Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p>Photogrammetry-based 3D reconstruction is a suitable technique for creating precise digital models from overlapping photographs. The need of this research is to optimize image acquisition angles so that precise 3D models may be extracted with Agisoft Metashape post-processing software. The goal was to find suitable camera angle combinations that would reduce picture acquisition time and data volume while delivering the maximum operational accuracy. Unlike standard autonomous drone surveying techniques, the proposed methodology used a non-autonomous approach in which photos were manually captured around the object, significantly reducing drone flight time and redundant data collection. To take photographs for proof-of-concept study, a mobile phone camera was initially used, followed by a drone-mounted camera. Photos were shot from a fixed height of five feet at 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90° viewing angles. Photographs of the paper box object were shot around 360°, with provisions set every 30° to acquire images. The acquired datasets were processed singly and in combined angle sets to produce 3D models, Digital Elevation Models (DEM), and Orthomosaic images. The reliability of the model was confirmed by comparing the estimated object volume resulting from the rebuilt model to the actual object volume measured by conventional method. Of all the setups tested, the combined capture angles of 45° and 60° yielded the most precise and dependable 3D reconstruction. The study concludes that, while creating 3D models, optimal non-autonomous image capture techniques can effectively reduce data requirements while maintaining outstanding photogrammetric accuracy less than 0.5 percentage in the combined post processing of image captured at the angle of 45° and 60°.</p>