Introduction

The GetOrthoImageTile service will take x/y coordinates and deliver one Orthomosaic tile from Vexcel’s high-resolution multi-sensor orthorectified image library. This service is intended for third party mapping applications to display continuous imagery without the need to display large discrete images.

GIS Basemaps
Feature Digitization (tracing)
Natural Disaster Assessment
Accurate true distances and areas
Urban Change Detection

Technical Details

The GetOrthoImage is accessed by specifying the zoom level and tile coordinates (x,y) according to WMTS (Web Map Tile Service) specifications. The tiles returned will be WMTS-conforming, 256x256 pixels at variable resolution (7.5cm - 20cm) in 24-bit JPEG or 32-bit PNG format. All tiles will align perfectly with other Vexcel data (DSM/DTM tiles, Near-Infrared tiles, etc.) as well as tiled data from other 3rd party WMTS-conforming services.

Each tile contains the header object cache-control: max-age, set to 21515 seconds or roughly 6 hours. max-age can be used by the end client to reduce the number of times the same tile is downloaded within a single user session.

Output Tile Specifications:

WMTS Specifications
256 x 256 pixels
Variable resolution (7.5cm - 20cm)
JPEG (24 bit) or PNG (32 bit) format
Pseudo Mercator Projection (EPSG: 3857)

Base URL

This service will answer to requests on following URLs:

Ordered as http REST parameters (mandatory parameters only):
https://api.gic.org/images/GetOrthoImageTile/{layer}/{zoom}/{tilex}/{tiley}?token={token}
Base URL with parameters defined as a mix of REST and Key Value Pairs
https://api.gic.org/images/GetOrthoImageTile/{layer}/{zoom}/{tilex}/{tiley}?year={year}&AOI={AOI}&childAOI={childAOI}&renderingRule={renderingRule}&returnTransparent={returnTransparent}&format={format}&token={token}
Base URL with all parameters defined:
https://api.gic.org/images/GetOrthoImageTile/{layer}?zoom={zoom}&tilex={tilex}&tiley={tiley}&year={year}&startDate={startDate}&endDate={endDate}&AOI={AOI}&childAOI={childAOI}&renderingRule={renderingRule}&returnTransparent={returnTransparent}&format={format}&token={token}

