About Pictometry^®

Lincoln Cathedral                                                                © BLOM Pictometry®

Pictometry, the world’s largest digital, oblique imagery company, has patented a unique system for capturing and viewing high resolution images from different viewpoints. Ordnance Survey has teamed up with BLOM Aerofilms Limited to become authorised resellers of Pictometry® Oblique Imagery of Great Britain.

Combined oblique and vertical view imagery is a unique information source relatively new to Great Britain.  Today, Ordnance Survey can offer access to an instantly available, ‘off-the-shelf’ library of high-resolution oblique imagery, covering all of Great Britain’s urban areas with a population of greater than 50,000.  Since the start of 2008, all licensees of Pictometry Oblique Imagery benefit from access to a 20cm resolution, seamless mosaic of vertical images that aids navigation and directly complements the Pictometry library.

Try a different perspective

Pictometry® Oblique Imagery supplements the traditional vertical view with images taken at an angle from the four different points of the compass – North, East, South and West – to provide a complete image of all features in the natural and built environment.  The imagery can be fully integrated with other geographic and mapping information within a wide range of geographic information systems (GIS) to enable viewing, measurement and remote inspection of locations from multiple vantage points.  For example, using Pictometry® oblique view imagery, you can rapidly assess the size, shape, design, construction and surrounding environment of any building from upwards of twelve different oblique and vertical vantage points.  Other associated infrastructure, like street lights and telephone boxes, become much clearer, and access and egress to buildings or land is more easily interpreted.

Overlay your data

Pictometry® Oblique Imagery complements a wide range of Ordnance Survey’s products, especially our OS MasterMap® Imagery Layer that provides high quality, orthorectified, seamless vertical aerial photography for the whole of Great Britain.

The oblique imagery is captured at a resolution of 15cm (10cm for 2008 imagery) and is geo-referenced to the pixel level, ensuring a good fit with the OS MasterMap Topography Layer.

You can also load your own shapefiles and annotate the data.

This image contains Pictometry ® Oblique Imagery, courtesy of BLOM Aerofilms.  It has been overlaid (over half) with OS MasterMap ® Topography Layer, Integrated Transport Network ™ Layer and ADDRESS-POINT ®.

New for 2008

Since the start of 2008, the initial imagery captured between 2006 and 2007 is being updated. Updated imagery is provided to all customers with an existing license for Pictometry oblique view imagery. A series of advances in camera and capture technologies has enabled us to provide 10cm resolution imagery for the entire 2008 flying programme. 

Please refer to our Technical Information page for the latest demonstrators.

Pictometry Demonstrator

View the demo to find out how Pictometry can benefit your business.

Coverage Map

View the Pictometry coverage of Great Britain.  Please see our Technical Information pages for maps by Great Britain location.

To order, or receive a quote, please contact our Customer Service Centre on 08456 050505