Our customers are enamored with the data quality seen in True View collections, particularly from True View 3D Imaging Sensors (3DIS®, the True View 410 and True View 6xx systems). These data are exploited in a multitude of ways in our bundled True View EVO post-processing software (included with every sensor). We now have requests to enable the customers of our customers (e.g. a surveying firm’s clients) to have access to these data without the need of investing in new software.
Enter EVO Explorer
EVO Explorer is a new software licensing level we are developing. This will be a free viewer aimed at users who want to review data collected by a True View sensor (including True View Guest Sensors such as the Phantom 4 RTK).
True View EVO Explorer Package
We are adding a function to EVO that will allow a user to generate a True View EVO Explorer package. This package can contain feature, photo and point cloud data. The photos will be encoded with full positional and calibration information, directly in their EXIF packets – we are calling this “True Pose.” The Explorer package will be a compressed zip file.
New Image Explorer Functions
A customer with True View EVO Explorer will be able to import an Explorer package and use the resultant data for project viewing and some basic measurements. The package includes our new Image Explorer functions. This allows the user to click a 3D point such as a LIDAR point (or a feature vertex) and view all of the images that see that point. For example, in Figure 1 I clicked on a roof plumbing vent stack in the profile of the LIDAR view. Image Explorer automatically shows all images that see this point. I have it set to limit the view to the two nearest images. A cross hair of the selected 3D point is projected in each image.
Figure 1 : Image Explorer
Note that the pointing fidelity will be a function of the quality of the camera pose data – very high in a True View 3DIS, lower in a True View 250 (since we are not using a survey grade IMU) and lower still in a Phantom 4 RTK.
I see EVO Explorer as an important addition to the True View ecosystem. Not only does it look cool to review data in such a rich visualization environment but it also adds differentiation for you, our customer. Imagine not only delivering a site survey to your customer but also a data set with viewer that allows your customer to do data exploration.
Elements such as True View EVO Explorer show the value of working with a solutions vendor rather than just a sensor vendor.