Tutorial Update on How to Install WebODM in your PC - 2025

Preface 

 I have worked on many international GIS projects starting around 25 years ago. We have come a long way since the only source of spatial data was LANDSAT and satellite images coupled with NTS mapping. I have worked in Africa in cities with over populations of 150 thousand with no updated road maps and with only two locations where one could access the internet via satellite and that was in 2007. Today we have updated high resolution imagery in Google Maps and many good sources of street maps including Open Street Maps which is in the public domain. Google imagery is proprietary and may not be the most current. Consequently there is still a need for updated imagery, especially in emerging and developing countries where updated satellite imagery is less available.

In the mid 80s IBM PC revolutionized personal computing and Microsoft (MS) managed to dominate the market. Unfortunately licensing requirements and the proliferation of pirated software in emerging and developing countries created huge problems with productivity because of the introduction of viruses, malware and installations without the correct drivers and the installation of newer Windows OS on older PCs which cannot support the new OS requirements. The creation of Linux by Linux Thorvalds in 1991 provided an Open Source alternative to MS Windows, however its penetration of the market was limited because it was free and community driven rather than being promoted by private corporations.

In 2012 I volunteered to help a health based NGO in Cameroon. I had sourced free MS Windows based mapping applications for them. We immediately ran into problems with their use of PCs with viruses and lack of updates for Windows OS. The city had very poor internet connectivity and each Window patch took an overnight download only to find the next day that additional downloads were needed. At the end of the month of training there was no PC at the NGO that could load all the software I sourced for them. Only an engineer from a local consulting firm who also participated in the training was able to install all of the software because his firm ensured that all the PCs were virus free and up to date at their office.

On returning to Canada one of my technical specialists suggested using Ubuntu Linux instead. So over the next year I investigated and learned to use Ubuntu and sourced all the comparable open source software available on Linux for the NGO. I also managed to source a number of used laptops for them. On my return to Cameroon I managed to train the NGO staff on the Linux OS and the use of Libre Office and QGIS without any issues or interuptions that happened with their Windows PCs. Consequently I am a firm proponent of the use of Open Source technologies especially in emerging countries as an alternative to commercial off the shelf software and operating systems where the local alternative is pirated softare and operating systems predominate because of their cost.

This leads us to Open Drone Map (ODM). In 2016 I was involved in a bi-lateral project with MERIT and SESMIM in Mongolia. A component involved drone mapping. At that time commercial software for photogrammetric mapping was in the order of USD $5 K which is beyond what the local NGOs and even their government can afford. We did consider using ODM for mapping but we found it difficult to install and use at that time, although we did provide it as an option. 

Recently I decided to provide an update on drone mapping (2025) and I ran into a number of obstacles. First was that DJI no longer provided their SDK for the lower priced drones which made it difficult to create waypoint driven mapping missions. However I managed to find some work arounds (see my blog on 'DJI 2SE/4K Mapping Tutorial') for the capturing of 2D images. For the creation of the 2D map and 3D orthophoto image it was just as difficult as before. However I came across WebODM and I managed to install and test it and I found it worked well, but the installation as a Docker container was difficult so I am adding it here hoping that it will make the installation steps easier to follow.

WebODM Installation Made Easier?


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Microsoft Image Composite Editor (ICE)

Image
The following tutorial covers the use of Microsoft Research's Image Composite Editor or ICE for drone mapping. Background Our initial goal was to use Open Drone Map (ODM) a FOSS4G application to create orthophotos from the autonomous drone images using DroneDeploy. At our training workshop we discovered that only three PC Workstations were able to install ODM. The remaining systems did not have enough computing capacity to process orthophotos. As a result an alternative was needed and we decided that MS ICE (free application) is a viable alternative for the majority there. Mongolian:  https://trainingquadcopters.blogspot.com/2018/07/opendronemap-with-docker-toolbox-for.html English:  https://trainingquadcopters.blogspot.com/2018/06/opendronemap-with-docker-toolbox-on.html Applications like ODM and Agisoft Photoscan automatically uses the EXIF coordinates in the drone photos to georeference the orthophoto map, ICE does not. ICE uses blending technology to stitch the...
Read more

OpenDroneMap with Docker Toolbox on Windows

Image
Install Docker Toolbox on Windows https://docs.docker.com/toolbox/toolbox_install_windows/ Docker Toolbox provides a way to use Docker on Windows systems that do not meet minimal system requirements for the Docker for Windows app. Get Docker Toolbox for Windows: https://download.docker.com/win/stable/DockerToolbox.exe What you get and how it works Docker Toolbox includes the following Docker tools: Docker CLI client for running Docker Engine to create images and containers Docker Machine so you can run Docker Engine commands from Windows terminals Docker Compose for running the docker-compose command Kitematic, the Docker GUI the Docker QuickStart shell preconfigured for a Docker command-line environment Oracle VM VirtualBox Because the Docker Engine daemon uses Linux-specific kernel features, you can’t run Docker Engine natively on Windows. Instead, you must use the Docker Machine command, docker-machine , to create and attach to a small Linux VM on you...
Read more