original post on SfM software is here.

There are a growing number of Structure-from-Motion (SfM) software packages out there, here are some of the ones that I've come in contact with. VisualSfM would be the place I would start...