Parameters

Parameter	Parameter Type	Data Type	Description	Format	Notes

Parameter	Parameter Type	Data Type	Description	Format	Notes
Mandatory:
`layer`	Ordered REST	String	The name of the layer. `bluesky-ultra-g` Urban data collected by Geomni (7.5 GSD) `bluesky-ultra` Urban data collected with Osprey (7.5cm GSD) `bluesky-ultra-europe` Urban data collected with Osprey in Europe (7.5 GSD) `bluesky-ultra-oceania` Urban data collected with Osprey in Oceania (7.5 GSD) `bluesky-ultra-japan` Urban data collected with Osprey in Japan (7.5 GSD) `urban-r` Urban data collected with Condor (7.5 GSD) `bluesky-high` Wide area data collected with Condor (15-20cm GSD) `bluesky-high-europe` Wide area data collected with Condor in Europe (15-20cm GSD) `graysky-g` Gray Sky events collected by Geomni `graysky` Gray Sky events collected with Ultracam sensors	`/bluesky-ultra`
`zoom`	Ordered REST - or - Key Value Pair (KVP)	Integer	The zoom level of the tile (between 0 and 23).	Ordered REST: `/20` KVP: `zoom=20`	Starting with `zoom=0` (one tile for the whole earth), each higher zoom level doubles in both dimensions, so each single tile is replaced by 4 tiles.
`tilex`	Ordered REST - or - Key Value Pair	Integer	The x coordinate of the tile. (Datum: WGS84)	Ordered REST: `/358276` KVP: `tilex=358276`	Info about longitude-degree to x-coordinate conversions in External Resources.
`tiley`	Ordered REST - or - Key Value Pair	Integer	The y coordinate of the tile. (Datum: WGS84)	Ordered REST: `/837688` KVP: `tiley=837688`
`token`	Key Value Pair	String	The token used to authenticate the requests.	`token={token}`
Optional:
`year`	Key Value Pair	String	The collection year of the tiles expressed with 4 digits (e.g. 2021 or 2018). If `year` is omitted, a combination of the most recent information across all available years with combined coverage will be returned.	`year=2021`
`startDate`	Key Value Pair	String	No images taken before this date will be delivered.	`startDate=2019-01-01T00:00:01+00:00`
`endDate`	Key Value Pair	String	No images collected after this date will be delivered.	`endDate=2021-01-01T00:00:01+00:00`
`AOI`	Key Value Pair	String	The identifier of the Area of Interest (AOI) which contains the desired imagery.	`AOI=` bluesky-ultra-g: `aoi=us-al-tuscaloosa_leica-2020` bluesky-ultra: `aoi=us-az-avondale-2021` bluesky-ultra-europe: `aoi=it-62-rome-2020` bluesky-ultra-oceania: `aoi=au-qld-sunshinecoast-2019` bluesky-high: `aoi=USUSCON2001` bluesky-high-europe: `aoi=EUEUCON2201` graysky-g: `aoi=USAZSTR1805` graysky: `aoi=us-la-neworleans-tornado-2022`
`ChildAOI`	Key Value Pair	String	The identifier of the child Area of Interest (AOI) which contains the desired imagery. This parameter can only be used in combination with the `AOI` parameter in cases where the AOI contains several smaller collection regions; for bluesky-ultra AOIs, the `ChildAOI` will match the AOI name. This parameter can be especially useful for Gray Sky events.	`ChildAOI=` bluesky-ultra-g: `ChildAOI=us-al-tuscaloosa_leica-2020` bluesky-ultra: `ChildAOI=us-az-avondale-2021` bluesky-ultra-europe: `ChildAOI=it-62-rome-2020` bluesky-ultra-oceania: `ChildAOI=au-qld-sunshinecoast-2019` bluesky-high: `ChildAOI=n33w87-us-al-tuscaloosa-2019` bluesky-high-europe: `ChildAOI=n53e14-de-bb-templin-2022` graysky-g: `ChildAOI=190226/USMSCOLDMC` graysky: `ChildAOI=graydata-363`
`renderingRule`	Key Value Pair	String	The color band rendering of the tiles. `rgb` - Default - Red, green and blue bands `nir` - Near-infrared band (partially unavailable for `bluesky-ultra-g` or `graysky-g`)	`renderingRule=rgb`
`format`	Key Value Pair	String	The image file format. `png` - Default for layers bluesky-high and bluesky-ultra - capable of returning a transparent background where imagery does not exist. `jpeg` - Default for layer bluesky-ultra-g	`format=png`
`returnTransparent`	Key Value Pair	Boolean	The flag that determines what to return along with a “404 - Imagery not found” response.	`returnTransparent=True`

Examples

TPC Scottsdale Stadium Golf Course, Scottsdale Arizona - Demonstrating the different bluesky layer parameters

https://api.gic.org/images/GetOrthoImageTile/bluesky-high/18/49581/105036?format=png

https://api.gic.org/images/GetOrthoImageTile/bluesky-ultra-g/18/49581/105036?format=png

https://api.gic.org/images/GetOrthoImageTile/bluesky-ultra/18/49581/105036?format=png

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Arrowhead Lakes Subdivision, Glendale Arizona - Demonstrating the renderingRules parameter

https://api.gic.org/images/GetOrthoImageTile/bluesky-ultra?zoom=16&tilex=12346&tiley=26250&renderingRule=rgb&format=jpeg

https://api.gic.org/images/GetOrthoImageTile/bluesky-ultra?zoom=16&tilex=12346&tiley=26250&renderingRule=nir&format=jpeg

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Lafayette Louisiana, Hurricane Delta Gray Sky Imagery - Demonstrating the ChildAOI parameter

https://api.gic.org/images/GetOrthoImageTile/graysky/17/32032/53982?aoi=us-la-delta-hurricane-2020&childaoi=graydata-273

https://api.gic.org/images/GetOrthoImageTile/graysky/17/32032/53982?aoi=us-la-delta-hurricane-2020&childaoi=graydata-274

External Resources

Lat/lon to x/y/zoom coordinate Conversion: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Slippy_map_tilenames#Mathematics
Merging Raster Layers with QGIS: Merging Raster Layers with QGIS: https://docs.qgis.org/2.8/en/docs/training_manual/processing/cutting_merging.html

Vexcel API Documentation

GetOrthoImageTile Service - v1.4