GPS World

Tag: Propeller Aero

  • Propeller Aero and DJI join on PPK drone solution

    Propeller Aero, a cloud-based drone analytics company, is partnering with DJI to create the Propeller PPK Solution leveraging the DJI Phantom 4 RTK drone.

    The solution provides customers in the civil, mining, aggregates and waste management industries with a reliable and fully integrated drone mapping system, helping them collect highly accurate data from any worksite without the challenges of traditional workflows, the companies said.

    The DJI Phantom 4 gathers data at a construction site. (Photo: DJI)
    The DJI Phantom 4 gathers data at a construction site. (Photo: DJI)

    According to Propeller Aero, Propeller PPK Solution is a fully integrated software and hardware system that reliably provides photogrammetric model outputs in geodetic, projected or local coordinate systems.

    The solution provides accuracy of 1/10 feet (3 cm) from independent checkpoints across small and large survey areas (checkpoints up to 1 km from GCPs). To capture surveys of this accuracy, all that is needed is one AeroPoint on the ground (over a known point if working in local coordinates).

    The Propeller PPK Solution has been shown to reduce the time required to complete a drone survey by 70 percent as compared to a traditional workflow using multiple GCPs across a worksite, Propeller Aero said.

    “DJI has led the drone market with their reliable and innovative products, and quickly demonstrated the ability for these machines to become useful tools in the heavy civil and natural resource industries,” said Rory San Miguel, CEO of Propeller Aero. “Globally, these industries are seeing real cost savings and efficiencies through cloud-based analytics and using innovative new technologies like PPK drones combined with AeroPoints. Accurate data is paramount to worksite analytics and Propeller has always been obsessed with helping teams achieve this. We introduced the world’s first smart ground control point, AeroPoints, and now we’ve partnered up with DJI to build an end-to-end PPK solution.”

    On today’s construction sites, lack of project data costs businesses more than $177 billion annually. To help solve this problem, Propeller developed a tightly integrated PPK workflow across the DJI Phantom 4 RTK drone, an AeroPoint, and Propeller’s cloud processing platform that visualizes real-time site data. Surveyors and contractors can Propeller PPK solution to gather verifiable, trustworthy data to help make data-driven decisions and prevent costly mistakes, the companies added.

    “Propeller’s deep expertise in aerial mapping and analytics coupled with DJI’s industry-leading open-platform drone hardware creates a highly accurate turnkey solution,” said Jan Gasparic, director of strategic partnerships at DJI. “We are excited about this partnership because it broadens the use of DJI drones to deliver accurate data at a cost-efficient price point, helping teams better answer questions about site progress and productivity.”

    The complete PPK solution will be distributed through channel partners, including Trimble’s SITECH distribution network. Trimble Stratus, a 3D cloud-based visualization platform developed by Propeller, along with AeroPoints, is already integrated with Trimble Connected Site solutions.

    “The advent of drones in the construction industry has improved efficiencies, and Trimble Stratus users are already benefiting from the ease-of-use and scalability of drone-based surveys,” said Scott Crozier, general manager, Trimble Civil Engineering and Construction. “With the new Propeller PPK Solution and Trimble Stratus software, we’ve seen first-hand how surveyors and contractors can collect aerial survey data in a fraction of the time it used to take, and get repeatable and reliable results.”

  • Komatsu partners with Propeller on drone analytics for construction

    Komatsu America Corp. and Propeller Aero Inc. are partnering to boost the efficiency of construction job sites using drone-powered mapping and analytics software.

    With drones becoming an increasingly common worksite tool, Komatsu has identified aerial mapping and analytics as a key component of its Smart Construction initiative — a range of integrated hardware and software products designed to offer an end-to-end workflow for each phase of construction.

    Komatsu America Corp. spent several years testing various commercial drone mapping and analytics products in North America. In Propeller, Komatsu found a robust product suited to meet the needs of modern construction operations. Propeller expertly balances ease-of-use with survey accuracy and reliability, Komatsu said.

    Propeller’s processing machinery crunches thousands of drone images in hours, and delivers the results as a cloud-based 3D model to the user’s desktop or tablet. From there, powerful collaboration and analysis tools let users perform height, volume and slope calculations, and measure change over time to confirm that a project is on track, the companies said.

    (PRNewsfoto/Propeller Aero)
    (Image: PRNewsfoto/Propeller Aero)

    Propeller’s technology platform supports multiple coordinate systems, including local site calibrations. This allows personnel to capture up-to-date survey data expressed in the specific geospatial coordinates they already use on that job site. Local grid support is crucial for ensuring drone-captured maps and models match up with plans and previous surveys.

