A Comparison of Volumetric Workflows - LP360, PhotoScan and Pix4D

In the last quarter of 2016, we introduced (under our AirGon brand) the Bring Your Own Drone (BYOD) Mapping Kit.  This kit contains all the software one needs to turn a low-cost drone such as a Phantom 4 Pro or an Inspire 2 with x4s camera into a serious mapping platform. Our presales technical team is sometimes asked the question “My application is fairly simple volumetric computations.  If I have Pix4D or PhotoScan, why do I also need LP360?”  My folks asked me for a quick summary to use when discussing this topic.  I think it is a pretty good question and worthy of adding to our general discussion papers.  This discussion is rather extensive but it does contain a summary workflow capabilities table at the end (Table 1). The quick answer is somewhat similar to the question – “I am going to routinely overhaul engines.  I have this nice adjustable wrench I can make fit just about anything.  Why do I need this set of wrenches, sockets, extensions….?”  All of us who have done a bit of mechanical or home work would laugh at this question.  We know that the difficulty of a job is inversely related to the quality of one’s tools (in fact, the job is often our excuse for getting that new tool we have been wanting!).  Doing analytic workflows is analogous – you may get the job done without the proper tools but it is going to be painful, long, involve a number of choice “plumbing words” and the finished product may be more than a bit rough round the edges.  Folks who care about time and quality get the proper tools for the job. Read Complete Article: A Brief Comparison of Volume Tools