If you work with drone mapping software, you’ve no doubt heard talk of ground control points (GCPs). Used often in the surveying industry, as well as in virtual design and construction, GCPs greatly increase the global accuracy of drone maps. Although they are not necessary in every situation, GCPs are a vital tool for precision mapping. But what exactly are ground control points? And how do you go about using them correctly?

To help crack the code on ground control points, we’ve put together this short guide to using GCPs with drone mapping software.

What Are Ground Control Points?

So what exactly are ground control points? Ground control points are large marked targets on the ground, spaced strategically throughout your area of interest. If you use ground control points with your aerial map, you first need to determine the RTK GPS coordinates at the center of each. (We’ll explain how to do this a little later.) The ground control points and their coordinates are then used to help drone mapping software accurately position your map in relation to the real world around it.

It might be helpful to think of your GCPs as a series of thumbtacks placed on your drone map. Because the drone mapping software knows the exact location of each of these “thumbtacks”, it can reference their locations when it matches up all of the other points on the map.