Pix4d generate volume report

PIX4Dcloud PIX4Dcloud Feature Request
1

 I have been asked by drone deploy’s management to try their product.

Now don’t get me wrong here, I’m dedicated to Pix4d. 

However, I have to admit D.D. does have a very professional looking and very easy to use report function.

One click and I have a link to send to my entire team, a volume report. It’s fast and reliable.

PIX4D NEEDS this.

One of Pix4ds largest downfalls is the size of generated files and the utter difficulty it is trying to share that data with team members - who do not want to download the pix4d desktop app to view my exports. 

A nice PDF report like D.D would be an ideal function, and I’m fairly surprised Pix4d hasn’t provided this critical aspect yet.

 

3 Likes
2

Hi Jason,

Thank you for the feedback! Could you share some screenshots of the feature you find especially useful?

Have you had the chance to check the Pix4D Cloud that allows easy sharing between teams?

More in the Can the results be shared? article.

Best,

3

Absolutely.

So there are a couple little things I’ve noticed.

In pix4d, in order to use GCPs, I need to start the desktop app, and then identify my gcps, before uploading the survey to the cloud.

Drone deploy does it a bit different.

You upload your images, then you upload your CSV, you identify 1 of each gcp in a photo.

Then their browser-based software identifies all the other images that have your GCP in them.

The screenshot titled Screen1 shows the area ive flown and the processed data for it.

There are 3 piles there that I had calculated the volume for.

Very similar to Pix4d’s cloud.

But Drone deploy has a little function that makes sharing things a bit easier.

There is a button called share and it gives me a link. (Link at the bottom of the page)

That link can be emailed to my team so they can view and download the volume report themselves.

I haven’t gotten that far in pix4d’s cloud to see if this function is available or not.

But it would be great if the desktop version of pix4d allowed us to export a volume report just like.

 

 

https://www.dronedeploy.com/app2/data/5c0ae9256655e2a0a41b4f42/reports/annotation;jwt_token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzUxMiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJ0eXBlIjoiUmVhZE9ubHlQbGFuIiwiaWQiOiI1YzBhZTkyNTY2NTVlMmEwYTQxYjRmNDIiLCJleHAiOjI1MzQwMjMwMDc5OX0.NBbIQ1b7A4KwGvTRJfmRrqBb87KMmCWQPs_SKAuV_2lHXR8eMhe0J8a44s2uUQwH3eDH8BrMOBsadMM9uMGFFw

 

4

Thank you for the link, it is easier to understand the request now (:

I have forwarded the request to generate a volume report to the team in charge in order to evaluate it and consider implementing it in the future!

At the moment the .pdf report does not exist but you can still share the project with your team and they will be able to see the annotations, in this case, volumes. This can even be done with the edit rights so the other members of the team can add their own annotations if needed and download the measurements as CSV, Shapefile or GeoJSON.

Let us know if you have more ideas for improvement, we will be glad to hear them.

Best,

5

Right on, thanks!

 

And that’s one of the main reasons I’ve stuck with Pix4d;

You guys make an effort to stay engaged with your community. And actually listen to what the constantly evolving demands are in this industry.

It would also be great if we could import line work into our projects.

The ability to display what a design would look like with the current topo.

Autocad Civil 3D doesn’t allow large orthoimages to be brought it. And the time it takes to import 500 tiles is atrocious.

So the ability to bring in .dxf or .dwg lines would be a great feature.

I’m not one for using the cloud. I despise it in fact.

I need to be able to securely file my results and data.

On top of that, the majority of my projects are fairly large. I need results quickly. So uploading everything to the cloud for processing isn’t an ideal solution for myself.

6

Is the last request related to the post about volumes? Could you explain what type of work you would find importing lineworks? This would help put some context around the need for this feature.

As for the Autodesk import issue, we created a post [Desktop] Error “.tif was not found or is not valid” when loading orthomosaic into Autodesk Civil 3D for this topic. 

7

The ability to import lines over top of the triangle mesh or point cloud would be a great addition.

People would be able to show visual support for planning or change over time.

For an easy example. Say I have a stockpile surveyed and want to show the change from last week to now.

To be able to export a .dxf 3d polyline of the base of the pile (like we currently have the ability to do) then bring that export into another Pix4d project, georeferenced, on top of the point cloud or 3d mesh. It will provide people with a quick visual representation of the material change.

I’m just thinking about things that would allow someone like myself to use Pix4d as a one-stop software, that allows us to do the bulk of our daily tasks.

Currently, I’m using Civil 3d 2018, Sketchup and Pix4d for most projects just to be able to provide the necessary data my team needs. 

 

8

Thank you for additional information, now we got a better overview of the requested feature.

I have forwarded it to the team in charge in order to evaluate it, but cannot guarantee if/when this will be implemented. 

