Introduction

The SkyMap Editor allows you to review processed aerial maps and publish selected outputs to SiteView. You can confirm result quality, adjust Z offset, and choose which data types will be published.

Note:

• SkyMap is available with a Unified license only.
• Geocoordinates must be enabled to align drone data with reference plans, 360° captures, and BIM in the project. For details on how to enable it, see the Enable Geocoordinates in a Project article.
• For details on viewing published maps, refer to the SkyMap in SiteView article.

Access SkyMap Editor

Note: Available to Project Admins or higher.

1. In CupixWorks, go to the Project Admin Center.

2. Open the Add-Ons tab and click Open next to SkyMap panel.

   

3. Select a processed aerial map to open the right-side panel.

   

   • Click Open in Editor to access the SkyMap Editor.

   • You can see which outputs are available and which ones are published to SiteView. Published outputs are indicated with a check icon, and only processed output types are shown in the panel.

     Important: Only published maps can be used in SiteView. You can choose which output types to publish in the SkyMap Editor.

Editor Layout

The Editor consists of:

1. Aerial Map List - Select the date of aerial maps.
2. 2D / 3D View Switch -Display the processed aerial map in 2D or 3D mode.
3. Options - Basic display controls for 2D and 3D (view options, zoom, reference plan control, etc.).
4. BIM Compare - Compare processed results with BIM
5. Processing  Information - Review aerial map details such as result quality and processing input, and export Orthomosaic or DSM files.
6. Layers - Control data visibility, GCP, measurement, Z offset, and publishing to SiteView.

• Main Viewer – Display the processed aerial map in 2D or 3D mode.

  Note: Switch between 2D and 3D view modes from the top of the viewer.

• Options – Basic display controls for 2D and 3D (view options, zoom, reference plan control, etc.).
• Layers (Left Panel) – Control data visibility, Z offset, and publishing to SiteView.
• Processing Information - Review aerial map details such as result quality and processing input, and export Orthomosaic or DSM files.

Note: Click the aerial map date in the top-left corner to switch maps.

Layers Menu

In the Layers (left panel), you can toggle data visibility, review Ground Control Points, take measurements, adjust Z offset, and set publishing options.

Visibility Control

• Toggle visibility for available data types (Orthomosaic, DSM, Mesh, Point Cloud).

  Note: Only the data types processed in CupixConnect are available. If a data type is not included in the selected aerial map, its toggle is disabled.

  • 2D Mode:
    

    

    • Orthomosaic – Adjust opacity.
    • DSM – Adjust opacity and elevation display.

  • 3D Mode:

    
     

    • Point Cloud / Mesh – Adjust rendering style and opacity.

    • Click More Options to open 3D Data Settings: Configure rendering style and performance options, and export the 3D aerial map.

      
       

Ground Control Points (GCP)

If Ground Control Points (GCPs) were provided during the drone photo upload in CupixConnect, the Ground Control Points section appears in the Layers panel. Use this section to verify GCP accuracy before publishing.

The Ground Control Points section displays:

• Coordinate System — The coordinate reference system used for GCPs (e.g., WGS84 / UTM Zone 52N).
• Overall RMS Error — The overall Root Mean Square error across all GCPs, shown as a total value and broken down by X, Y, and Z components.
• GCP File — The name of the uploaded GCP coordinate file.
• RMS Error Table — A list of all GCPs showing the GCP name and its individual error value.

Note: When GCPs are used, the RMS Error reflects the absolute georeferencing accuracy of the aerial map against the supplied GCP coordinates. Without GCPs, RMS Error reflects only relative image alignment accuracy.

Review individual GCP details.

Click a GCP in the error table or on the map to view its detail panel. The detail panel shows:

• Initial Position — The original GCP coordinates as uploaded (X, Y, Z).
• Computed Position — The GCP position calculated by the processing algorithm (X, Y, Z).
• Error from GCP Initial Position — The difference between the initial and computed positions (X, Y, Z).
• Matched Images — Thumbnails of the drone images where the GCP was automatically detected. The number of matched images is displayed in the header (e.g., “Matched Images (10)”).

Map Overlay

• Map Overlay: Toggle Flight Path and Reference Plan on or off.

• In 2D mode, the Flight Path shows camera position markers on the map. Click a marker to view image information in the right sidebar.

