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Calcimator

Aerial Survey Coverage Calculator

Calculate flight lines, image count, and overlap for drone mapping missions based on area size, altitude, and camera specs.

Inputs

ft
ft
ft
mm
mm
mm
m/s

Results

Total Images

120

Flight Lines6
Estimated Flight Time6.8 min
Total Flight Distance3,263 m
Photo Interval3.13 s
Survey Area15 ha
How to Use This Calculator
  1. Enter survey area length and width (meters or feet), and planned flight altitude (m AGL).
  2. Set camera sensor width and height (mm) and focal length (mm) for your camera-lens combination.
  3. Enter desired front overlap (%) and side overlap (%) for photogrammetry accuracy.
  4. Review total image count, number of flight lines, estimated flight time, and photo interval (seconds).
  5. Use photo interval to verify your camera's burst rate can keep pace with the required capture rate.

How the result changes with Front Overlap

Front OverlapTotal Images
55%72
66%90
79%144
91%336

What each input means

Area Length
Length of the survey area along the flight direction.
Area Width
Width of the survey area perpendicular to flight.
Flight Altitude
Altitude above ground level.
Sensor Width
Camera sensor physical width.
Sensor Height
Camera sensor physical height.
Focal Length
Camera lens focal length.
Front Overlap
Along-track image overlap (typically 70-80%).
Side Overlap
Cross-track image overlap (typically 60-70%).
Drone Speed
Average flight speed during the survey.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    4 parameters
    Area Length = 500, Area Width = 300, Flight Altitude = 100, Sensor Width = 13.2 = 9 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate Total Images
    Total Images
    120 = 120
  3. Calculate Flight Lines
    Flight Lines
    6 = 6
  4. Calculate Estimated Flight Time
    Estimated Flight Time
    6.8 = 6.8

Engine last updated . Checked against 1 independently-derived test — how we verify calculators.

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