Pix4D Announces Pix4Dmatic for Large-Scale Photogrammetry

Pix4D of Lausanne, Switzerland recently announced Pix4Dmatic, a digital standalone desktop photogrammetry software for accurate and fast corridor and large scale mapping. Demand by professionals for this type of large scale mapping has been high. Previously mapped by aircraft, the types of projects are now mapped and surveyed with drones. Pix4Dmatic can make these projects much easier. 

Pix4D is a Swiss company that develops a suite of software products that use photogrammetry and computer vision algorithms to transform RGB, thermal and multispectral images into 3D maps and models.

Christoph Strecha, Pix4D’s founder and CEO says, “Pix4Dmatic will revolutionize the way corridor and large scale surveys are completed by creating the opportunity for every surveying and mapping professional to achieve high-quality and reliable results.”

Pix4Dmatic now offers support for the large datasets resulting from multiple flights by easily processing over 10,000 images at 20 megapixels without compromising the results’ accuracy. Drone flights beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS), are often considered the next frontier of drone mapping.

The process is now faster and more intuitive with Pix4Dmatic’s intuitive workflow and streamlined processing options. The software also has native compatibility with Pix4Dsurvey to bridge the gap between photogrammetry and CAD. Pierangelo Rothenbühler, Product Owner for Pix4Dmatic, answered some questions for GISCafe Voice:

What customers do you envision will most need Pix4Dmatic?

Pix4Dmatic was built for surveyors and engineering service providers who survey and map large areas or corridor projects. Example applications are large construction sites or road surveys.

Is there anything else like it on the market?

Not that we know of. Pix4Dmatic is easy to use, modern and capable of processing lots of images. The competitors are more mostly difficult to use and slower.

Can you offer a more detailed explanation of drone flight beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS)?

A BVLOS flight enables you to cover a larger area in a given time frame. Potentially making certain applications much more attractive than today. For example, covering transmission or distribution lines with a drone flight, or long railway corridors. Today, these would require multiple smaller drone flights, which often restricts the usage of drones to more localized use cases or requires additional work. Note that the practice of BVLOS flights heavily depends on the regulation in a given country and for the moment only a handful of companies have such an authorization. This would be one of the next frontiers for commercial drone applications for which we want to be ready.

How will Pix4Dmatic impact the ability to use these larger datasets?

Pix4Dmatic makes processing large datasets straightforward while keeping the control on the process and the accuracy. Pix4Dmatic is faster but also more reliable than existing software, our aim is to reduce the time it takes for getting deliverables and make the entire process more robust. In addition, a native integration with Pix4Dsurvey makes it easy to get manageable file sizes for CAD and GIS workflows. This addresses the major pain points we found for processing large datasets with previous standards: cumbersome workflow, long waiting time, trade-offs on accuracy, uncertainty of completion and unmanageable file sizes.

Has Pix4Dmatic been available for government customers prior to this commercial release?

Pix4Dmatic was made available to all customers at the same time.

What is the technology behind Pix4Dmatic?

The software and the algorithms were all developed in-house by Pix4D.

What customers do you envision will most need Pix4Dmatic?

Pix4Dmatic was built for surveyors and engineering service providers who survey and map large areas or corridor projects. Example applications are large construction sites or road surveys.

Is there anything else like it on the market?

Not that we know of. Pix4Dmatic is easy to use, modern and capable of processing lots of images. The competitors are more mostly difficult to use and slower.

Tags: cloud, data, geospatial, GIS, imagery, Infrastructure, laser scanner, LiDAR, mapping, mobile, mobile mapping, Pix4D, satellite imagery

Categories: Big Data, climate change, cloud, data, disaster relief, drones, emergency response, geospatial, GIS, lidar, location based sensor fusion, location based services, location intelligence, mobile, photogrammetry, satellite imagery, spatial data, survey, UAS, UAV, UAVs

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