Aerial surveys of medium to very large areas are undertaken utilizing helicopters and airplanes. At altitudes ranging from hundreds to thousands of meters, high-resolution images of the Earth’s surface are captured (photogrammetry) or a laser is employed to scan the surface to generate a cloud of data points (LiDAR). To meet the high demands and satisfy specific requirements, such as achieving desired ground pixel size across a terrain while minimizing flight time, meticulous planning of flight missions is imperative. The TOPOFLIGHT suite of aerial mapping software products conquer this challenge.
TOPOFLIGHT MISSIONPLANNER is tailored for the complex calculations of optimal flight dispositions in three-dimensional space. TOPOFLIGHT NAVIGATOR comes into play during the data acquisition. NAVIGATOR enables pilots to navigate precisely along the calculated flight lines and, furthermore, ensures that carried sensors trigger at exactly the right times. For the past two decades, the TatukGIS Developer Kernel (DK) has been an indispensable component of the TOPOFLIGHT software suite. MISSIONPLANNER and NAVIGATOR both employ TatukGIS for the visualization of geospatial information. NAVIGATOR even integrates TatukGIS in its real-time, onboard flight navigation system, where efficient computing is essential.