Drone Imagery Requirements for Cemify Basemaps

Included in this Article:

Cemify’s interactive cemetery maps use a single basemap image as the foundation layer for all plot shapes and cemetery features. This basemap can come from either satellite imagery or a custom drone orthomosaic. Drone imagery is optional, but when available, it significantly improves clarity and usability.

This article outlines what we need from a drone operator and how the imagery is used inside Cemify.

Why Use Drone Imagery?

Drone flyovers typically produce far clearer detail than satellite imagery. This helps with:

  • Identifying plot boundaries
  • Seeing roads, paths, and landmarks
  • Improving public gravesite lookups
  • Creating a more accurate and visually appealing map

While not required for Cemify to function, high-quality imagery makes the final result much better.

How Drone Imagery Is Typically Captured

Most drone workflows follow three steps:

1. Plan the Flight

A flight path is created to cover the cemetery from above with consistent overlap between images.

2. Capture Images

The drone collects dozens or hundreds of georeferenced photos at a consistent altitude.

These images overlap so they can be stitched accurately.

3. Stitch Into an Orthomosaic

Specialized software (e.g., DroneDeploy, Pix4D, DJI Terra) combines the photos into a single, seamless top-down image of the entire cemetery — the orthomosaic.

This orthomosaic is what we use in Cemify.

What Cemify Needs From You

We only need the final stitched orthomosaic, delivered as one large image covering the entire cemetery.

Acceptable File Formats

  • GeoTIFF (.tif) — preferred
  • High-resolution PNG (.png) — fully acceptable
  • High-resolution JPEG (.jpg) — fully acceptable

If the file is a PNG or JPEG, we can handle georeferencing on our end if needed.

How Cemify Uses the Orthomosaic

Once you send us the final stitched image, we take care of the rest. We:

  • Align it precisely within the cemetery’s coordinate system
  • Convert the orthomosaic into web-friendly map tiles
  • Overlay plot shapes, sections, and labels
  • Publish the interactive map inside Cemify for both staff and public use

There is nothing you need to do beyond providing the final stitched image—we handle the preparation, tiling, and integration from there.

Summary Checklist

  • One stitched orthomosaic
  • File format: GeoTIFF (best) or PNG/JPEG (also fine)
  • Full cemetery coverage
  • No labels or annotations on the image

That’s it — once the image is delivered, we take care of everything else.