A drone survey can be more accurate and detailed than an in-person survey and now, you can order custom flights via Plex-Earth, from within your AutoCAD drawing! Here’s how!
First, here’s why drone adoption in the AEC industry is increasing exponentially- it allows surveyors to operate quicker, safer, and with greater efficiency, covering more areas, in much less time.
Generating 2D orthomosaics, 3D models and maps have become a much easier process, often with a higher degree of precision than traditional surveying methods.
However, arranging a drone flight, means that the engineer has to travel away or bother with the permits and insurances required for professional use, which can take weeks to arrange.
The collaboration between Plex-Earth and Inflights however, solves all these issues, as now you can get your drone deliverables (orthomosaics, point clouds, 3D models) from almost anywhere in the world, within a short time, straight in your computer!
In this tutorial, all the necessary steps for this innovative service are presented.
Step 1. Georeferencing the Drawing
Step 2. Create a Flight and Select a Closed Polyline Boundary for the Area of Interest
Step 3. See the Price and Deliverables
Step 4. Grab the Offer or Get a Quote
Step 5. Receiving the Deliverables
Step 1. Georeferencing the Drawing
Before proceeding with any Plex-Earth feature, the drawing must be georeferenced. This way. the software will be able to identify the actual coordinates of the project.
Step 2. Create a Flight and Select a Closed Polyline Boundary for the Area of Interest
In order to start a drone flight, the user will have to click on the "Create Flight" button, on the "Drones" panel of Plex-Earth's ribbon.
Then, the software will ask for a closed polyline to be selected, which will indicate the boundary of the area that will be surveyed by the drone.
If there is no closed polyline in the drawing, one must be created.
Step 3. See the Price and Deliverables
Once the polyline is selected, a window will pop up, for receiving a quote for your project area.
Click on the "See the price for your project area" button.
You can find below the drone service products we offer:
Standard specifications:
- 3 cm/px resolution
- 3 cm/px horizontal absolute accuracy
- 6 cm/px vertical absolute accuracy
Deliverables:
- Orthomosaics - 2D
- Digital Surface Model - 2.5D
Plus:
- Ground Control Points - 3D
- Point Cloud
If the user any questions to want more information tailored to their needs, click on the “Questions? Talk to us!” button, a specialized agent will reach out via email or for arranging a web call.
Step 4. Grab the Offer or Get a Quote
Once the quote is calculated, then, there will be two possible cases.
A) The software calculates the cost of the flight automatically.
In this case, you can click "Grab our offer", which means that you want to proceed with the payment of the order.
Plex-Earth offers an exclusive discount for its users!By clicking on the button, you will then receive the following message.
By checking your email, there will more information provided for completing the order.
B) The cost of the flight must be calculated manually.
In this case, due to the location or the size of the area, a specific price cannot yet be given to the client.
As such, the user must click on the "Get a quote now!" button.
We will then reach out to our network of qualified pilots to assess the situation and calculate the pricing for you.
As soon as we have a firm quotation available, we will contact you via email with the relevant payment information.
In both cases, once the payment is completed, the client will receive an email confirmation that a flight has been created and a link, with all the necessary details.
Inflights ensures that all legal requirements are met and the user will be updated with all the critical steps of the process.
Finally, the drone flight will take place as soon as possible, to acquire all the measurements defined by the client.
Step 5. Receiving the Deliverables
When the final deliverables are ready, you will be informed via email and will be able to download or view them online, through Inflight's platform.
Conclusion
It is not surprising that so many surveying professionals and organizations are harnessing the power of drones within their sectors. And with this collaboration, between Inflights and Plexscape, ordering a drone flight for accurate terrain information, is extremely easy and quick.
Plex-Earth does all the hard work so that you can focus on what matters the most: your actual design and its construction.
Don't have Plex-Earth yet? Explore all the features and potential benefits of this software; install a fully functional 7-day free trial of Plex-Earth now!
Compatibility includes:
AutoCAD Version: 2024, 2023, 2022 , 2021 , 2020 , 2019 , 2018 , 2017 , 2016
Civil 3D® Version: 2024, 2023, 2022 , 2021 , 2020 , 2019 , 2018 , 2017 , 2016
AutoCAD Architecture Version: 2024, 2023, 2022 , 2021 , 2020 , 2019 , 2018 , 2017 , 2016
BricsCAD Pro: V23, V22 , V21