Pix4D with PV2+, anyone else?

[samd012]

So I decided to give the Pix4D app a try. I took it to a school building that was in a pretty wide open area. I wanted to see how it worked before a tried to do my house which has a lot of trees around . The flight was almost like running a ground station flight. I used a Nexus 7, which I connected to a hotspot to download the imagery for the area I was in while on site. All that needs to be done is place a box on the area you want the quad to grid (it is adjustable) hit "start mission, next and hold start" for 3 seconds. One significant difference from ground station is when the quad takes off it goes straight up until it gets to altitude then flies to the starting point then starts the grid pattern. You do not have to touch the remote at all. You can watch the progress of the quad along the grid in the app in realtime. One thing that I did not expect was that the quad stayed in motion while taking pictures. With the amount of time the shutter takes I thought that was odd. The only pauses were at turns. I did a grid of 100x100. The app took 56 photos and created a file with all the geotag data. Looking back I should have widened the grid area to get a better side view.

Overall it was a pretty simple process. Pix4Dmapper needs a pretty beefy computer to run. If anyone would like to give it a try but does not have a computer beefy enough to process the data let me know, if I have the time I can process it for you.
Here was w quick first run of a school building.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByxMKX ... sp=sharing

 

[rodrigo.goncalves]

Very cool review and feedback.
Thank you very much.

Do you have this Fly-Through video hosted in Youtube too?
Can we share it in our channel and tweet your story?

Rodrigo, Pix4D

 

[samd012]

Very cool review and feedback.
Thank you very much.

Do you have this Fly-Through video hosted in Youtube too?
Can we share it in our channel and tweet your story?

Rodrigo, Pix4D

Here is the youtube link. I plan on working on a beginning to end how to video over the next week or so which will have a more comprehensive overview!
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW_3vyqs8rg[/youtube]

 

[samd012]

Here is another attempt, anyone else trying this out?

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKmreHrdXH4[/youtube]

 

[Cyclone]

Here is another attempt, anyone else trying this out?

Got it all installed but waiting for some descent weather to get out.

 

[Narrator]

I don't have a Phantom yet, but I installed Pix4D and tried it out with my Samsung Note, taking pix with GPS data embedded. I did a close circle around my wife's car while it was in the driveway, but it didn't work out. I figure it was maybe due to the small radius not giving enough GPS data. I will try it again with a much larger radius. Can't wait to get my Phantom and try it out.

One question. Do you need to take all pix at roughly the same altitude, or does it help to take them from different altitudes?

 

[samd012]

One question. Do you need to take all pix at roughly the same altitude, or does it help to take them from different altitudes?

It is my understanding that having a good overlap is what is most important with the images. I have no idea about the distance though.

 

[lsteigerwalt]

Is it possible for us to upload these images via a .kml file so we can see them on google earth? I like the idea of it...just wondering why it costs so much..if it was more affordable I think they would sell more copies and probably make more money in the long run...little money over longer period equals more money than a few one time purchases. I plan on trying it this week.

 

[npalen]

http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae24 ... ture_1.jpg.
http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae24 ... ture_2.jpg

Some screenshots of a PIX4D that I did recently: The sun is rather low in the southern sky making for the long shadows. Probably should shoot on an overcast day? Interesting that tree branches don't always show up but the shadows do. I'm able to draw polylines and surfaces but unable to measure them, probably not available in this demo version? Not sure what causes the "black holes" in the ray cloud.
This is very exciting stuff. The full version software is prohibitively expensive but I could see someone who owns the software offering a custom mapping service.

Edit: The black object in the middle of the yard is the case for the Phantom.
Edit: I'm having difficulty picking and recording way points for fly thru animation. Anyone have this problem?
Edit: The pictures for the project didn't want to download correctly to my Samsung Galaxy TAB4 (tablet) so I used the SD card from the camera for the data. (P2V+)

 

[MapMaker53]

I'm disappointed that the resolution and detail isn't better. Certainly not as clean as in the demo video. I don't think the free app will cut it for my type of work, but it looks like something I'll play with a bit. Might eventually invest in a pro version if the pro quality improves.

 

[Pix4D_support]

I don't have a Phantom yet, but I installed Pix4D and tried it out with my Samsung Note, taking pix with GPS data embedded. I did a close circle around my wife's car while it was in the driveway, but it didn't work out. I figure it was maybe due to the small radius not giving enough GPS data. I will try it again with a much larger radius. Can't wait to get my Phantom and try it out.

