Drone Mapping at The Henry Ford: Creating a Smarter Campus with GIS
At Blue Raster, we’re always looking for innovative ways to combine technology, cartography, and utility. Recently, our team visited The Henry Ford Museum campus in Dearborn, Michigan to carry out a special drone mapping project. This collaborative effort resulted in a comprehensive, fully vector basemap of the entire campus—one that benefits everyone from The Henry Ford Facilities Team to the Henry Ford Academy students, and soon, museum visitors.
Preparing for Lift-Off
Before we ever take flight, planning is everything. Our team organized a flight plan that included:
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Ground Control Targets (GCPs): Precisely positioned markers on the ground that ensure highly accurate geolocation in the final map product.
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FAA Compliance: We filed a detailed flight plan to comply with Federal Aviation Administration guidelines, ensuring a safe and responsible operation.
- Coordination with The Henry Ford Team: We work closely with museum staff to schedule flights during low visitor traffic and under clear skies, ensuring safety, minimal disruption for guests, and optimal conditions for high-quality imagery.
Processing the Imagery with Drone2Map
Once the flight concluded and the drone landed, our data processing began:
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Image Review: We first checked the collected imagery for clarity and coverage.
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Stitching & Orthomosaic Creation: Using Esri’s Drone2Map, we seamlessly stitched hundreds of images into one high-resolution orthomosaic of the entire campus.
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Quality Assurance: The ground control points and rigorous processing workflow ensured a precise, consistent result.
From Imagery to Tile Layer
With the orthomosaic in hand, we uploaded the imagery to ArcGIS Online as a tile layer. This step made the data easily shareable and ready for use across various web maps and applications.
Building a Custom Vector Basemap
The next step was to transform this accurate orthomosaic into a polished, fully vector basemap using ArcGIS Pro. Our cartographers carefully designed the basemap to:
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Highlight Key Features: Buildings, pathways, historical exhibits, and green spaces are clearly depicted.
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Enhance Readability: Thoughtful symbology and labeling ensure the map is intuitive and accessible for a broad user base.
Publishing to The Henry Ford’s ArcGIS Online
Once finalized, the custom basemap was published directly to The Henry Ford’s ArcGIS Online account. This enabled multiple stakeholders to access and leverage the data instantly.
Helping the Facilities Team, Educators, and Visitors
Now that the drone-based imagery and custom vector basemap are live, the campus community is already seeing its benefits:
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Facilities Management: The new basemap helps teams maintain and plan updates to buildings, parking, and landscaping with the most accurate information possible, and enables use of Survey123 and Field Maps for data collection and updating
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Field Data Collection: Students at the Henry Ford Academy can now use the basemap for hands-on research and outdoor projects using mobile devices with Survey123 and Field Maps.
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Visitor Experience: Future plans include integrating this enhanced basemap into visitor-facing applications, built with Experience Builder so guests can navigate the museum campus with ease, and find the moveable popcorn cart, hot chocolate stand or open restrooms!
Looking Ahead
This project exemplifies how advanced GIS technology, paired with professional drone workflows, can deliver real-world solutions that improve operations and enrich the visitor experience. We at Blue Raster are proud to have partnered with The Henry Ford to create a dynamic basemap that showcases their remarkable campus and supports their mission of innovation and education.
Want to explore drone mapping for your campus, facility, or community? Contact Blue Raster to learn how drone imagery and GIS can support your goals. Reach out to our team at Blue Raster to start the conversation.
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