Capture Hardware

Drone

Drones are the practical capture device for large outdoor 3DGS scenes such as buildings, campuses, landscapes, and construction sites.

Stage: CaptureLarge outdoor scenesBuildingsAerial coverage

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What It Does

Drone captures can produce spectacular splats, but they need planning. A single orbit is rarely enough; you need coverage across height, distance, and facade angles.

For 3DGS, think less like mapping an orthomosaic and more like building a view-dependent scene that must hold up from many camera positions.

How To Use It In 3DGS

Plan safe, legal flights with enough battery for repeated passes.
Capture oblique views around structures, not only straight-down imagery.
Use consistent exposure and avoid windy conditions that move trees or water.
Align with COLMAP, GLOMAP, Metashape, or a mapping pipeline before training.

Things To Watch

Sky-heavy frames, moving vegetation, water, and reflective windows create artifacts.
Large scenes can require far more memory and careful LOD/compression for web delivery.
Regulatory and safety constraints matter; do not improvise risky flights for coverage.

Official And Related Links

COLMAP Agisoft Metashape OpenDroneMap

Flight Planning For Splats

Add oblique facade passes; nadir-only mapping flights are usually weak for immersive 3DGS viewing.
Use multiple height bands for buildings so roofs, walls, and ground-level details all get camera coverage.
For web delivery, think ahead about cropping, LOD, and SOG compression because drone scenes can grow quickly.