![Screen Shot 2017-05-19 at 10.43.57.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmddUcVbmau2cbHbZSXDFimHZC6egY2a4oWvXtGZvCGH2a/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-19%20at%2010.43.57.png)

Earlier this week I was in Sulawesi to create a detailed 3D map of an area of land soon to be developed.  Google Earth provides a pretty good view of this area as you can see here, but Google Earth cannot compete with my DJI Inspire 1 drone and the [Maps Made Easy](https://www.mapsmadeeasy.com//) app.

![Palu wide.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQ1cPHsXdh2K5DTx9QUGyoWWAMJRzQgi6tstrRXjUNs3F/Palu%20wide.jpg)

![Paul mid.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQme5RTzZFvZLKoWv2sxqoHP4gkXDbJ5eHzy5rZyXoyNrPP/Paul%20mid.jpg)

The area either side of the dirt track running up the hill was the area I needed to focus on.
![Paul close.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVcFJ65ZzAaTheeijf4jCrSa2pZrcMFfnSGgPW1f97D57/Paul%20close.jpg)

<center>All images above are from Google Earth</center>

---

![3D mapping.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdbsjxjwQhFc1pr6AEh3CqPq2245rURM9EeUmgroyVfw6/3D%20mapping.jpg)


<center>![Screen Shot 2017-05-19 at 18.10.46.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYv6PraxbTa7g6m8JYiac5GVVENsmw6vL3oGyqpTqLs2A/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-19%20at%2018.10.46.png)</center>

I am not going to tell you that it was easy, because it wasn't!  I watched many tutorials over the course of two nights to fully understand how to use this £10 Maps Made Easy app I had downloaded onto my ipad.

Once I figured out the exact area which needed to be captured in detail I was able to create a flight path and calculate how many batteries I would need and how many pictures would be taken.  

![mapping .jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSRryg8UAikRKApaqFMo8tzwS4KrjqKyx3QeniXXQeXDf/mapping%20.jpg)

The area I was mapping required three batteries flying at a height of 200m.  More batteries would be required if I was looking to achieve a higher resolution, because the drone would have to fly lower and therefore make more passes, taking more photos.

## The Flight

From this point on it was actually very simple.  I did have to provide an internet connection to my ipad through the hotspot feature on my iphone but after pressing start all I did was sit back and watch the drone do its thing.

And this is what I saw on my computer when I got home...

 ![Screen Shot 2017-05-19 at 10.16.14.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmX5AEoUwDewBd4ojUbYkzprZA5R2669QZkQwpCk37vX2c/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-19%20at%2010.16.14.png)

After feeding them into the Maps Made Easy website, 24h later I was sent a bunch of different files (for free!). 

The first of which was these... showing the exact area I had mapped.

![Screen Shot 2017-05-19 at 09.57.40.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQme1VA9SRpVBkfSp6KoBhHQMtgWeXB9C9X9UndZe9w7eMG/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-19%20at%2009.57.40.png)
  
![area of detailed mapping.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYZ7E2cW2JgmwMktMHpKfc6ni9jfA3zZ3Bmy8i1wWCdST/area%20of%20detailed%20mapping.jpg)

I received a high quality tif of the mapped area, giving me great detail when zoomed in.

I also received a whole collection of data relating to the 3D mapping process.  Here are the file types i received in my bundle:

- 3D.obj
- 3D.mtl
- 3D.jpg
- DEM.tif
- .kmz
- .las
- .txt
- COLOR.tif

 ![20170516-COLOR.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRQcbhe1D18iBeXuuRyfzpLon2S6e1wuwjdjDZqnQ2TCw/20170516-COLOR.jpg)

This colour map gives an indication of actual terrain formation and is needed for the next stage of the process.

## Photoshop

Within photoshop I was able to open the .kmz file which connects with all the others and immediately provides me with a 3D map I can rotate and zoom into.

![Screen Shot 2017-05-19 at 11.16.07.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSrrVhtbBFEMPo2XgdMJEnXfypv3dfP1tuCaMMjRAGSGP/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-19%20at%2011.16.07.jpg)
 
![Screen Shot 2017-05-19 at 10.37.09.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRy3SrQTqQLFtoK7Ytz1MyHwzjeTLcgta4FVtMrswDZjv/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-19%20at%2010.37.09.png)

The latest version of Google Earth does actually provide a pretty amazing 3D function now, but the first thing i noticed was that the detail was not as good as my version and there were big inaccuracies too.  I could see steep drops in incline on my 3D map, indicating clearly the areas where properties cannot be built, just to the right of the road, as you can see above.

While using the 3D feature on Google Earth the incline did not appear so steep, giving the appearance that properties could potentially be built there.

Google Earth 3D shot of location seen from one angle
![Screen Shot 2017-05-19 at 11.10.24.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQme6pMREKtsnXguZjhTFJacHKJZVzGM7aJBByhN1g1NtA5/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-19%20at%2011.10.24.png)

Google Earth 3D shot of location seen from another angle
![Screen Shot 2017-05-19 at 11.11.04.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYYxKhW7yi4XbXzmULxBMzgWKAhjrEwy9cPpyEqqqJr7S/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-19%20at%2011.11.04.png)

Both of these 3D Google Earth angles do not show the severe drop which is very apparent in my own 3D mapping.

![Screen Shot 2017-05-19 at 10.43.57.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmddUcVbmau2cbHbZSXDFimHZC6egY2a4oWvXtGZvCGH2a/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-19%20at%2010.43.57.png)

I still have to create contour lines indicating 5 meter intervals... and in all honesty I don't actually know how to do this bit yet!

But a few more tutorials and late nights will see me through to the finish line.

Hope you enjoyed learning about this process.

Here is a link to [Maps Made Easy](https://www.mapsmadeeasy.com//)

![ASWD final banner v2 (low).jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmb7D5QngLcEkiVp6f3SwLkxpEA13EgcbY5ko7sKqDKQg1/ASWD%20final%20banner%20v2%20(low).jpg)