Aerial surveys of medium to very large areas are undertaken utilizing helicopters and airplanes. At altitudes ranging from hundreds to thousands of meters, high-resolution images of the Earth's surface are captured (photogrammetry) or a laser is employed to scan the surface to generate a cloud of data points (LiDAR). To meet the high demands and satisfy specific requirements, such as achieving desired ground pixel size across a terrain while minimizing flight time, meticulous planning of flight missions is imperative. The TOPOFLIGHT suite of aerial mapping software products conquer this challenge.
TOPOFLIGHT MISSIONPLANNER is tailored for the complex calculations of optimal flight dispositions in three-dimensional space. TOPOFLIGHT NAVIGATOR comes into play during the data acquisition. NAVIGATOR enables pilots to navigate precisely along the calculated flight lines and, furthermore, ensures that carried sensors trigger at exactly the right times.
For the past two decades, the TatukGIS Developer Kernel (DK) has been an indispensable component of the TOPOFLIGHT software suite. MISSIONPLANNER and NAVIGATOR both employ TatukGIS functionality for the visualization of geospatial information. NAVIGATOR even integrates TatukGIS in its on-board, real-time flight navigation system, where efficient computing is essential.
TOPOFLIGHT integration in a helicopter. Operator's screen on the left features TOPOFLIGHT NAVIGATOR and Riegl's RiAcquire software. On the right side is the pilot’s display.
(Image courtesy of Alto-Drones, Südtirol, Italy - www.alto-drones.com.)
TatukGIS is a trusted solution for addressing numerous geospatial challenges. Ongoing development at TatukGIS is shared with customers via regular DK version releases, enabling continuous enhancement of TOPOFLIGHT products. The TatukGIS support desk plays a significant role in this process by offering excellent assistance and incorporating customer input for improvements. As a example, when the TOPOFLIGHT team recently needed a specific real-time "smooth map rotation" feature, TatukGIS performed this small custom development in short time and added it as an option in the DK, enabling TOPOFLIGHT to expose the desired behavior in its products.
TOPOFLIGHT is used by many companies all over the world for small to huge projects to measure and visualize the earth’s surface. For more information about TOPOFLIGHT products, please refer to www.topoflight.com.
An example flight plan over a small area with key components including planned flight lines,
their coverage, and visualization of the underlying terrain.
Diverse quality control maps can be generated for in-depth analysis and reporting computation results (e.g. image resolution, point densities, and potential safety concerns).
Imaging or LiDAR system selection and settings. with 3D visualization providing a more comprehensive examination of the various settings.
The entry screen provides options to select a recent project or create a new project.