Practical guide · Capture and preparation
Drone Flight Paths for Gaussian Splatting
One reservoir construction site, several ways to capture it. Follow the drone through a 3D animation of open ground, slopes, an intake tower and hidden corners to see how flight lines, oblique views, orbits, a helix and supplementary photos work together.
English narration. The video illustrates capture methods in 3D; it is not captured footage or a reconstruction result.
Parallel flight lines: connect photos within and across strips
Use parallel flight lines to organize coverage of open ground and larger sites. Retain shared areas between successive photos and between adjacent strips, then inspect boundaries and changes in terrain. The flight track alone does not establish image coverage.
Top-down and oblique views: inspect tops, slopes and sides
Top-down views describe ground and upper surfaces; oblique views add slopes and structure sides. Check which surfaces actually appear in the images and preserve shared landmarks across directions. Seeing the top does not establish facade coverage.
Orbits and a helix: connect different heights of a structure
For a tower or similar structure, use separate orbits at different heights or a gradual helix where conditions permit. Keep the camera facing the subject and retain overlap between levels and consecutive positions. Choose the method for the subject, occlusions and site constraints rather than prescribing a fixed height or speed.
Supplementary capture: fill missing views and review image quality
Find missing surfaces in the existing photos, then move to positions that reveal them and capture a connected set of supplementary views. Check sharpness, exposure and occlusion by moving people or vehicles. When the site changes, retain separate inputs and records for each stage.