Phantom 3 and 3D Terrain Modeling

I used the P3A and the Orbit function of Litchi and manually triggered the photographs. You can change the orbit altitude as it is flying without stopping and starting mid-air, so it is possible to get the images at all of the altitude "rings" you need. Here is my first attempt at doing this and I used the demo of Photoscan, which is now timed out. I can't EVEN afford either this software nor Pix4D (I know there is a subscription) so I will need some real purpose and $$$.

Old Blue Point Barn by bobdenny - 3D model
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: KwadKopter
Nothing wrong with that. I'll have to try Litchi and the orbit function with manual shutter. From the video I posted, it appears to have a automatic shutter/trigger like the Pix4D app in free flight mode. I am going on the best advice I find on the Internet and that is a photo about every 10 degrees or 36 photos per orbit. I'm not displeased with the results I get with Pix4D free flight, but am looking for the app that uses orbit and automatic shutter.
 
Pix4D has a free Pix4DCapture app to use to capture the images with your drone. It's in beta for P3, but works to capture the images no problem. Currently there is a problem with it automatically transferring the images from the P3 to your tablet, and then auto-uploading them to the Pix4DCloud for auto-processing. You can take the SD card out and transfer the files to your computer no problem. The free version of Pix4DMapper Explorer software allows you to create a 3D mesh and export a flythrough video.
Anyone know of any free alternatives to Pix4D that has more functionality? Would be cool to export/share 3D mesh model online for free.

-Scott
 
This could truly be the future of land surveying.
Aerial photogrammetry from high altitude does not render the accuracy as the the low and slow drone.
The game changer will be when someone produces a lightweight Lidar unit to hook up with the drone

Lidar and other remote sensing techniques have been on low-flying helicopters for a couple of decades. Just not lightweight (and cheap) solutions, exactly as you say.

The surveyor in me is skeptical though... it's one thing to do quick and dirty 3D photo-modeling for visualization purposes, but to accurately and properly georeference a photo taken on a moving, airborne platform... and drape the result over a map projection is an entirely different challenge data (i.e. how do I know with certainty that a given pixel on my model has coordinates X,Y on projection P).

Don't get me wrong... I think this is exciting stuff too, and I can see this opening a whole sector of activity. Obviously, companies like Pix4D are getting pretty good at it.

I know these geodesy/geomatics guys having been slowly helping to bring remote sensing to UAVs and Ultralights:

Scan2map | Topo

Not a coincidence maybe that they're on the same campus as Pix4D... ;-)





Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
I use Pix4dmapper Pro "full license" and Pix4d Capture with a Phantom 3 Advanced and a Phantom 4: it works fine and I make also works for others with the images taken by them. Feel free to visit www.aeriadroneostro.com for further informations. For some examples, click also on "Notizie" tab. Regards.
 
Last edited:

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,354
Members
104,933
Latest member
mactechnic