AeroPoints (Ground Control Points) - Anyone use them?

[Nitz]

I was at a conference and saw a company called Propeller talking about these self-contained Ground Control Points. I'm curious if anyone has tried them or can review them and see any obvious issues.

AeroPoints: Ground Control Points for Drone Surveys | Propeller

 

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For $6000 a set I'd just buy an RTK setup instead and shoot my own control points; it's far more practical.

 

[Moosewax]

I worked for a guy recently who used like 12 of them on a 200 acre project that he photographed with a P4Pro.

Our lead surveyor was impressed with the accuracy of the ortho. But I don't have any hard numbers unfortunately :/

WAY better than just using the onboard GPS though.

 

[R Martin]

I was at a conference and saw a company called Propeller talking about these self-contained Ground Control Points. I'm curious if anyone has tried them or can review them and see any obvious issues.

AeroPoints: Ground Control Points for Drone Surveys | Propeller

We've been using them for about five months now and I rarely break the Geo7X out any more. I've attached the latest flights CP report so you can gauge the accuracy somewhat. Best $6K I spent last year.

 

[Moosewax]

We've been using them for about five months now and I rarely break the Geo7X out any more. I've attached the latest flights CP report so you can gauge the accuracy somewhat. Best $6K I spent last year.

Thanks for sharing R Martin!

 

[Nitz]

We've been using them for about five months now and I rarely break the Geo7X out any more. I've attached the latest flights CP report so you can gauge the accuracy somewhat. Best $6K I spent last year.

Wow, that’s awesome Thanks for sharing!

 

[R Martin]

Wow, that’s awesome Thanks for sharing!

I guestimate they save me about an hour a flight and they are a lot more accurate than my GPS.

 

[Dave Pitman]

We've been using them for about five months now and I rarely break the Geo7X out any more. I've attached the latest flights CP report so you can gauge the accuracy somewhat. Best $6K I spent last year.

$6k for the hardware, but you also need to pay them (forever) to process, correct?

 

[R Martin]

$6k for the hardware, but you also need to pay them (forever) to process, correct?

If you buy the Propeller platform (their software) processing is free. If not, it cost $600.00 per year after the first year. That is my understanding. Talk to one of the reps because that may be wrong.

 

[Dave Pitman]

If you buy the Propeller platform (their software) processing is free. If not, it cost $600.00 per year after the first year. That is my understanding. Talk to one of the reps because that may be wrong.

I didn't contact them, but an authorized dealer has the following on their sales page:

Every AeroPoints purchase includes 12 months of unlimited processing and corrections.

I would guess after that you have to pay annually.

 

[R Martin]

I didn't contact them, but an authorized dealer has the following on their sales page:



I would guess after that you have to pay annually.

Like I posted above....$600.00 a year.

 

[Dave Pitman]

Like I posted above....$600.00 a year.

You said if you buy the platform it is free otherwise $600 a year. But even if you buy the platform, it is $$ after the first year.

For those that are willing to DIY, you can assemble a kit of 10 units using Emlid Reach modules for under $3k and by using free copies of a CORS network log, you can PPK process the data yourself for free, forever. If you're making big $$, or have someone else to fund your purchase and subscription fees, then it may not be worth it to do it yourself. The AeroPoints do use a faster L2 receiver where as the Emlids are L1.

 

[R Martin]

You said if you buy the platform it is free otherwise $600 a year. But even if you buy the platform, it is $$ after the first year.

For those that are willing to DIY, you can assemble a kit of 10 units using Emlid Reach modules for under $3k and by using free copies of a CORS network log, you can PPK process the data yourself for free, forever. If you're making big $$, or have someone else to fund your purchase and subscription fees, then it may not be worth it to do it yourself. The AeroPoints do use a faster L2 receiver where as the Emlids are L1.

Like I said, you might want to talk to a rep. They told me before I purchased them that if you buy the accompanying software the service was at no charge. I did not need the software as I am well-equipped in that department, so my annual price is $600.00 for their processing service (I use the CORS method because I'm less than a mile from a base station).

 

[Surveyflyer]

I found this intriguing. Our projects require a lot more than just contour lines and line work. We use RTK for initial control, basis of bearings and elevations, invert elevations, panel control verifications etc.
Using the 3D Survey panels is quick, easy and reusable.
Not saying this is a bad investment. Just can't see this for us.

 

[Moosewax]

I worked for a guy recently who used like 12 of them on a 200 acre project that he photographed with a P4Pro.

Our lead surveyor was impressed with the accuracy of the ortho. But I don't have any hard numbers unfortunately :/

WAY better than just using the onboard GPS though.

Talked to my lead surveyor again, so at this time we are not interested in these. That ortho I mentioned still had areas upto 1.5ft off.

Or current setup gets us a consistent 1/10th foot absolute accuracy at 400ft AGL or better with control. We use a Sony A6000 as our mapping camera.

The neat thing is we can also process our photos to go into traditional stereo photogrammetry so they can be mapped in stereo by a photogrammetrist.

Without control we still get way better than 1.5ft.

We use a PPK setup and post process for our geotags. Which is a bit more office work but we have been using it for several years now and trust the results and reliability.

 

[jjkowals]

Talked to my lead surveyor again, so at this time we are not interested in these. That ortho I mentioned still had areas upto 1.5ft off.

Or current setup gets us a consistent 1/10th foot absolute accuracy at 400ft AGL or better with control. We use a Sony A6000 as our mapping camera.

The neat thing is we can also process our photos to go into traditional stereo photogrammetry so they can be mapped in stereo by a photogrammetrist.

Without control we still get way better than 1.5ft.

We use a PPK setup and post process for our geotags. Which is a bit more office work but we have been using it for several years now and trust the results and reliability.

Can you tell us your setup? Specifically what PPK system you’re using.

Thanks!

 

[Moosewax]

Can you tell us your setup? Specifically what PPK system you’re using.

Thanks!

We are using the VMAP system. It mounts to the UAV of your choice. Multirotor or fixed wing.

V-Map precision mapping with drones

Oliver Volkmann who builds and supports these provides great customer support and is a great person to work with. Highly recommended.

I think it is around $10,000 to get setup but I don't know for sure, it is the number I have heard tossed around. That would be for a base and the air unit. If you already have a trimble base or something similar you could use that and save some money.

His setup integrates with Pixhawk systems, however you can carry it on a DJI. Essentially you are carrying a pixhawk on your DJI and the pixhawk handles the camera system such as camera triggering and logging photo events.

As far as using Structure From Motion (SfM) software like Pix4D you can build great and accurate orthos off using VMAP.

For bringing the photos into traditional stereo mapping software like Summit DAT/EM, that I can't talk much about, we do some extra processing and its currently our secret sauce. We don't know of too many people doing that.

Also Oliver does have an add-on that let's you shoot your own ground control points in.