SEE Photo Database: Your Gateway to discover SEE imagery.

The photo database is essentially a large network drive (currently ~12Tbytes) that houses imagery and associated processed data. All members of SEE should be able to access it if you point your file explorer to //file/Shared/SEESPhotodatabase* . However, a more efficient way to discover the contents of the database would be to use the map. Use the link below to access it through your browser:

• Map

Explore the map to quickly locate imagery relevant to your research area. There are several layers to choose from - head to the explainer page for more details. Alternatively, delve into the table to uncover specific data- the table is searchable and sortable to help you find what you need. The file/folder paths should be directly accessible from any university workstation, just copy and paste the path into your file explorer. We’re continuously enriching the images with detailed metadata to enhance data discovery.

* Note MacOS users will have to map the network drive, and then edit the folder to matched the mapped drive.

The database itself is a network folder with a subfolder structure with various levels of restricted access. You should be able to access most of the files directly using the file paths in the database, however, for some you might have to request permission. The reason we limit access is to prevent accidental overwriting, and to provide some imagery users with time to process and publish their data before making it publicly available.

//file/Shared/SEESPhotodatabase
   ├── Active Work - A folder open to all at the School for both read and write purposes. This folder can be used to process data, e.g. using network processing with Agisoft Metashape.
   ├── Archive - A folder that can be viewed by anyone in the School, but cannot be modified.
   └── Private - A closed folder that has data that is not available to be viewed unless asking for permission.
Copy

Should you require access to particular files or folders, please contact us - we’re here to assist.

The "Active Work" folder (\\file\shared\SEESPhotoDatabase\Active Work) can be used in a couple of ways. It is a place that you can quickly upload your data. It is also a useful location to save your project data while you are actively working on it, and can be quite useful if you need to rapidly access files from different machines across campus, e.g. when using network processing. However, we do ask that you make use of the [metadata file](\\file\Shared\SEESPhotoDatabase\Example of metadata.xlsx). Please make a copy of the file in the root folder of your project, rename the file to metadata.xslx and fill out the appropriate fields. This way we can contact you if we ever need to know more about your project.

Below is a folder structure that we suggest you use:

When you are finished with your project and it is no longer active, you can let us know and we will archive the project.

How can I contribute my photos?

Excellent! We welcome contributions to enrich our database. Please contact us and we’ll guide you through the process. Together, we can create a more robust and diverse database for all users. 🎉

Remember, every image you contribute aids in the advancement of research and projects within our university. Your contribution could be the missing piece in someone’s research puzzle! 🧩

Is this database only for drone imagery?

Absolutely not. At the moment we only include jpg images that are geolocated, and drone imagery is the main use case for this database. However, phone images are also geolocated and could be added to the database, in any format. We could also add a process to manually locate imagery (hopefully in an efficient manner).

How are the map and table generated?

We use a few different tools to update the map. Go visit the explainer page if you want to learn more!

I can't access the files I need?

We have limited access to certain files and folders. You can get in touch with the owner listed in the metadata, or with one of us to help access the database.

Any question get in touch: Jonathan