I am impressed by the 3D models produced by DroneDeploy however I have been disappointed in my lack of ability to use the models further. Ideally, I would like to show a few of the 3D models together an ArcGIS Web Scene.
Currently the only 3D export model datatype is .obj, however this format has no native georeferencing support. So, I cannot drop the model into ArcGIS Pro and have it appear in the location it was flown. Currently it is useless to me.
There is an open standard 3D format that does have georeferencing, OpenSceneGraph. It is a file format used supported by ESRI in their Drone2Map product and allows for easy interoperability of generated 3D models.
According to the ArcGIS Pro documentation this file format is also used by a number of other drone imagery processing vendors:
Other vendors who create OpenSceneGraph Binary (OSGB) and scene layer package files include the following:
- Bentley Context Capture
- SuperMap
- Pix4D
- SafeSoftware FME
- Skyline TerraBuilder
I would really appreciate this export format being added, and I think it would add a lot of value to DroneDeploy’s offering. It is also a free and open-source format that is tried and true by a number of competitors.
Would DroneDeploy consider adding support for exporting 3D models in the OpenSceneGraph format? Has anyone else felt the need for this feature or found alternative solutions?