WebODM: An Alternative Tool for Drone Mapping and Data Processing?

Introduction

WebODM is an open-source software designed for processing image data captured from diverse sensors into various photogrammetric products such as Orthomosaics, 3D Meshes, Point Clouds and Digital Terrain Models. Since it is an open-source software, it is free to use, and the user can modify the source code. This article reviews WebODM highlighting its main uses, advantages and weaknesses concluding with a final rating.

Installation – up and running with WebODM

WebODM runs on all operating systems – Windows, MacOS and Linux. There are 2 ways of installing WebODM.?

1. The nerdy/geeky way: This is for people who are familiar with GitHub and Docker and understand how to read and implement GitHub documentation. WebODM provides an extensive documentation page. The major advantage here is geeking out and installing it yourself. Yes, I know I mentioned the software was free in the opening paragraph and that's where the second installation option comes in.
2. For regular people: For people like me who are afraid of code and can’t debug errors, WebODM provides an installation file to get you up and running in no time. This installation is like any other installation. Simply download the installer, run the installer et voila!, Bobs your uncle. However, there’s a catch, this installer comes at a cost. $64 for Windows and $99 for MacOS. This is a one-time fee.

So, what can it do?

Congratulations, you have successfully installed WebODM on your computer and it's time for your first map aka ‘HelloMap’.? (If you don’t know how to process a map, I will add a tutorial on Map Processing with WebODM later, do come back to this article or bookmark it for later – seriously) but if you are in a hurry, here is a tutorial you can follow.

WebODM is capable of processing images from multiple sensors from consumer phones to professional cameras (standard, fisheye, 360°), single or multi-camera. Any image file format (JPEGS & TIFFs) with or without EXIF data. It is also capable of handling both oblique and nadir orientations. As a bonus, it can process multispectral datasets as well. Depending on your processing options and settings, you will get an Orthophoto, Surface Model, Point Cloud, Textured Model, Digital Terrian/Surface Model and a processing report.? Lastly, processing multispectral images gives you multiple plant health indices.

Why should you use WebODM??

• First of all, it's FREE! - Okay nearly free, but you get the picture. If you’re reading this, chances are you are looking for something with a great bang for your buck. And WebODM is just that. Compared to other processing software out there, WebODM might be among the top ‘free’ ones. Giving you all you need with room for personalization and customization.?
• Simple UI – It doesn’t get any simpler to use. Heck, I can even write the workflow in less than 3 steps.?:
• From the Dashboard, click on Add Project
• Enter a name and description of the project
• Import images and set the options to Default or your preferred chance.
• Bonus step – select review (to review the settings), select start processing

Fine, I know what you might be thinking – 4 steps instead of 3 but the point is, it is simple to use.?

• Scalability – Unlike other free or nearly free software, WebODM does not limit the number of images you can process. Neither does it limit the size of the data you can process. This is completely dependent on the processing power of your processing computer, aka Miss Baker (that's what I call my computer, don’t ask). WebODM does recommend the following so unless you want to kill your computer, choose wisely:

• Standard measurement tools – What do you need after you have generated your orthomosaics, point clouds, DSM, etc. Of course, you would like to measure distances, volumes, and maybe even angles. Don't worry, WebODM has got you covered. Measure stockpile volumes and road lengths and the size of a water pond with ease. With the added benefit of being able to export the locations or features to reuse later. This can be particularly useful when tracking and monitoring the progress of projects. I must admit, not being able to export the measurements as a report is a bit limiting but good old-fashioned copy & paste never fails.

Processing Report – Dataset Summary

• All the goodies – Let me say this again, WebODM delivers all standard photogrammetric outputs for both RGB and multispectral image processing. In addition, it provides an interactive 3D viewer where you can measure area, volumes, profiles and more. In addition, WebODM can produce a fast lower resolution orthomosaic if all you need is something quick and dirty, for example in an emergency or in cases where higher resolution will not give any added benefit. Like if you want to see the extent of a bushfire.

Who has used WebODM?

In a time where reviews & recommendations likes are currency, it is important to know who is using WebODM. If WebODM is so wonderful with all these bells and whistles why isn’t everyone using it? In fact, who is using it??

I would like to give you a list of projects that have used WebODM but the closest I got was a list of datasets. However, a quick Google search reveals a few humanitarian organizations using WebODM and a host of YouTube videos showcasing several projects using WebODM. That’s good enough for me (at least). The icing on the cake is the thousands of active contributors to the software. So, if you do decide to give it a shot make sure to check the forums and discussions.

WebODM vs the other guys (or gals)

Okay, so now that we know there are people out there using WebODM. Let's see how it compares to some other industry bad boys (or girls) out there. Lucky WebODM has done this for us so no need to reinvent the wheel. Check out the compare tab on their website, here you can inspect and study orthophotos and DSM between WebODM and Metashape, Pix4D & DroneDeploy. While the orthomosaic matches shoulder to shoulder with all the compared software, the difference is noticed in the DSM. Depending on the use cases and the accuracy required WebODM might be a better choice or not. This is completely up to the user to decide.

Orthomosaic

DSM

Room for Improvement

WebODM is a great tool and like all great tools, there’s always room for improvement. Here are a few:

• Improved DSM. -. *To be fair the datasets available on the WebODM compare webpage are from ODM 3.0.0 so maybe the DSM production has already been improved but this is for certain one area with some wiggle room for improvement.

• Data shareability – WebODM does not have a way to share outputs generated by WebODM within WebODM. There are a few workarounds, like downloading the data and using a cloud-sharing platform or using a plain SD card. There are also other tools like, DroneDB or MapHub which can be used to share the dataset but as at the time of writing, there is no way to do this directly in WebODM.

• UI Improvement – The user interface though simple can be improved to give the software a modern look while guiding the user with a top-down approach (or something a smart UI/UX designer would say) walking the user from start to finish.
• Easier for the regular non-geeky people – One thing I found challenging was that it seems to get the most out of WebODM you need to understand or know how to script or use command prompt. Like most people out there, I am just a geospatial engineer /applications engineer/Mapping guy with 0 to 0.75 code skills. This one is on me though, I should have taken Python more seriously but but but, simplifying WebODM for non-programmers would be absolutely fantastic

Conclusion?

So! Would I use WebODM? Heck yes!!! - I paid for the installation file to show my support. Would I recommend WebODM? Simple answer, YES!

Who should use WeBODM? - Anyone. But who should jump on it now?

• Students learning or exploring photogrammetry.
• For anyone interested in creating orthomosaics for visual inspection or progress reporting.
• For people or starter companies who are price-sensitive.

Review score ????/ 5

Price - ????? - amazing price

Usability - ??? ? - very straightforward to use

Scalability - ????? - Very stable and can handle large datasets

Tools (Measurement tools) - ??? - Has all the standard tools

Deliverable - ??? - Provides the standard outputs

QA/QC* - ??? - DSM can be improved (Only DSM visual quality was checked)

My final rating is a mild 4 out of 5. So the actual average is 3.8 but I don’t know how to get a 0.8 star icon.

What would make it a 5 out of 5? - (Going into formal mode...??) As per my previous "Room for Improvement”, I strongly advise some attention to resolving the aforementioned points to increase efficiency, app productivity and the general user experience.?

(Cool dude mode resumed...??) yep, that would do it.

Honorable Mention

Have you heard about WebODM lightning? This is a “A cloud-based WebODM, plus processing power for larger datasets.”?

Well, that's a story for another day