I’d like to be able to use aerial images recorded with a drone to draw 2D roof plans.
This seems like it would be easy enough if I just knew how.
Ideally, I could go to a site, fly the drone up and take a straight down shot, measure one length for scaling, then import the image in SU and trace the (usually) simple outline of the roof, rooftop equipment, drains, etc.
In the little bit of experimentation I’ve done, when I trace a roof area it automatically fills in and covers the image. First specific question, how do I remove the fill from boxes and shapes drawn on the image? I just want outlines to show.
Second question, how (or in what order), do I go about scaling the image to match the reference measurement I took?
Should I be using match photo even though this is simple 2D?
When you close a series of edges, SketchUp automatically creates the face they surround. There is no way to turn this off, but you can delete the face.
Draw an edge along a known distance in the image. Then activate the tape-measure tool, click first on one end of the edge and then on the second end. Let go of the mouse and type the required length + enter. You should get a dialog asking whether you want to resize the entire model. Answer yes. You will likely have to re-zoom to get the contents to a good viewing size.
No. Match photo is for photos that show significant 3D perspective. It lets you adjust so that the perspective in the model matches that in the photo.
An alternative to deleting the faces is to go to View>Face Style and select Wireframe. this would prevent the faces from being displayed while you are tracing but if you decide later that you want them to paint textures or to create a 3D model, it’s a simple matter of changing the face style.
As said by @slbaumgartner, you can’t. But if the import is still an image, (not a texture), you could draw the outlines of the roof(s) etc. on the image in Wireframe style
Or, just to add my twopence worth, you could turn on Xray mode, or set a default face style that is transparent or partly transparent, so as to be still able to see the image through the drawn faces.
When you do a photo match you are basically taking perspective view and then knowning some dimensions in the photo to calibrate you system so the you can make the measurements. For your drone you will need more that one shot and its location so you can then calculate the actual dimensions of the roof. That can be done but not as simple as one may think?? There must be some software to do that, have you checked the net?
