2026 Big Sky GeoCon - From Data to Design

Description: 
This half-day workshop introduces participants to the full spectrum of ArcGIS imagery management capabilities through the lens of modern drone-based workflows. Attendees will learn how to design effective flight plans, capture high-quality datasets, and understand the impacts that acquisition parameters have on downstream products. The session will cover core concepts in imagery organization, optimized data models, and strategies for managing large volumes of UAV data both on-premises and in the cloud. Using Esri’s drone and reality-mapping tools, we will walk through best practices for transforming raw drone captures into authoritative orthoimagery, dense 3D meshes, point clouds, and geospatial video suited for enterprise applications.
Building on these fundamentals, the workshop will explore implementation approaches for scalable imagery systems including cloud-hosted repositories, cloud-based and desktop processing, and enterprise deployment patterns ensuring that participants can choose the right architecture for their operational needs. Through demonstrations and guided workflows, attendees will gain practical experience in processing pipelines for orthomosaics, 3D modeling, and video exploitation, along with recommendations for QA/QC, reproducibility, and dissemination of imagery products across their organization. By the end of the session, participants will be equipped with the knowledge and confidence to manage drone imagery at scale and integrate it seamlessly into decision-making workflows.
Technical Requirements: 
Esri will provide the computer lab with all the necessary software installed and data already pre-loaded on the machine.