Plotting a new dimension

A scale plan of Nelson's Victory has been made by taking a photograph of the ship. Describing the workings of the complex photogrammetric process in such a basic way is perhaps to do it an injustice. But that's it. A click of a shutter, strictly speaking two of them, and the end result is a detailed drawing showing how something was built or how it has changed over a period of time. The possible applications in industrial terms are tremendous. Photographic techniques developed originally for making maps and carrying out land surveys are beginning to offer a new dimension, almost literally, for other types of engineering design and construction work. This has largely come about by the need to develop new uses for sophisticated equipment, which has involved quite high research and development investment, for the comparatively specialized business of photogrammetry—or the process of making maps with the aid of photography.