The Belgian startup Airobot has actually announced a brand-new software application bundle that will make it much easier to take measurements on structures and premises with the aid of a drone. With the help of AiroCollect, roofing professionals, architects, gardeners and other small and big companies can quickly deploy drones to obtain geoinformation. The software will be gone for the start of August 2021.

Friendly

According to Airobot, it is obvious that drones are on the increase in all sort of markets, and drones are currently inthe location of larger business. But for small companies, however, making use of drones for taking measurements is frequently too high a threshold. Not just because of the rigorous regulations for the rather much heavier drones, however also since of the intricacy of existing photogrammetry software. Airobot wants to alter that with AiroCollect.

AiroCollect is a cloud software that flawlessly links drone images based on photogrammetry. Users can take out a membership and after that upload drone images per task. These are then converted by the software into a 3D model, in which one can carry out measurements to your heart’s material. The software application can be used with any type of drone. Even the light-weight DJI Mini 2 is suitable for this function, the developers claim. In this method, users can acquire the needed images very quickly, because with this drone you can also fly above buildings in the Open category.

Depending on the drone used, a trajectory has to be finished by hand or the drone automatically flies a pattern across the surface. During the flight, an image is taken every few seconds. Later on, these pictures are united and equated into a 3D model of the location in question. All type of measurements can be performed in the software application. It is also possible to export the design to AutoCAD, Vectorworks, SketchUp and other programs.

Centimeters precise According to the developers, it is possible to perform centimeter-accurate measurements in the 3D designs and orthophotos created by the software, even if working with a basic drone like the DJI Mini 2 is utilized to capture the source images. This is about relative precision. That does not have to be an issue for the desired target groups, states Jan Leyssens from Airobot when asked:”With our software application, we desire to make drone and photogrammetry technology available to a new type of users: landscapers, roofers, brokers, police. Users who want to determine with a drone, but do not have the exact same requirements as a surveyor. These users wish to be able to measure fairly cm-accurately, for example in relation to the edge of the road, distance pool to a home, surface of balcony or lawn, or an angle of disposition of a roof. And with a Mini 2, this is possible. The outright accuracy is generally around the meter, but that is trivial to these users.”

Easy to utilize

In addition to the reality that users can use an easy drone such as the Mini 2, the software itself has also been kept as simple as possible, says Leyssens: “A police officer, landscaper … any ‘non-specialist’ can work with it. Just publish images to the cloud and you’re done. We have tuned the photogrammetry pipeline behind it for this kind of project. We didn’t include a great deal of bells and whistles that can make individuals go wrong. The other plans are frequently produced big business and professionals, but are less interesting for the typical professional.”

If

wanted, those who want more accuracy can also deal with an RTK drone or with so-called ground control points (GCPs). For that too, AiroCollect uses support, says Leyssens: “If individuals fly with a Phantom 4 RTK, without the use of GCPs, the absolute accuracy will be

The developers do not have the pretense to make property surveyors unnecessary. The tool is not meant for that either, discusses Leyssens: “There are measurements that require the understanding and knowledge of property surveyors (specifically when there is a legal aspect), but there is a section of measurements that do not require a surveyor and for which drone images are better matched. I like to quote a declaration from a landscaper I spoke to last week: ‘if I have to hire a surveyor to measure this garden, I soon lost 400-500 euros, and after that I get a plan that typically lacks things or are wrong and I still need to go back … ‘So it’s rather an enhance the work of a property surveyor and no replacement.”

Release

AiroCollect is presently in use by a little group of users. The main launch will occur on 5 August. In August and September, Airobot arranges a demo occasion focused on the garden sector, in which garden enthusiasts and landscapers get a demonstration of flying a drone and the use of the software application. The legal structure is also discussed.