    “A Komatsu Smart Construction jobsite by definition is technology enhanced and production optimized,” said Jason Anetsberger, senior product manager at Komatsu America Corp. “Adding Propeller Aero as one of our key partners gives our North American distributors and customers exceptional capabilities to achieve this standard in the aerial mapping space. Propeller combines simple, yet powerful analysis tools with accurate and fast site visualization.”

    “Worksites are starting to see the real business value of accurate, up-to-date drone data,” said John Frost, vice president of business development at Propeller. “We drive that value through workflows that enable everyone to understand who’s moved what material, how much, and where. It’s all about empowering worksites with the information they need to make data-driven decisions to reduce costs, ensure quality, and use resources efficiently. Now more than ever, stakeholders on site, or in the head office miles away, can stay up-to-date with exactly what’s happening on the ground.”

    “Anyone can fly a drone — it’s what you do with the data that makes an impression,” said Chris Faulhaber, smart construction business manager at Komatsu Equipment Co. “Propeller provides fast, accurate data processing via a web platform that is unparalleled. The platform is easy to use, facilitates healthy collaboration and delivers vital information quickly — so everyone can work together better and faster than anticipated.”

  • DJI joins Propeller Aero on turnkey solutions

    DJI joins Propeller Aero on turnkey solutions

    See also Propeller Aero’s ground-control points aim for UAV accuracy.

    Drone-maker DJI has partnered with UAV software company Propeller Aero to launch an integrated solution to reduce costs, improve safety and drive operational efficiency in the construction and mining industries.

    The partnership integrates DJI’s commercial-grade aerial platform, the Matrice 100, with Propeller’s cloud-based software specifically designed for surveying and inspection.

    The solution provides enterprises and commercial UAV operators a simplified, quick and efficient way to automate operations and access data. It will enable businesses to accurately perform site measurements and volumetrics and share data seamlessly with just a few clicks, the companies said.

    Rory San Miguel (left) and Francis Vierboom, co-founders and CEOs of Propeller Aero, display the new Aeropoints product. (Photo: Propeller Aero)
    Rory San Miguel (left) and Francis Vierboom, co-founders and CEOs of Propeller Aero, display the new Aeropoints product. (Photo: Propeller Aero)

    Sydney Start-Up. Propeller Aero was founded in 2013 in Sydney, Australia, when Rory San Miguel and Francis Vierboom first got hooked on drone technology. They wanted to bring drones to industries like mining and construction, where they thought the technology was really going to “grow up.”

    They set about joining Australia’s regulated drone industry by applying for their drone pilot licenses. While waiting for the paperwork, they created an online app to share data from their trial flights.

    Figuring out the best ways to process, visualize and use UAV data ended up being more exciting to San Miguel and Vierboom than actually flying the drone.

    Propeller Aero provides cloud-based software that streamlines data processing and simplifies the way data is used and shared. The software package provides web-based geospatial data processing, analytics and instant volumetric calculations for a range of professional applications. It has been adopted by commercial drone operators and enterprise clients in 60 countries.

    Deploying UAVs for surveying and inspection can reduce costs, minimize workplace hazards and improve operations, especially for businesses that operate in quarries, construction sites and asset infrastructure.
    “Being from Australia, Propeller Aero has had the considerable advantage of developing alongside the industries that have been using commercial UAVs since 2002,” said Michael Perry, DJI’s director of strategic partnerships.

    DJI’s Matrice 100. The Matrice 100 platform has DJI’s technology built in, including GPS, the flight controller, the propulsion system, DJI Lightbridge, a dedicated remote controller and a rechargeable battery. The system automatically manages complex tasks required for flight.

  • Propeller Aero’s ground-control points aim for UAV accuracy

    Propeller Aero’s ground-control points aim for UAV accuracy

    Aeropoints are desgined for for companies across the industrial sector — including mining, construction, quarries and landfills.
    Aeropoints are desgined for for companies across the industrial sector — including mining, construction, quarries and landfills.

    Propeller Aero has introduced AeroPoints — smart ground-control points designed to make it easy to capture survey­accurate mapping using drones.

    The patent-­pending technology provides a simple solution to a major roadblock to widespread commercial drone adoption: accuracy.

    Typical ground control requires establishing precise geolocation position using surveying equipment, and then securing a visible ground marker exactly on the pre­-marked GPS point.

    AeroPoints are portable ground-control markers, visible from the air and capable of quickly capturing their own positions down to 2-centimeter absolute accuracy.

    AeroPoints work with any camera or drone, and integrate seamlessly with Propeller’s cloud­-based data platform and processing engine (see above story). They’re solar­-powered, durable and weather­ resistant, and they don’t require any on­site connection.

    To use AeroPoints, customers simply lay them down, fly their drone, and then pick them up again. They automatically connect to a wireless or mobile hotspot when back in range to upload captured positional data — and precision georeferencing is done.

    See also DJI joins Propeller Aero on turnkey solutions.