Drone LIDAR

How to do Strip Adjustment of my Drone Survey Data


STRIP ADJUSTMENT

mdInfinity is a unique data processing software solution that is packaged with either the purchase or rental of drone survey equipment from Microdrones to help you quickly and efficiently process geospatial data.

Microdrones has created a series of videos that take a closer look at the mdInfinity data processing modules to explore why they are important and what benefits they provide.  In this video, we review how to do Strip Adjustment of drone survey data. Watch in the player below or read the following summary.

How does Strip Adjustment Work?

Drone Surveying Equipment collects data by flying in strips with some overlaps for a full coverage of the survey area. However, sometimes data gaps occur within the overlapping strips, resulting in some misalignments in the final deliverable.

The Strip Adjustment module, available through mdInfinity custom services, reinforces the consistency between LiDAR and the survey strips.  In other words, this processing method helps improve the consistency between flight lines and the data you collect. When using a Microdrones LiDAR mapping tool, like the mdMapper1000DG aaS, Strip Adjustment will optimize the measured position of the drone and the angles between the strips to provide a more accurate representation of the data.

Before (top) and after (below) mdInfi nity Strip Adjustment.

When to use Strip Adjustment

Strip Adjustment should be used after the system has had a proper boresight calibration and there are still some misalignments in the georeferenced point cloud. Factors such as wind, temperature and other environmental conditions could impact your trajectory in different ways that could prevent the point cloud from matching. 

The difference may have come through a change in temperature. For example, if the camera is calibrated in 50 degrees, but flies in much lower temperatures, a shift in overlapping could occur. This can be fixed with Strip Adjustment, to correct the overlapping.

The Strip Adjustment data processing module should be used at the end of the georeferencing process, only if there are still some residuals discrepancies in overlapping areas that cannot be explained by other sources of error.

Benefits of Strip Adjustment

Imagine after surveying a construction project, processing the data and viewing the visualization, your results show two, or even three lines where there should be only one. Maybe it’s a roof. Maybe it’s an entire building. This is where the Strip Adjustment module can make a difference by offering numerous options to improve the consistency between lines. Using an advanced optimization engine and a smart tie point selector, position and angles of the drone are adjusted through time to get a perfect matching of the data.

Strip Adjustment enables the user to save time by quickly post-processing the data in mdInfinity Custom Services rather than repeat a mission.   

To learn more about using the Strip Adjustment Data Module in mdInfinity, CLICK HERE to speak with a representative from Microdrones.