How would you configure a BR2 heavy for photogrammetry work?

[3dMB (Marcus)]

Hi @JakobHK,

I have written a few posts about my different photogrammetry setups, which you may find helpful.

3d Photogrammetry with 'off the shelf' consumer hardware

Having to move from being a diver capturing 3d photogrammetry data with large mirrorless DSLR cameras to a ROV has certainly been somewhat of a steep learning curve. For many years I have run photogrammetry projects that push the capabilities of ‘off the shelf’ consumer gear as opposed to buying pro survey grade kit specifically designed for the job. Replacing me as the camera platform to a ROV as the camera platform has certainly raised some issues that I have had to think hard about overcomi…

The above kit, on its own will supply really good visual quality 3d models, however, they are not scaled or georeferenced.

Blue(ROV) meets Blue(bird)

11th May 2026 saw Donald Campbell’s jet hydroplane Bluebird K7 return to the waters of Coniston for Bluebird K7 – The Festival. In 1967, at around 320mph, Bluebird K7 suffered a catastrophic crash instantly killing Donald Campbell and scattering K7s remains across the Coniston lakebed. In 2001, following a search spearheaded by Bill Smith, a commercial dive team recovered K7 from her watery grave. Later that year, Donald Campbell’s body was found, recovered and finally laid to rest in the Coni…

Beyond Piloting: 3dMB Ltd Achieves Stunning Underwater Photogrammetry with...

As with the first link, the second & third links use non-‘survey grade’ hardware, however the ExploreHD cameras can integrate geo reference data from the Mavlink - so IF you have a USBL or DVL with dead reckoning, ‘some’ scale and geroreferencing can be achieved. I just remembered a video I did showing the flight that DWE write about:

Simple Mapping Mission with ROV

The final link is a video, which is a bit of an evolution from the last video link. This one shows the ROV scanning a shipwreck, as well as the topside prep etc. The camera system is a huge step up from the previous evolutionary steps, it is the DWE Explore3D, SVC Pro & Lights. This setup is a calibrated stereo system, which means you have scaling. I have been putting in scale bars to check the scaling, and it is cock-on! The system has SLAM, so you can see what has and has not been scanned in a live view. The system currently does not support geo reference, however I am told that it is on the way.

Gresham Scan

Now, onto answering your questions…

@JakobHK

Also what is the cheapest way to to get some absolute positions.

&

@JakobHK

Is it possible to “just” use a DVL, and manually enter the homepoint / the insertion point and have the ROV work with that as a reference point ?

There is no single, simple answer to this - it is also important to understand that you need to consider the means of integrating the georeference data with the photogrammetry data. Absolute accuracy will generally increase as cost increases - but that is not so say always. If you are doing close in, shallow, it is feasible to put some submerged ground control points, that you can survey with survey pole, but also not ideal. If you are working alongside a referenced MBES dataset, it is feasible to merge the datasets and use the MBES referencing, but also may not ideal in many cases. You could use dead reckoning, but this can be very hit and miss, and will hugely depend on the lake/sea bed makeup and bathymetry - another video of when dead reckoning goes well. You could drop shot lines on GPS coordinates, and use those as GCPs. Finally, and for most cases the optimum option, there is acoustic positioning.

I appreciate that the following question was posed before the one I answered above, however I think the answer to this is the most important thing for you to consider.

@JakobHK

I would love to hear how you would spec a work ROV ?

What do your clients require? Do your clients only want a simple visual representation, do they need scale, do they need geo reference? Your clients requirements are how you spec the ROV.