Long, narrow alignments

[Pipeliner_USA]

Hey guys, I know this will sound like another "what software should I use" thread but I have a pretty specific application I'm looking for, and after trialing lots of different mapping apps I just can't quite commit to any. Perhaps our young industry is simply going through the glitchy growing pains still.

Anyways, I want to be able to provide a service for flying long and narrow swaths of land (think a several mile ROW stretch). I've tried Drone Deploy, Altizure, Pix4d, and SkyCatch and while they all seem OK for flying a rectangle property, none seem to really offer intuitive and reliable workflows to do long alignments that all connect for deliverable maps and models.

I want to be able to deliver high resolution imagery (orthos) as well as paid features like topography maps and even 3D models (terrain only).

Price isn't an issue, but I want to make sure I spend my money to set myself up for success.

ANY input is appreciated!

 

[r62ewa]

If price isn't an issue than the Sensefly eBee has a new corridor mapping capability. You're looking at $30,000 for the eBee though.

Also, when I tried mapping a corridor type feature I experimented with Pix4D manual flight mode where you set the distance for image trigger and as you fly the drone the images are captured at the correct distance. This of course is more labour intensive but it did work for the experiment I tried.

 

[doktorinjh]

I agree with @r62ewa , the eBee with corridor mapping would be an excellent choice. There are also several other fixed wing options, such as the Trimble UX5, Event38, Tuffwing, FireFly Pro, etc. If you're looking for a flight planning option, you might check out Map Pilot's linear flight planning option. Attached is an example of a stretch of river as an example.

 

[r62ewa]

I agree with @r62ewa , the eBee with corridor mapping would be an excellent choice. There are also several other fixed wing options, such as the Trimble UX5, Event38, Tuffwing, FireFly Pro, etc. If you're looking for a flight planning option, you might check out Map Pilot's linear flight planning option. Attached is an example of a stretch of river as an example.

Excellent. I have used Map Pilot quite a bit but did not realize they had linear flight capabilities. Edit: I guess I knew it had this capability but that it was a purchase, I had forgotten about it as I didn't purchase before. Just purchased it though and looking forward to trying it out.

 

[Phrillseeker]

Have a look at the Litchi app. I bought it recently and it looks to me like it may meet some of your requirements. It is very very easy to use but the combination of simple features allows for complex tasks.