Telecom Tower 3D Reconstruction

Overview

This project involves capturing drone imagery of a telecommunications tower to generate a textured 3D mesh using photogrammetry. The workflow uses an orbital flight path to ensure full coverage of the structure, resulting in a high-quality model suitable for visualization, presentation, and general site documentation. While not intended for engineering analysis or certified inspection, the project demonstrates how UAV-based 3D reconstruction can provide valuable insights into vertical infrastructure and support applications such as equipment inventory, planning, and stakeholder communication. 

Objectives

• Plan and fly a cable run at a fixed gimble angle, and timed interval capture ascending the cables from the client's lease space

• Capture a top anchor photo utilizing the zoom feature

• Capture a top down facing north photo at a specific height above the tower

• Plan and fly a downlook obit at a fixed gimble angle, steady speed, steady distance, and timed interval capture

• Plan and fly a center facing in orbit at a fixed gimble angle, steady speed, steady distance, and timed interval capture

• Plan and fly a center facing out orbit at a fixed gimble angle, steady speed, steady distance, and timed interval capture

• Plan and fly an uplook orbit at a fixed gimble angle, steady speed, steady distance, and timed interval capture

• Plan  and fly two compound flights: 1 at a high elevation, and 1 at a lower elevation

• Utilizing the Dronelink app, plan and fly the entire tower in a spiral pattern

Tools & Methods

• DJI Mavic Series

• WebODM (3D reconstruction and mesh processing)

• Dronelink (to fly automated spiral pattern)

• p3d.in for model hosting

• CloudCompare for point cloud clean up

• Cesium ion for visualization of point cloud

Results

• 3D textured mesh file (OBJ  or GLTF)

• Point Cloud (LAS or LAZ)

• Model video links