The turn of the 21st century saw some great advancements in aerial technologies. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, there are more than 2,666 satellites orbiting earth that are being used for surveillance, forecasting and more. The space race quickly brought aerial photography to new heights as world powers pushed for supremacy in aerospace technology and achievements, leading to the development of satellite imagery. This brought photographic mapping to the mainstream, as both the public and private sectors quickly adopted the use of aerial imagery in their quest to improve topographic mapping.
The capture of images from manned aircraft really started to take shape during the First and Second World Wars, where military commanders saw the potential advantages that aerial imagery could bring when surveying the battlefield. Image 1: "Boston, as the Eagle and the Wild Goose See It," by James Wallace Black, captured on Octofrom a balloon-the first aerial photograph taken in America. People have tried even more adventurous methods to capture aerial imagery, including using kites, animals and even rockets. Not long after that, the first aerial photographs were taken in the United States by James Wallace Black, using a hot air balloon above Boston. Before we get into this amazing technology, let’s take a look at the development of aerial photography and how far we have come.Īerial photography got its start in the 1800s, when Gaspar-Felix Tournachon, more commonly known as “ Nadar,” captured the first aerial photographs in Paris, from a tethered balloon at 600 feet above the ground. Now with aerial applications of this technology, users can experience the built world from perspectives never available before. We saw this technology take shape in 2006 when Google first introduced Street View, allowing viewers to experience 360-degree panoramas from street level. One of the more intriguing technologies we have seen to date is the introduction of geo-enabled 360-degree aerial imagery. With virtually every industry having a use for mapping or aerial photography, the way people experience maps is going through a paradigm shift with 360-degree views, 3D models, and the intersection of imagery and data. What originally began as a fascination for having a bird’s-eye view of the world has quickly shifted to more of a necessity in how we view our planet so we can better navigate, plan and understand the world we live in.
We have seen amazing advances over the last 100-plus years when it comes to aerial photography, both with cameras-resolution, power, 3D, etc.-as well as capture methodologies-UAVs, airplanes and satellites.
Just as Loretta Lynn sang “We’ve come a long way, baby” over 40 years ago, the same can be said about the aerial photography and mapping market these days.
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