Let’s also see if there will be more users commenting and voting for this feature. 

9

Hello Jason,

I hope you and Blaz don’t mind my chiming in. I want to make sure you saw we have a function where the outline of a polygon can be imported to calculate volumes.

https://support.pix4d.com/hc/en-us/articles/204836569-How-to-import-a-Volume-into-Volumes

There are several parameter you want to be mindful of before importing, also I want to point out that this import function is only the outline of the (closed)polygon, the 3D survey point work itself can’t be imported.

10

Thanks Josh,

And yes, I’m familiar with that.

I used the base of a pile just as an example.

Maybe I should have said; to be able to import something like a building design line, into a flown area.

So it can be visualized what that structure would look like in that area. What overburden would need to be removed etc…

11

My name is Eric,

Our pix4d account is registered to my coworker Bob. 

I strongly second Jason’s request.  I work for a senseFly / pix4d reseller.  Better stockpile reporting functionality is something I have been requesting since I first started using pix4d for this type of work.  Ideally the report would show the orthomosaic image with the perimeter of each stockpile outlined and labeled with either a number that relates to a separate index page or perhaps also included the volume in cubic feet and or cubic yards.  Most of our customers want the volumes in cubic yards.  Being able to export that type of report with the click of a button would be incredibly helpful and would be a very big selling point.  The competition (Drone Deploy, Propellor, Kespry, Stockpile Reports, etc.  all have better functionality than pix4d in this area.  

The ability to track a site over time like some of the pix4d BIM functionality would be another big benefit.  

Thanks,

Eric W. 

5 Likes
12

All of our reports that we do especially for stockpile volumes are in cubic yards, it would be great to have an option to calculate your pile volumes in cubic yards.  Where we are processing pile volumes on a weekly basis upwards of 100 piles per week it is an added/ extra step to convert these from cubic feet to cubic yards.  It is a simple calculation but it is an extra step.  When can we see this update become available for the desktop application?  

1 Like
13

Dear David,

As I mentioned in the private answer, Pix4D is aware of the importance of choosing between more measurement units and is constantly working on adding new tools that will improve the processing and analysis of 3D data.

Best,

Teodora

14

I know this post is aged… but I and other people I associate with agree the volume presentation portion needs attention in addition to the other items mentioned above.  We do screen shots and make our own reports… but it would be more professional if we had output options like when doing orthomosaics.

15

Dear Anthony, 

When you say volume presentation, do you mean the articles related to volume measurement?

https://support.pix4d.com/hc/en-us/articles/202559239-How-Pix4Dmapper-calculates-the-Volume

https://support.pix4d.com/hc/en-us/articles/202560739-How-to-measure-Distances-Areas-or-Volumes

Best,

Teodora

16

Just trying to get some movement here…
I’ve read many of these feature requests that revolve around the exporting of volumetric data in almost any form (PDF, CSV, SHP, etc.). These requests go as far back as 2015 as I can tell. So please, can you tell us why this hasn’t been addressed? In response to almost every post, a Pix4d team member asks for more information. Asking for more information seems pointless. This seems like a circular way of putting off development. This is obviously something that is wanted by a large swath of customers but Pix4D has been unresponsive.

17

I too would like to see this addressed in future updates. Our business is growing fast and our workflow/reporting needs to be streamlined. We shouldn’t have to use screen shots and 3rd party software to produce PDF reports. I love your software, but this is an area of weakness compared to your competitors. You should address this as a priority IMO.

18

I get that they’re all at the User Conference this week nut no response to any thread? Is someone at the conference? Can this be brought to their attention?

19

Hello,

I have also a ‘export-problem’. We have about 10 sites that we have to measure 20 or more stockpiles each month. Now we have to use Excel to copy by hand the results of pix4d volume calculating and use a third party software to show which stockpile is nr.1, nr.2,… Every time that we do a drone flight we have to repeat the same thing over and over. We gain a lot of time to do a drone flight and get very accurate results. But we lose a lot of time by manual do the post-processing export…
So my question is: Is it possible that there comes a export button that allows us to do an export to PDF with the following elements:

  • Orthomosaic of the whole site with all the annotations that we have make on one of the first pages
  • Each page below shows 1 annotation.For example:
    o stockpile 1 with the location of the stockpile and the results in m³
    o length of a polyline
    o m² of a polygone…
    o Height of a point
    o Cross section
    o …
    We use Pix4d BIM, so if the export button arrives. Can you integrate it to the Pix4d BIM so that if we share results to other people that they can calculate volumes or define lengths and export this to a PDF?
    Trimble stratus for example has this already, so you can see there how it looks like.
    Thanks for the feedback!
    Kind regards.
20

Hello Gregory,
thank you very much for the detailed feedback. I transferred it to our Development teams who are seriously considering it. We will keep you posted.
Have a great day