One question. Do you need to take all pix at roughly the same altitude, or does it help to take them from different altitudes?

Hi Narrator,

Thanks for your interest of Pix4Dmapper!

Sometimes the geo-information from mobile GPS may not be accurate enough.
For example, you may see in Project=>Image Properties Editor, some images share the same geolocation.
If that is the case, we would suggest that you click "Clear" in the Geolocation and Orientation Tab to disable the software from using the GPS, and make the Image Coordinate System "Arbitrary".
Please feel free to rerun the project without the GPS
(By saying the above, I was assuming that there was not too much light reflection or other issues in the images)

Lisa, Pix4D

 

[Pix4D_support]

I don't have a Phantom yet, but I installed Pix4D and tried it out with my Samsung Note, taking pix with GPS data embedded. I did a close circle around my wife's car while it was in the driveway, but it didn't work out. I figure it was maybe due to the small radius not giving enough GPS data. I will try it again with a much larger radius. Can't wait to get my Phantom and try it out.

One question. Do you need to take all pix at roughly the same altitude, or does it help to take them from different altitudes?

Hi Narrator,

It would be nice if you may keep the images roughly at the same altitude.

If there is a large difference in altitude among the images, I listed two conditions as examples:
1. Large difference and with nothing in between
One image is 5 meter in front of the car and the next one is 20 meters in front, shooting at the same spot. This will cause issues in image matching since they have very different scales.

2. Complete image sets of 5 meters and 20 meters (both with sufficient overlap):
They may be processed separately and then merge, instead of processing them all together.

Otherwise, the software handles the small differences.
And for flying with the UAV, it captures images every set period of time, and so normally it would not cause such a problem.

Wish you a good start with the Phantom+Pix4Dmapper!
Lisa, Pix4D

 

[Pix4D_support]

Is it possible for us to upload these images via a .kml file so we can see them on google earth? I like the idea of it...just wondering why it costs so much..if it was more affordable I think they would sell more copies and probably make more money in the long run...little money over longer period equals more money than a few one time purchases. I plan on trying it this week.

Hi lsteigerwalt,

Thank you for the question!
Pix4Dmapper Pro does output .kml files and so many other formats. The licnese that bundle with the Phantom is Discovery, which is limited in outputs.
An alternative way would be to upgrade the Pix4Dmapper Licence for the exports

Hope you enjoy using the software!
Lisa, Pix4D

 

[Narrator]

Thanks for the info Lisa.
I tried it the "Arbitrary" way too, with the same result, a 2D image of the rear number plate with some red around it from the rear panel.
I started the project twice and loaded the photos, both times it said that there wasn't sufficient difference in the GPS data across the pictures, so it removed the values.
I'll try it again on the weekend, with pics taken from a larger radius.
Cheers

 

[Pix4D_support]

Thanks for the info Lisa.
I tried it the "Arbitrary" way too, with the same result, a 2D image of the rear number plate with some red around it from the rear panel.
I started the project twice and loaded the photos, both times it said that there wasn't sufficient difference in the GPS data across the pictures, so it removed the values.
I'll try it again on the weekend, with pics taken from a larger radius.
Cheers

Hi Narrator,

Thanks for your feedback! We hope the second run will be a success.
Please share your opinion with us for the second try and let us know in more details if you need any assistance

Lisa, Pix4D

 

[socrats]

HI,I´m new in the forum but I read a lot in here, I tested the app once and I love it!Good job guys and girl! I just have one question...in naza mode when I need to take control back, if I flip the switch to bottom the phantom will not enter in failsafe mode?When In tryed the app I change to phantom mode...
Greetings from Portugal!

 

[charles4213]

Because Pix4D hasn't yet released an app for iOS, I had to purchase a Samsung tablet to test the software. Tried it today for the first time - and while communication between the tablet and P2V+ was established, the app kept crashing before actually launching. Does anyone have experience with, or heard about issues using an Android tablet rather than a smartphone?

I am very excited about the Pix4D app integration with P2V+ and soon, other platforms (Inspire 1.) Photogrammetry using UAVs is going to be huge, and I intend to add it to the services I offer my clients. Using beta and v1.0 products can be fraught with peril but the potential is just too big for me to NOT jump in with both feet.

 

[socrats]

Here is what I got https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=32 ... =2&theater

Never used a tablet,but I think is not different from a android smartphone...just give it some time,now I remember i try it 2 or 3 times( crashed)...its in beta mode...(Btw i used in phantom mode).