We are excited to announce the upcoming availability of 3D Tower Capture, the latest autonomous capture mode of Skydio 3D Scan optimized for vertical structures, beginning with telecommunications towers.
The new 3D Tower Capture mode brings a series of optimizations designed to make scans of vertically shaped structures - starting with telco towers - even faster and more efficient.
The original 3D Capture mode allows users to efficiently scan complex structures by setting a floor, a ceiling and at least three pillars to define a scan volume. While this is a foolproof way of capturing any structure, regardless of shape, towers have simpler symmetrical shapes around their vertical Z axis. This specific characteristic of a whole category of inspection assets, such as towers, means that we can redefine the way the scan volume is outlined. Instead of flying the drone to set multiple pillars, 3D Tower Capture allows you to define the scan volume as a cylinder through four simple parameters. This streamlined process saves battery life and makes the scan setup much simpler and faster:
Set Floor & Ceiling
Set Center - a single pillar at the center of the tower
Set Radius - large enough to enclose the widest part of the tower
One of the most amazing feats of the general 3D Capture mode is its ability to capture images from every angle by having the drone scan across all axes, X, Y, and Z. However, because tower structures are more standardized in shape, a simpler capture flight plan is also warranted. 3D Tower Capture optimizes by defaulting its flight path to begin at the top or bottom of the tower and fly a spiral path around the Z axis. This intelligent planning reduces the number of images that are captured (while simultaneously preserving user-specified resolution settings), which in turn dramatically decreases your total time spent scanning. By starting the scan from the top of the tower, larger multi-battery scans also become more efficient, because the drone has a shorter distance to fly when it repositions itself after the battery swap.
More reliable photogrammetry processing
When processing free-standing structures in photogrammetry software, one common challenge is the large amount of blue sky included in images that are captured horizontally or looking up. Photogrammetry software heavily relies on texture and contrast, so an excess of textureless blue sky makes the final model less accurate. While the general 3D Capture mode can be fantastic for capturing unprecedented detail from the underbelly of assets, in the case of towers, that often exposes the photogrammetry engine to more sky than necessary.
3D Tower Capture defaults the camera gimbal angle to face downward, ensuring your images only contain important textured surfaces. Enable the X and/or Y scan passes and Skydio will intelligently capture horizontal elements, such as the underside of antennas, without capturing excessive or redundant imagery. The sharp look-down angle of 3D Tower Capture will also increase ground capture which will help anchor the model to global coordinates, especially when using ground control points.
If you are a professional and you want to get your hands on a Skydio with 3D Scan: contact our enterprise sales team: [ Ссылка ]
