Creating Digital Twins with Pix4D Scan and Pix4D Inspect

In this video I take you step by step through my first experience using Pix4D Scan and Pix4D Inspect to create a 3D model, or "digital twin", of a cell tower using a DJI Phantom 4 Pro v2 drone to fly the mission and capture images.
I show you how to use Pix4D Scan to plan your mission, set flight parameters, and execute data acquisition. I also cover things I liked about using Pix4D Scan as well as things that were a bit confusing to a first time user.
Next I show you how to upload your data into Pix4D Inspect for processing into a sophisticated data product you can deliver to your clients for inspection and other uses.
I show you a quick results comparison between Pix4D Inspect and the "lite" version of Pix4D that Measure Ground Control uses as well as cover the per project cost of using Pix4D Scan and Pix4D Inspect.
I hope you find this video useful. Please don't forget to like and subscribe. And fly safe!

[@jaseking6560]

Mate what an excellent video and breakdown .. thankyou for your time

[@WildWonderfulWeekends]

Thanks Jase! Much appreciated my friend.

[@trentbarnes6022]

Excellent job explaining this. I just started using Measure and Ground Control to see if it would work for me but now after seeing this I can tell that I’m missing out on some key features and a clearer detailed image if I go with Pix4d directly.

[@WildWonderfulWeekends]

Hi Trent, you're exactly right. MGC and Pix4D can give you a usable model but Pix4D Scan/Inspect produce models that are in a whole different quality bracket. Safe flying my friend!

[@bmoore493]

Great demo! Thanks for the work here to create the video for KZbin

[@WildWonderfulWeekends]

Thanks for the kind feedback... very much appreciated!

[@Sew_Country]

Very informative!

[@WildWonderfulWeekends]

Thanks! My audio is kinda terrible in this video, I'm not sure what happened.

[@souzaeq]

I`m in a home inspection (facade) small business. Really liked the digital twin for reporting issues and reports for customers. I don`t have the necessity for asset managing. Whatou would be the ideal drone/software to work under this scenario? Most of soft. aims asset management and have prohibitive prices for small business inspection. Great Video!

[@WildWonderfulWeekends]

That is a great question and you are absolutely correct; most of the drone software available today is prohibitively expensive. My operation is small as well and this has been one of the biggest challenges I face. There are affordable options out there but they just do not perform as well as the more popular and specialized offerings. Most of the work I currently do is basic photography/videography and mapping. For this I use DroneDeploy's flight app (which is free) and Measure Ground Control (which is relatively affordable and uses Pix4D's processing engine) to deliver data products to my clients. For facade capture I would probably go with Pix4D Scan and Inspect. I believe this can still be purchased on a per-project basis for about $60 and roll that cost up into what I charge the client. Here's a link to the Pix4D software: www.pix4d.com/pricing/?tab=cloud

[@Themachinewon]

Now a Year later ! Whats your thoughts ? I'm interested in getting into cell tower inspection. Any adviice as to how you got into the business ? Glad to see a end user doing a useful video. All the rest on the web is sales pitches.

[@WildWonderfulWeekends]

Thanks for the kind feedback on my video! Ironically, very shortly after making this video I was pushed out of the cell tower inspection scene by a new company that expanded into my area and pretty much took over that niche. On top of that, with all the mistrust surrounding DJI and capturing data they shouldn't, I've lost a LOT of my infrastructure work too. I'm revamping the services I offer now to be tailored toward events (weddings, parties, etc), adventure photography / videography, and real estate including virtual tours.

[@aethos0]

Yea…. I was doing tons of a cell tower 3dmodels/inspections a couple years ago. A lot of the work has dried up :/

[@WildWonderfulWeekends]

@@aethos0 I know just what you mean. The landscape is still changing in this field... pretty quickly, too.

[@ParkerHarrington]

Great video. Can this be used for facade capture? Like doing a vertical Ortho?

[@WildWonderfulWeekends]

Thanks, I appreciate you checking it out. Yes, there is a mission option for capturing rectangular structures for 3D modeling. I didn't experiment with it so I'm not sure how well it does but given the quality of Pix4D's software in general, I would bet it is good.

[@Mixxwizard]

Quick question, now that you mentioned you get the best bang for the buck using those two software together. Will you be using Measure Ground control much anymore?

[@WildWonderfulWeekends]

Great question, I definitely will, but probably more so for orthomosiac mapping than digital twin creation.

[@Mixxwizard]

It's nice how Measure ground control is a all in one mapping software. But It's missing the Pix4D clear scanning in 3D. As well as how Drone deployed is a little more accurate on stockpile measurements from a software base. Without using a RTK system with real ground points. Thanks for this video, now you have given the drone mapping community something else to consider🤔🤣

[@WildWonderfulWeekends]

@@Mixxwizard lol... You're right! It would be nice to have one really well-rounded app (and drone) that could cover all the bases.

[@lgm-drone-fpv]

Merci pour cette vidéo maintenant je suis convaincu par Pixd4d

[@WildWonderfulWeekends]

Thank you for watching! Happy flying!

[@tkin73]

Can you measure the metal elements of tower and export autocad drawing

[@WildWonderfulWeekends]

I don't have first hand experience doing this, but I believe AutoCad can import LAS files, which the 3D model exports to. I do not know if measurements are somehow attached as usable data.

[@devinreed4720]

As part of a company that does tower mappings and inspections themselves, I have a question about this software. At a conference in which we saw Pix4D, they told us the measurements were within 1/16 of an inch. Can you confirm this? If so, it'd mean we'd never have to climb a tower again haha!

[@WildWonderfulWeekends]

Wow, yes, that would be pretty incredible. I cannot personally confirm that accuracy, I've only ever been in on the data capture side of things, not so much the analysis. But I would imagine that would require a drone with RTK capabilities.

[@devinreed4720]

Gotcha, thanks for the info!@@WildWonderfulWeekends

[@tomatojet9495]

tower inventory ai takes too long to turn green antennas are not yet identinfied in my inventory

[@tomatojet9495]

can you help me how to fix it'

[@WildWonderfulWeekends]

Hello my friend, unfortunately there are a lot of links in the chain from capture to processing that could cause problems with the model and component recognition. Drone compatibility, most recent firmware / software, conditions the images were captured under, malfunctioning GPS or compass... your best bet would most likely be to contact Pix4D and let them know what's going on. They can take a look at your data and help figure things out. Good luck to you!!