Balloon mapping is a low-cost way to take aerial photos using a camera, attached to a balloon, on a spool of string. People have done this from a few hundred feet up all the way to over 4,000 feet in the air. **** Our whole toolkit is linked out below, but really fast: 1. [Assemble your own](/wiki/balloon-mapping-materials), [buy our balloon kit](http://store.publiclab.org/products/balloon-mapping-kit), or [buy/make a kite](/wiki/kite-mapping). 2. [find a good camera](/wiki/camera-selection). 3. [determine how you will trigger the camera](/wiki/camera-trigger), (we suggest a rubber band) or pick out a [timelapse app for your smartphone](/wiki/timelapse-apps). 4. build a [simple housing from a plastic bottle](/wiki/pet-bottle-rubber-band-rig). 5. find a site to map that is five miles from an airport and [not Washington D.C.](/wiki/mapping-curriculum-regulatory) (or [learn about the regulations](/wiki/balloon-mapping-regulations) yourself) 6. [follow the pre-flight checklist(pdf)](/sites/default/files/Balloon%20Mapping%20Pre-flight%20Checklist%20&%20Packing%20List.pdf) and [quickstart guide(pdf)](/sites/default/files/BalloonMappingQuickStartGuide1English.pdf) to safely fill up your balloon and fly! 7. [maneuver your balloon at your site](http://publiclab.org/notes/gonzoearth/1-2-2013/balloon-mapping-ground-public-labs-field-techniques) 8. sort your images on your desktop ([Mac](/notes/mathew/1-30-2012/efficient-image-sorting-finder-preview-mac),[Windows](/notes/eustatic/06-08-2014/tips-on-sorting-on-windows-including-re-naming-filenames)) or with [Mapmill](http://mapmill.org/). 9. make them into a map with [Mapknitter](https://mapknitter.org). 10. Print a poster of your map from Mapknitter, see your map join the public record in our [archive](/archive), and if you'd like, even in [Google Earth](http://www.pbs.org/idealab/2012/04/public-labs-community-created-maps-land-on-google-earth109.html). [Willie Schubert over at the GeoJournalism Handbook has made a printable walk-through including many of these steps](http://geojournalism.org/2013/08/balloon-mapping-how-to-make-your-own-low-flying-satellite/) ## Activities [activities:balloon-mapping] **** ### Questions about balloon mapping: [questions:balloon-mapping] Browse maps and data generated with this technique in the [Public Laboratory Archive](/archive) Browse [Research Notes on Balloon Mapping](/notes/balloon-mapping) _A short video by [Mathew Lippincott](/profile/mathew) on setting up and launching your balloon._ **** ### Grassroots Mapping Toolkit Our aerial mapping toolkit is a simplified kite and balloon aerial photography system for easy and accessible high-resolution map-making. The tookit consists of: Flight platforms: Assembling a balloon kit will cost from $100-200, including helium. * The Public Laboratory [Balloon Mapping Kit](/wiki/balloon-mapping-kit) is assembled from our preferred parts. * For alternative and low-cost materials, see the [Balloon Mapping Materials page](http://publiclaboratory.org/wiki/balloon-mapping-materials). * [Use this chart to calculate the lift you'll need.](http://www.chem.hawaii.edu/uham/lift.html) Camera housings: Single Line systems: [The PET Bottle & Rubber Band Rig](/wiki/pet-bottle-rubber-band-rig) wraps around the small and medium sized cameras (up to micro 4/3) for crash protection while firmly mounting it in a position for vertical images. For heavy cameras, a [Trash Can Rig offers more protection.](/wiki/trash-can-rig-heavy-cameras) Multiple Line Systems: these are more complex to build but can provide added stability, especially useful for video. [Several people have created Picavet rigs.](/wiki/picavet-rigging) Cameras: A small camera that supports continuous shooting mode and a large storage card, or an excellent camera phone are our preferred options. * Help [selecting a camera](/wiki/camera-selection) * Different ways of [triggering the camera shutter](/wiki/camera-trigger) * The [PicaPiKAP](https://publiclab.org/notes/imvec/10-30-2023/picapikap-camara-de-mapeo-libre-y-abierta?_=1698681682) a Raspberry Pi based mapping camera. Mapmaking software: Public Laboratory's [MapKnitter](https://mapknitter.org) is easy to use browser software for map making. Continue on to [MapKnitter Guide](http://publiclaboratory.org/wiki/mapknitter) and [MapKnitter Help](http://publiclaboratory.org/wiki/mapknitter-help) for more information. * When mapmaking, efficient image sorting [either on your desktop](https://publiclab.org/notes/mathew/1-30-2012/efficient-image-sorting-finder-preview-mac), or using [Mapmill](/wiki/upon-return) is a must. * Some people also use proprietary software such as Photoshop, [Hypr3d](http://publiclaboratory.org/notes/warren/2-10-2012/thatchmore-farms-hypr3d-model), or [PhotoSynth](http://publiclaboratory.org/notes/lpercifield/6-28-2011/3d-point-cloud). For a freely distributed desktop option, check out the GNU Image Manipulation Program. Useful guides: Our latest guides can always be found on the [Guides](/guides) page, including: * The four-page [Grassroots Mapping Guide](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1BJxYKVYdUimf5s3hOVoQCWPoj1UinaIaAEKF65Q2pbc/edit#slide=id.g84b9a2f_1_14) * The [Balloon Mapping Quick Start Guide to filling and flying](http://archive.publiclaboratory.org/download/balloon-mapping-quickstart-1.0-en.pdf) (pdf) and [editable Google Doc](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1f397WvHyZtwyDEqXIIrNpLBfNfw2accAWzQhdvhg4TA/edit) * The [Balloon Mapping Check Lists](https://publiclab.org/sites/default/files/balloon-mapping-preflight-checklist.pdf) (pdf) and [editable Google