Pix4D is a Swiss software company that specializes in terrestrial and drone photogrammetry mapping software. It was founded in 2011 as a spinoff from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Computer Vision Lab in Switzerland.[1] It develops a suite of software products that use photogrammetry[2][3] and computer vision algorithms to transform DSLR, fisheye, RGB, thermal and multispectral images into 3D maps and 3D modeling.[4][5] The company has 7[6] international offices, with its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.
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Developer(s) | Pix4D |
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Initial release | 2011 |
Stable release | 4.8.2
/ September 21, 2022 |
Operating system | Windows, Linux, MacOs |
Available in | EN, ES, FR, DE, IT, JP, KO, zh-CN, zh-TW, RU |
Type | photogrammetry, 3D computer graphics software, computer vision, Point cloud |
License | Proprietary |
Website | pix4d |
Pix4D suite of products includes PIX4Dmapper, PIX4Dfields, PIX4Dcloud, PIX4Dreact, PIX4Dsurvey, PIX4Dcatch, Pix4Dmatic, PIX4Dcapture Pro, and PIX4Dengine. In April 2021 Pix4D added the viDoc RTK rover, a handheld hardware device, to its portfolio.[7]
Its software lines operate on desktop, cloud, and mobile platforms.[8] PIX4Dmapper has been used to map the Matterhorn mountain in Switzerland,[9] the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil[10] and also the 2018 lower Puna eruption[11] in Hawaii island. Pix4D software uses imagery captured with drones, mobile devices, or planes to recreate scenes in 3D.
10 year anniversary & rebranding
editIn June 2021, Pix4D celebrated its 10-year anniversary. To commemorate the event, Pix4D updated its logo and website styling.[12] The rebranding involved new styles for the logo font and color scheme, as well as updated style formats for product names and color schemes.
Pix4D User Conference
editPix4D launched its first User Conference in 2019.[13] The event was held in October 2019 in Denver, Colorado. It was attended by over 250 people and hosted at the McNichols Civic Center Building. Pix4D announced two new products at the event: PIX4Dreact and PIX4Dsurvey. Apart from keynote speeches by Pix4D staff members, there were also guest presentations by visitors.
As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, no event took place in 2020. In 2021, Pix4D launched a User Conference called "From the Ground Up". The conference was live for 24 hours and included 40 sessions broadcast in 4 languages - English, Japanese, Spanish, and Portuguese. The event consisted of Pix4D product presentations, user keynote talks to demonstrate how people were using Pix4D software, and a Speed Quiz with the Pix4D Training Team.
In 2022, Pix4D hosted 2 User Conference events - 1 in Tokyo[14] and 1 in Denver, Colorado.[15] The structure was similar to the 2019 event.
Languages
editPix4D's website is available in multiple languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, and Portuguese.
The desktop versions of Pix4D software are available in: English, Spanish, Mandarin (zh-CH, zh-TW), Russian, German, French, Japanese, Italian and Korean.
The Cloud versions are available in: English, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Simplified Chinese, Portuguese, and Thai.
The mobile versions of Pix4D software are available in English.
Industries
editThe major industries that Pix4D software is used, are:
- Aerial survey[16]
- Agriculture and Precision agriculture[17]
- Construction[18]
- Cultural heritage[19][20]
- Education[21]
- Energy[22]
- Engineering[23]
- Mapping[24][25]
- Government[26]
- Insurance[27]
- Inspection[28]
- Surveying[29]
- Military[30]
- Mining[31]
- Public safety[32] and Emergency respond[33]
- Research[34]
- Humanitarian aid[35] and Development aid[36]
- Natural resources[37] and Environment[38][39]
- Real estate[40]
- Virtual reality (VR)[41]
References
edit- ^ Mitchell, Michael."EPFL Spinoff Turns Thousands of 2D Photos into 3D Images", EPFL, Lausanne, 9 May 2011. Retrieved on 17 January 2017.
- ^ Britanica, "What is photogrammetry". 2019.
- ^ J. Vallet a / F. Panissod a / C. Strecha b / M. Tracol c (Sep 16, 2011). "Photogrammetric performance of an ultra light weight swinglet "UAV"" (PDF). The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences. 3822: 253–258. Bibcode:2011ISPAr3822C.253V. doi:10.5194/isprsarchives-XXXVIII-1-C22-253-2011.
- ^ Trout, Christopher. “Pix4D Turns Your 2D Aerial Photographs into 3D Maps on the Fly”, “Engadget”, 7 May 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
- ^ Rumpler, M.; Daftry, S.; Tscharf, A.; Prettenthaler, R.; Hoppe, C.; Mayer, G.; Bischof, H. (2014). "Automated End-to-End Workflow for Precise and Geo-accurate Reconstructions using Fiducial Markers". ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences. II3: 135–142. Bibcode:2014ISPAn.II3..135R. doi:10.5194/isprsannals-II-3-135-2014.
- ^ "About Pix4D, the leading photogrammetry software company". Pix4D. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
- ^ "The viDoc RTK rover: survey-grade 3D models with Pix4Dcatch". Pix4D. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
- ^ "Mobile + Desktop + Cloud", "Pix4D". Retrieved 18 January 2017.
- ^ Drone Adventures team. “Matterhorn mapped by fleet of drones in under 6 hours”, 11 January 2018,
- ^ Simonite, Tom. “High-Resolution 3-D Scans Built from Drone Photos”, MIT Technology Review, 19 March 2015. Retrieved on 18 January 2017.
- ^ UH Hilo Team. “Mapping Kilauea's volcanic eruption with drones”, 28 February 2019,
- ^ "10 years of Pix4D: a celebration, and a new logo". Pix4D. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
- ^ "The first ever Pix4D User Conference: Highlights". Pix4D. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
- ^ "Pix4D announces User Conference in Tokyo in June 2022". Pix4D. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
- ^ "Highlights of the Pix4D 2022 User Conference in Denver". Pix4D. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
- ^ Sirguey, Pascal; Boeuf, Julien; Cambridge, Ryan; Mills, Steven (Aug 18, 2016). Evidences of Sub-Optimal Photogrammetric Modelling In RPAS-based Aerial Surveys (PDF).
- ^ F. Bachmann, R. Herbst, R. Gebbers, V.V. Hafner (Sep 2, 2013). Micro UAV based georeferenced orthophoto generation in VIS+NIR for precision agriculture (PDF).
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)[dead link] - ^ Shahab Moeini, Azzeddine Oudjehane, Tareq Baker, Wade Hawkins (Aug 8, 2017). Application of an interrelated UAS - BIM system for construction progress monitoring, inspection and project management1 (PDF).
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Juergen Landauer, ResearchGate Automating Archaeological Documentation with Robotics Tools. April 1, 2019.
- ^ Juergen Landauer, ResearchGate Towards automating drone flights for archaeological site documentation. Sep 1, 2018.
- ^ Khaula Alkaabi, Abdelgadir Abuelgasim (Sep 8, 2019). Applications of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Technology for Research and Education in UAE (PDF).
- ^ Áthila Gevaerd Montibeller (July 1, 2017). Estimating energy fluxes and evapotranspiration of corn and soybean with an unmanned aircraft system in Ames, Iowa.
- ^ Raid Al-Tahir (Sep 2, 2015). Integrating UAV into geomatics curriculum (PDF).
- ^ Christoph Strecha, Olivier Küng, Pascal Fua (Feb 10, 2012). Automatic mapping from ultra-light uav imagery (PDF).
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Jakub Markiewicz, Dorota Zawieska MDPI Markiewicz, Jakub; Zawieska, Dorota (Feb 1, 2019). "The influence of the cartographic transformation of TLS data on the quality of the automatic registration". Applied Sciences. 9 (3): 509. doi:10.3390/app9030509.
- ^ Hyung Taeck Yoo, Hyunwoo Lee, Seokho Chi, Bon-Gang Hwang, Jinwoo Kim (Mar 3, 2016). "A Preliminary Study on Disaster Waste Detection and Volume Estimation based on 3D Spatial Information". Computing in Civil Engineering 2017. pp. 428–435. doi:10.1061/9780784480823.051. ISBN 9780784480823.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Robin Hartley (May 1, 2017). Unmanned aerial vehicles in forestry – reaching for a new perspective (PDF).
- ^ Dong Ho Lee, Jong Hwa Park (Jun 30, 2019). "Developing Inspection Methodology of Solar Energy Plants by Thermal Infrared Sensor on Board Unmanned Aerial Vehicles". Energies. 12 (15): 2928. doi:10.3390/en12152928.
- ^ Bernhard Draeyer / Christoph Strecha (Feb 2014). How accurate are UAV surveying methods?. S2CID 3110690.
- ^ Major Kijun. Lee (Mar 22, 2018). Military application of aerial photogrammetry mapping assisted by small unmanned air vehicles (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on July 1, 2019.
- ^ Anne Rautio, Kirsti Korkka-Niemi, Veli-Pekka Salonen (Jun 30, 2017). Thermal infrared remote sensing in assessing ground / surface water resources related to the Hannukainen mining development site, Northern Finland (PDF).
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Jae Kang Lee, Min Jun Kim, Jung Ok Kim, Jin Soo Kim, Tri Dev Acharya, Dong Ha Lee MDPI Lee, Jae Kang; Kim, Min Jun; Kim, Jung Ok; Kim, Jin Soo; Acharya, Tri Dev; Lee, Dong Ha (Nov 15, 2018). "Crack Detection Assisted by an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Wonjudaegyo Bridge in Korea". Proceedings. 4: 23. doi:10.3390/ecsa-5-05835.
- ^ Daniel Heina, Steven Bayera, Ralf Bergera, Thomas Krafta, Daniela Lesmeisterb (Jun 9, 2017). "An integrated rapid mapping system for disaster management" (PDF). The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences. 42W1: 499–504. Bibcode:2017ISPAr42W1..499H. doi:10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-1-W1-499-2017.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ H.A. Follas, D.L Stewart, J. Lester (Apr 3, 2016). Effective post-disaster reconnaissance using unmanned aerial vehicles for emergency response, recovery and research (PDF).
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Jingxuan Sun, Boyang, Yifan Jiang, Chih-yung Wen MDPI Sun, Jingxuan; Li, Boyang; Jiang, Yifan; Wen, Chih-Yung (Oct 25, 2016). "A Camera-Based Target Detection and Positioning UAV System for Search and Rescue (SAR) Purposes". Sensors. 16 (11): 1778. Bibcode:2016Senso..16.1778S. doi:10.3390/s16111778. PMC 5134437. PMID 27792156.
- ^ Dustin W. Gabbert, Mehran Andalibi, Jamey D. Jacob (Sep 7, 2015). System Development for Wildfire SUAS.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Lim, Ye Seul; La, Phu Hien; Park, Jong Soo; Lee, Mi Hee; Pyeon, Mu Wook; Kim, Jee-In (2015). "Calculation of Tree Height and Canopy Crown from Drone Images Using Segmentation". Journal of the Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography. 33 (6): 605–614. doi:10.7848/ksgpc.2015.33.6.605. S2CID 130779355.
- ^ E. Prado, F. Sánchez, A. Rodríguez-Basalo, A. Altuna, A. Cobo, ResearchGate Prado, E.; Sánchez, F.; Rodríguez-Basalo, A.; Altuna, A.; Cobo, A. (April 1, 2019). "Semi-automatic method of fan surface assessment to achieve Gorgonian population structure in le Danois bank, Cantabrian sea". The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences. 4210: 167–173. Bibcode:2019ISPAr4210..167P. doi:10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-2-W10-167-2019. hdl:10902/16330.
- ^ Fister, W., Goldman, N., Mayer, M., Suter, M., and Kuhn, N. J, Geographica Helvetica Fister, Wolfgang; Goldman, Nina; Mayer, Marius; Suter, Manuel; Kuhn, Nikolaus J. (Mar 15, 2019). "Testing of photogrammetry for differentiation of soil organic carbon and biochar in sandy substrates". Geographica Helvetica. 74 (1): 81–91. doi:10.5194/gh-74-81-2019.
- ^ Zawieska, D.; Markiewicz, J.; Turek, A.; Bakuła, K.; Kowalczyk, M.; Kurczyński, Z.; Ostrowski, W.; Podlasiak, P. (2016). "Multi-Criteria Gis Analyses with the Use of Uavs for the Needs of Spatial Planning". The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences. 41B1: 1165–1171. Bibcode:2016ISPAr41B1.1165Z. doi:10.5194/isprs-archives-XLI-B1-1165-2016.
- ^ R. J. Stone (2015). Keynote paper: Virtual & Augmented reality technologies for applications in cultural heritage: A human factors perspective. S2CID 16678832.
Further reading
edit- Jonathan L. Carrivick, Mark W. Smith, Duncan J. Quincey (2016) Structure from Motion in the Geosciences, Wiley. p. 81
- Eric Cheng (2015), Aerial Photography and Videography Using Drones, Peachpit Press.
- Antonio M. López, Atsushi Imiya, Tomas Pajdla, Jose M. Álvarez (2017), Computer Vision in Vehicle Technology: Land, Sea, and Air, John Wiley & Sons.