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General 360° camera instructions

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360° cameras are great for covering all directions simultaneously, either while driving a vehicle or when walking. With an iPhone, you can use the integration in the Mapillary mobile app that will enable you to control the capture process on your phone. For cameras that don’t support Mapillary app integration, you need to find a way to record GPS information externally to match with the images later. Most cameras have an accompanying app that records GPS information externally.

 

Recommended Devices

Survey-Grade 360° Cams

Equipment needed

  • 360° camera
  • Smartphone with 360° camera app or a live preview device
  • Charging cables
  • SD memory cards
  • Power bank (battery pack)
  • Mounting equipment*

 

Capturing 360° imagery for Mapillary

 

Setup and mounting

Driving

    1. Charge your 360° device fully before embarking on a capture adventure or carry a power bank if your session will continue for more than 2 hours.
    2. We recommend you use a tripod made specifically for vehicle mounting when you drive.
    3. Be sure to keep the camera at least 30 cm above the car to minimize interference from your car roof.
    4. Place the camera close to the center of the vehicle with the LCD screen facing the back of the car. Adjust the angles of the mounts so that the camera’s lenses face the front and back of your vehicle.
    5. Remove objects obstructing camera view (vehicle antenna).
    6. Connect and secure external battery power.
    7. Recommended mounts:  GorillaPod SLR-Zoom equipped with the CineSquid suction mounts.

 

Walking

Charge your device fully before embarking on a capture adventure or carry a power bank if your session will continue for more than 2 hours.

    1. We recommend using a selfie stick when walking.
    2. You can either hold the stick in your hand or fasten it to a backpack in a steady, upright position.
    3. Be sure to keep the camera at least 30 cm above your head to minimize interference from your head.

 

Using a 360° camera via the Mapillary app integration (for iOS)

With Mapillary for iOS, you can start and stop image capture from your mobile phone. It also automatically pauses capture when you stop moving. After capturing, images are transferred to your phone and you can review, delete, and upload them.

  1. Start with formatting the camera’s memory card (we suggest you do this before each Mapillary session).
  2. Make sure your camera battery is charging while you capture images.
  3. Pair the camera and your phone according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Connect to your 360 camera’s WiFi on your phone. If prompted, use the password that is indicated in your camera manual.
  4. Go to the camera screen in the Mapillary app and tap on the WiFi button to search for and connect to the external camera.
    • If the phone doesn’t find the camera, make sure you are on your 360 camera’s WiFi and try restarting the Mapillary app.
  5. Press the red capture button and begin to capture images. The app will control the 360° camera to capture every 1-8 seconds (you can change this in Settings).
  6. Transfer the images from the camera to your phone directly after the capture (you will be prompted for this) or do it from the Uploads view later.
  7. Review and upload images. Note that the images are saved on the memory card in the 360 camera until you delete them yourself.

 

Using a 360° camera without the Mapillary app integration

  1. Start with formatting the camera’s memory card (we suggest you do this before each Mapillary session).
  2. Enable the following camera settings:
    • Time Lapse Mode 3601.png
    • 0.5 second interval 3602.png
    • GPS and Wifi on 3603.png
  3. Make sure your camera battery is charging while you capture images.
  4. If your camera has an accompanying control app for your mobile phone, pair your mobile phone to your camera.
  5. If your camera does have built-in GPS, you can proceed to capture imagery.
  6. If your camera does not have built-in GPS, you will need to use an external GPS tracking device while you capture.
    • Use an external GPS tracker or GPS tracker mobile app to record a .gpx track.
    • We recommend OsmAnd (available both for Android and iOS) which has a trip recorder plugin for logging a gpx track (check out the instructions for trip recording). Feel free to use any GPS tracking app or device you like.
    • Make sure you sync the clocks on your camera and the GPS tracker.
    • Begin to capture imagery.
    • After capturing, use a Mapillary script to assign a geotag to each image, then upload your images.