• In 3D mode, the Flight Path is displayed as a connected line between camera positions in 3D space, providing a spatial view of the drone’s trajectory. 
  • Blue dots show GPS positions of images
  • Green dots show computed positions of images

Note: 3D Flight Path visualization is available for aerial maps processed after this feature was released. For aerial maps processed before the 3D Flight Path feature was available, only the 2D flight path is displayed.

Measurement

The Measure section in the Layers panel provides measurement tools directly in the SkyMap Editor. This allows you to verify spatial accuracy of processed results before publishing to SiteView. 

Note: The measurement features behaves exactly the same as the existing measurement feature in SiteView. Refer to the article for details.

Vertical (Z) Offset Setting

Set the Vertical (Z) Offset of the aerial map to align it with BIM and other aerial maps:

1. Click Pick Point and select a location in the aerial map viewer.
2. Enter the Z offset value of the selected point.

Note: The vertical (Z) offset can be set in 2D mode only when DSM data is available.

Publish to SiteView

Select which aerial map data types to publish to SiteView.

Note: If a data type is not available for the selected aerial map, its option is disabled.

Options

In the top-right corner of the viewer, options are available for both 2D and 3D modes.

BIM Compare

A BIM Compare toggle is available in the top-right corner of the viewer. Enable BIM Compare to view the BIM model alongside the aerial map for side-by-side comparison in both 2D and 3D modes.

When BIM Compare is enabled, the viewer splits into two panels: the aerial map on the left and the BIM model on the right. You can drag the center slide bar to adjust how much space each panel occupies.

Note: For general information about BIM Compare features such as compare modes and navigation, refer to the BIM Compare View article.

Options in 2D mode

• North Orientation – Switch between True North and Project North for map alignment.
• Map View – Toggle betweenSatellite View andMap View.
• Zoom / Reset Zoom – Zoom in or out of the map, or reset the zoom level to default.

Options in 3D mode

• Perspective/Orthographic View – Switch between two types of 3D views:
  • Perspective: Mimics human eye perception, with objects appearing smaller as they are farther away.
  • Orthographic: Maintains parallel lines and uniform object size regardless of distance.
• Camera Preset – Instantly switch to preset views: Top, Bottom, Front, Back, Left, or Right.
• Reset Zoom – Resets the zoom level to the default setting.
• 3D Data Settings – Configure rendering style and performance options, and export the 3D aerial map.
• Clipping Tool
  • Adjust the visible area of the 3D aerial map along the Z-axis (top and bottom) using the clipping tool located on the right side.
  • Click theClipping Tool icon above the Z-axis control bar to open all Clipping Panels, including X, Y, and Z axes.

Overlay Reference Plan on the Aerial Map

You can overlay reference plans directly on the aerial map with colored plan lines for clearer visualization.

Note: You can overlay reference plans in both 2D Mode and 3D Mode.

1. Click theReference Plan icon in the top-right corner, then toggle plan visibility using theeye icons.

   Note:

   • Up to five plans can be displayed at once. 
   • When multiple plans are displayed without color filtering, they are stacked in the viewer according to their order in the list (bottom to top). Drag thehandle to reorder the plans in the list.

2. Click thepencil icon next to a plan name to apply color filtering, which displays only the plan lines with the background removed.

   Note:

   • You can adjust the opacity of each reference plan and the base plane height for 3D overlay viewing.
   • Click Reset to restore the default settings.

3. Click theOpacity icon to adjust the transparency of all reference plans at once.

Processing Information

Click theInformation icon in the top-right corner to review processing details. Two tabs are available:

• Output – View properties of the generated aerial map, such as RMS Error and point count or density for point clouds.

  Note: RMS Error shows how accurately the drone images align and reflects relative alignment accuracy when GCPs are not used.

• Input – Review upload information, including the processing options and quality settings used during aerial map creation.

Export Aerial Maps

• 2D Data (Orthomosaic or DSM) – In the Output tab of Processing Information, click Download Orthomosaic or Download DSM. The files are exported in GeoTIFF format.

• 3D data (Point Cloud or Mesh) – Export from3D Display Settings in the 3D mode options. Point Cloud files are exported in PLY, XYZ, or E57 format, and Mesh files are exported in OBJ or GLB format.

  

Export Drone Photos

1. Enable the Flight Path to view image location markers on the aerial map.
2. Click anmarker to display its image information in the right sidebar.
3. Click Download Image to export the drone photo as a JPG file.