12,647 hectares of orthophotos at 3.5 cm for EPFA Guyane

Background

The public land and development agency of French Guiana works on land spread across several coastal municipalities. It ordered recent orthophotos of eight sectors from us: Cogneau-Lamirande in Matoury, the Georges-Othily eco-district in Rémire-Montjoly, Palika in Cayenne, Soula, Sablance and Maillard then Sud-Bourg and Préfontaine in Macouria, Wayabo and the Roches Gravées development zone in Kourou, and Yaoni in Cacao. Sectors ranged from 205 to 3,856 hectares. In October 2023 a first order had covered Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni: 815 hectares of orthophoto and 223 hectares of LiDAR.

What we did

Two RTK drones flew at 120 m on north–south lines with 85% forward and 75% side overlap: 343 flights, 97 hours in the air and 4,284 km flown. Positioning relied on the permanent stations of the Teria network, in RTK or PPK depending on the sector. In Cacao no station lay within 20 km: we measured sixteen points by PPP, with sessions of 30 to 45 minutes, then flew with an RTK base moved across six positions. In each sector, ground control points were used for the adjustment and independent check points to verify the orthophoto. After the agency’s comments on the transparency band and the projection of two files, the corrected delivery was accepted on 7 March 2024; processing had taken more than 500 hours. On 16 October 2026 we started the next campaign in Matoury: eight perimeters and 6,545 hectares, from Cayenne to Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni. The first sector, Sud-Bourg (147 hectares), was photographed that same day in four flights and delivered on 19 October: 1,909 photos at 3.88 cm per pixel, an orthophoto checked on five independent check points (3.7 cm planimetric error), the seamline map, the flight plans, the image footprint index and ISO 19115 metadata.

3 related missions in the log

1. October 2026

   LiDAR and photogrammetryFrench Guiana

   2026 orthophoto campaign: eight sectors and 6,545 hectares

   Matoury, Cayenne, Kourou, Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, Macouria · EPFA Guyane

   Eight perimeters and 6,545 hectares in Cayenne, Kourou, Macouria, Matoury and Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, ordered on 2 October 2026, with 10 cm orthophotos required by the specifications. First sector delivered, Sud-Bourg in Matoury (147 ha): four flights on 16 October, 1,909 photos at 3.88 cm per pixel, 3.7 cm planimetric error on five independent check points, orthophotos and reports delivered on 19 October.

   • 6 545 ha
   • 8 sectors
   • 3,7 cm check-point error
2. December 2023

   LiDAR and photogrammetryFrench Guiana

   Orthophoto coverage of 12,647 hectares of inhabited French Guiana

   Cayenne, Matoury, Rémire-Montjoly, Macouria, Kourou, Cacao · EPFA Guyane

   From 4 December 2023 to 1 March 2024: eight sectors at 3.5 cm per pixel, 343 flights, 184,464 photos, 50 ground control and 26 check points; ECW and JP2 orthophotos accepted on 7 March 2024.

   • 12 647 ha
   • 184 464 photos
   • 343 flights

   Read the article
3. October 2023

   LiDAR and photogrammetryFrench Guiana

   Orthophoto of 815 hectares and LiDAR of 223 hectares in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni

   Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni · EPFA Guyane

   Flights in October 2023 near the aerodrome, authorised outside its opening hours: 3.2 cm orthophoto, 50 cm terrain, surface and height models, contour lines in DWG and SHP, layers of buildings, roads, water and forest; delivered on 24 November 2023.

   • 815 ha of orthophoto
   • 223 ha of LiDAR

All missions