Make sure to observe these best practices for capturing:

    • Avoid capturing at night and when it is actively raining or snowing.
    • Avoid capturing too much of your vehicle hood, the sky, and the ground.
    • Be sure to fully charge your device before capturing and charge it throughout the duration of your capture session.

 

Uploading 360° camera imagery to Mapillary

Upload 360° camera imagery with the Mapillary app integration

  1. If you captured 360° camera imagery through the Mapillary app integration, you can also use the app to upload the imagery. Be sure to first plug in your phone to a charger and connect to wifi.
  2. Access the Upload screen by tapping “Upload” at the bottom of the Mapillary app screen or by exiting capture mode after capturing images.
  3. Tap any list item to see the images captured in that sequence. Tap on the “Select” option to be able to select multiple images that you want to save on your camera roll, edit, delete, or approve for upload.
    • NOTE: If you have not marked any images as “approved” and tap the upload button, it will automatically upload all images.
  4. If you press the upload button when viewing a sequence, the app will upload that particular sequence (not others).
  5. If you need to delete a whole sequence, swipe the sequence to the left in the main upload screen where the sequences are listed. If you need to delete a whole sequence, swipe it to the left in the main upload screen (where you see the list of sequences). If you tap the upload button on this screen, uploading of all (approved) images will be requested.
  6. Keep the app running in the foreground for uploading. If you put it in the background, the upload will stop.
  7. The app will automatically upload all of your 360° camera images with the necessary geotags. Note that the images will be deleted from your phone after upload.
  8. If you want to keep copies of the images or upload the images via the Mapillary Desktop Uploader instead of directly from the app, you must first add GPX tracks to images before uploading. The images and GPX tracks are saved as separate files so you need to do an extra step for adding geotags to the image files.
    • Note: To add EXIF data to the images you want to make a copy of, there is a special button on the Upload screen. After tapping the "Add EXIF data" button, the images will be processed and you can copy them to your computer as instructed here.

 

Upload 360° camera imagery without the Mapillary app integration

  1. If your camera does have built-in GPS:
    • Proceed to step 3.
  2. If your camera does not have built-in GPS:
    • You must first geotag your images, using the data from your GPS tracker or GPS tracker mobile app that recorded a .gpx track while you captured imagery.
    • There are several tools available for combining the GPS track with your images. We found a good overview of the best programs for geotagging, which lists several that we know our community has been using, like Geosetter, GPSPabel, and HoudaHGeo.
    • If you’re comfortable with using a little coding, we also have a set of Python tools prepared for managing your images using command line tools, including one for combining images with a gpx track.
    • Once you have geotagged your images, proceed to step 3.
  3. The Mapillary Desktop Uploader is the best method for uploading 360° imagery that is captured without the Mapillary app integration. The Desktop Uploader is a desktop application that enables you to upload Mapillary imagery in bulk, available for macOS and Windows. The Desktop Uploader is meant for uploading imagery that is already geotagged; you can't add location information to images in the application.
  4. Download the imagery you captured to your computer.
  5. Download the Desktop Uploader and run the file.
  6. Once you’ve installed the Desktop Uploader, open it and sign in with your Mapillary login credentials. You can’t use the application without signing in, so if you don’t have an account yet, be sure to first create an account.
  7. Drag and drop or browse for a folder that contains your images (to avoid errors, please make sure the folder name doesn't contain special characters).
    • Note: You can’t add individual images, just folders. You can only add one folder at a time. However, the folders can contain subfolders—the uploader is capable of handling that.
  8. When you’ve added a folder, the images it contains will be pre-processed and you will see their locations displayed on the map. At this stage, the images are not yet uploaded.
    • Note: If you’re trying to add a folder that contains images which have already been processed previously, the uploader will remember that and prompt you to resume the upload.
  9. Click on "Upload" to upload the imagery to Mapillary. It normally takes a few hours to process, after which you should be able to see your imagery on the Mapillary platform.
  10. For more help with the Desktop Uploader, see the respective article.

 

Upload 360° camera imagery using other methods

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