Image requirements
MapperTool works with the photos your drone already produces — there is no special export step. What matters is the metadata inside each image and, for some outputs, the type of sensor that captured it.
The one universal requirement is EXIF metadata with GPS position. Virtually every mapping-capable drone writes this automatically: each photo carries the coordinates and altitude where it was taken, along with camera details. MapperTool reads this EXIF data during the automatic quality check to evaluate GPS coverage, overlap, flight altitude and camera consistency — and processing itself relies on the geotags to place your map in the real world. Photos stripped of EXIF data (for example by some messaging apps or editing tools) will not work, so always upload the original files straight from the drone.
Two outputs additionally depend on what kind of camera captured the images:
- NDVI requires multispectral imagery. A standard RGB camera cannot see the near-infrared light NDVI is computed from, so vegetation-index output needs photos from a multispectral sensor.
- Thermal orthomosaic requires radiometric thermal imagery. The images must carry actual per-pixel temperature data, not just a colorized thermal preview; only radiometric thermal sensors record this.
For orthomosaics, elevation models and 3D point clouds, a regular geotagged RGB camera is all you need. See Choosing outputs for what each output is and when to request it.
This guide is being written. The essentials above are accurate today; the detailed walkthrough lands here soon.