Doc](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1UUiQt-p2npJiIi48v_3o2_keeqEEzHc1yONybGeYF-E/edit), which are extremely useful in planning field expeditions, even for experienced fliers. * We also maintain a [guide to FAA regulations](/wiki/balloon-mapping-regulations) page. Curricula and workshops: Our [Curriculum-Guide](/wiki/mapping-curriculum) covers the entire process and some theory behind mapping. It is still in beta. ###Advanced Techniques### * [Near-infrared imagery](/tool/near-infrared-camera) for vegetation monitoring and other uses. * [Image analysis](/wiki/image-analysis) - Try some of these techniques for bringing out detail and compositing your images with [near-infrared imagery](/tool/near-infrared-camera). * [Ground control point targets](/wiki/ground-control-point-targets) for correlating on-the-ground measurements directly with photos. * [Balloon telemetry](/tool/balloon-telemetry-kit) for recording GPS and gyroscopic data. * [Kite Balloons](/tool/kite-balloon-hybrid) experiments in wind-stabilized balloons * [Hydrogen ballooning](/wiki/hydrogen-balloons) - be very careful! ...
| Author | Comment | Last activity | Moderation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WaterGeek | "I tried using a dashcam for something similar. I had one in old car, but didn't need it in my new car (which has a backup cam), so all of a sudden ..." | Read more » | over 2 years ago | |||
| Bronwen | "@a1ahna Have you reached out to Into The Wind? They sell reels and line separately, but might be worth reaching out to see if they would do custo..." | Read more » | over 3 years ago | |||
| stevie | "This has become a real challenge! Adding in a couple more friends! @shanlter @liz " | Read more » | over 3 years ago | |||
| WendyJospeh | "Great project " | Read more » | almost 4 years ago | |||
| amocorro | "@warren @eustatic - know anyone that would be able to answer this question? Neat tool @mimiss! " | Read more » | about 4 years ago | |||
| soniakakkad122 | "Such a wonderful article this is. This article is significant and important for us. Much obliged to you for offering this sort of instructive artic..." | Read more » | about 4 years ago | |||
| adam-griffith | "Thanks, Liz. I have used Canon cameras before and gotten the lens errors and have also used CHDK. I agree that the a490 Canon is simple, but I am..." | Read more » | about 5 years ago | |||
| liz | "I personally love anything in the Canon S series (s90, s95, s100, s110, etc). I appreciate how with a half hour in front of a laptop, a little scri..." | Read more » | about 5 years ago | |||
| ryangaia | "Thank you @cfastie for answering this and mentioning that that helium "does not have much thermal mass". The temperature was my main hypothesis. No..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| cfastie | "Yes, any gas will be less dense when it is hotter and therefore will have more lift. If the gas inside the balloon is the same as the gas outside (..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| sachinjangra553 | "Get sarkari result updates on welljob.in " | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| SuziT9 | "Hi, Bronwen -- Thanks for your post. I was doing similar math, but somehow it still didn't work! We were trying to lift a camera of only about 70 g..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| Bronwen | "I look at this webpage ALL THE TIME: https://www.balloons.com/HeliumWeightChart.pdf According to this chart, a regular 11" balloon will lift abou..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| warren | "My other thought is to look at what @oscar-brett has done to design a communal activity around using lots of party balloons: https://publiclab.org..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| warren | "My first thought on this is that the volume of a sphere grows much faster (it's 3 dimensions, so cubed!) than just adding more balloons (which is j..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| Nubu | "OK thanks a lot for your answer! Unfortunately this won't be enough for our purposes. Also the Airpup, as far as I saw, may only with the help of w..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| Bronwen | " You can see a little more about lift here: https://publiclab.org/wiki/balloon-mapping-regulations the balloons we sell are 5.5' across, so their..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| molangmuir10 | " I will look into this! Thanks " | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| molangmuir10 | " Thanks Chris that's really helpful! " | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| cfastie | " Marking your kite or balloon line is a very good way to do this. It is a bit of a chore to do it, but maybe easier than building a data logger or ..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| JSummers | "You may be able to do this using the GPS on your phone with an app like Strava. I think the Z direction accuracy of GPS is not as good as the XY a..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| JSummers | " I think what you want will be called a barometer. It is what drones use to measure altitude. They are not super expensive, here is one for $6.70..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| molangmuir10 | " Thanks!! that's really helpful Bronwen! " | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| Bronwen | " Hi! You might be interested in some of the responses on this note: https://publiclab.org/questions/Ag8n/02-19-2018/kite-altitude-question I woul..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago |