3DR Launches UAS Ground Control Point App

By Mike Ball / 01 May 2018

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Construction site drone

3DR, developers of the Site Scan drone software platform for construction and engineering professionals, have announced the release of 3DR GCP, an Android app enabled by the Trimble Catalyst on-demand Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) service that allows Site Scan users to capture and use ground control points (GCPs) on commercial drone projects.

Instead of having to export ground control point data files and manually upload them into Site Scan, 3DR customers can use 3DR GCP to quickly capture ground control points and automatically transfer them to their corresponding projects in the Site Scan cloud for georeferencing and processing. This makes it easy for any Site Scan user to create accurate drone maps and models of their projects.

3DR GCP is enabled by Trimble Catalyst, a software-defined GNSS receiver and on-demand positioning service for Android phones and tablets. Developed by Trimble, a provider of geospatial positioning solutions, the service uses a small, lightweight, plug-and-play digital antenna to deliver high-quality satellite data to the 3DR GCP app running on the user’s Android device. The service is available as a monthly subscription, which unlocks a range of precision levels from meter to only a few centimeters. Users go on-site, plug the Catalyst DA1 antenna into their Android device, launch 3DR GCP, and capture ground control points at the level of accuracy enabled by their Catalyst subscription.

“3DR GCP provides our customers an end-to-end, cloud-based ground control point workflow from the field to the office,” said Chris Anderson, CEO, 3DR. “With this app, we’ve closed the loop on ground control points by making one simple, connected workflow from start to finish.”

“Trimble is excited for 3DR to join our ecosystem with the launch of 3DR GCP,” said Gareth Gibson, business development manager for Trimble Catalyst. “With this innovative ground control app, 3DR is making it easier than ever for their customers across the world to create accurate, reliable drone maps and models and better capture their projects.”

Posted by Mike Ball Mike Ball is our resident technical editor here at Unmanned Systems Technology. Combining his passion for teaching, advanced engineering and all things unmanned, Mike keeps a watchful eye over everything related to the unmanned technical sector. With over 10 years’ experience in the unmanned field and a degree in engineering, Mike’s been heading up our technical team here for the last 8 years. Connect & Contact

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