Mapping with UAV Systems without the Need of Ground Control Points

The drone and software industry has brought a revolution in the photogrammetry field. Combining the GPS system with the drone technology can provide great results in the creation of aerial photos. The economic advantages of Structure from Motion (SfM) mapping without any ground control points have motivated us to investigate an approach that relies on accurate camera exposure positions instead of Ground Control Points (GCP) for geo-referencing purposes. This paper describes the possibility to create accurate mapping products, such as Orthophoto and Digital Elevation Model (DEM), by using only the accurate position of the center of aerial photos. The results will indicate that in SfM (Structure from Motion) mapping the use of Camera Exposure positions (CEPs) instead of GCPs does not significantly reduce the accuracy.