Recent content by Jim Dow

I wonder if DroneLink has any plans to introduce gently curved, convergent, non-traditional (non-linear/non-parallel) flight paths into its mission planning capabilities in order to a) provide a much more diverse view perspective and b) help mitigate the well known Structure-from-Motion doming...

All this discussion is good dialog; but in certain states (Florida, Mississippi, and North Carolina, for instance), there are good ole’ boy surveyors who don’t really embrace new technology they don’t want to learn; but do want to suppress any competition.

I've been adapting my curved flight lines to address long, narrow corridors (electric power transmission corridors). This example was flown using a fixed-wind drone flying at 31mph with a height of 400' AGL. The corridor is approximately a mile long with a width of about 2200'. The target...

OK, so now construct a matrix and find out how to leverage some of the applications across industries.

Well, if you want to try it, just do it. You have a method immediately at hand to check the accuracy of the drone work; and I would definitely check it - as in "making a list and checking it twice". You could easily ruin your drone reputation with erroneous results being conveyed to your...

You can try using curved flight lines to a) minimize the use of GCPs and b) mitigate the SfM doming (elevation) error - see attached image. You should only need 4 to 10 GCPs depending on the size and characteristics of the target area. Also, if you want to gather your own GCPs, I would...

i'm very happy to see that someone else is using curved flight lines to a) provide a superior diversity of views and b) mitigate the SfM doming (elevation) error experienced when traditional (linear/parallel) flight lines are used. Refer to the following independent research: Are we still...

Why should we accept a waypoint limit of 99? There are good practical application-based reasons why we should not accept such an arbitrary limit. Using curved flight lines to a) obtain a superior diversity of views or b) to mitigate the systematic SfM doming (elevation) error are just two...

Regardless of what your client wants or what equipment you use (GPS/RTK/Cameras/Ground Control), you can improve your accuracy and product quality by using curved, non-traditional (non-linear/non-parallel) flight lines to mitigate the well-known systematic SfM doming (elevation) error produced...