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. Select Project Type and Product
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. Select Project Type and Product
Once the polyline is selected, a window will pop up, for choosing the project type.
There are two options at this stage.
A) Terrain is for large-scale projects (3cm resolution). Products:
- Terrain - Photogrammetry
(Digital Surface Model, Digital Terrain Model, Survey Report, Point Cloud, Orthomosaic) - Terrain - Photogrammetry & CAD
(as above, plus a CAD Drawing, which will contain digitizing elements of the area. The elements are defined upon communication with the client)
B) Roof is for small-scale projects, like buildings (1cm resolution). Products:
- Roof - Photogrammetry
(Digital Surface Model, Digital Terrain Model, Survey Report, Point Cloud, Orthomosaic) - Roof - Photogrammetry & CAD
(as above, plus a CAD Drawing, which will contain digitizing elements of the building. The elements are defined upon communication with the client)
After selecting the project type, the available products for each type will be shown.
Alternatively, the “Show All Products” button at the bottom right corner of the same window, will list all the above options.
If the user does not know which product to choose, by clicking on the “Not sure? Talk to experts” 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 desired product is selected, 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 be a payment link 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.
Once the process is completed, again, as in the first step, associated payment information will be sent via email.
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.
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Compatibility includes:
AutoCAD Version: 2023, 2022 , 2021 , 2020 , 2019 , 2018 , 2017 , 2016
Civil 3D® Version: 2023, 2022 , 2021 , 2020 , 2019 , 2018 , 2017 , 2016
AutoCAD Architecture Version: 2023, 2022 , 2021 , 2020 , 2019 , 2018 , 2017 , 2016
BricsCAD Pro: V22 , V21