Stitching a drone's view of the world into 3D maps as it flies

When you're buzzing through the air at 60 kilometres per hour, it can be hard to take in the view. But now drones can create highly detailed 3D maps as they fly, using just an ordinary video camera. The system, called Hydra Fusion and developed by researchers at Lockheed Martin in Canada, will make drones better at aerial surveillance. Hydra Fusion is based on a form of image-based mapping, or photogrammetry, known as "structure from motion". The procedure involves stitching together multiple images – in this case, consecutive frames of video footage – to form a detailed 3D map.