AirGon LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the GeoCue group, has announced the AV-900 Metric Mapping Kit, which includes a custom 5-rotor UAV and virtually all other components and software needed for small-area photogrammetric mapping.
In a release, AirGon positions the kit as a solution to the abundance of choices on the market. The GeoCue group has leveraged its knowledge to supply all the appropriate technology for small-area photogrammetric mapping. “We have spent a considerable amount of research and development selecting what we think is just the right platform,” the company explains. They selected autopilot, telemetry radios and other kit materials “to enable repeatable and reliable mapping operations.”
The complete kit is priced at just under $30,000 and includes four full days of training. The kit does not include the survey equipment needed to place ground control points or the laptop on which to run the software. However, the company does offer recommendations for a high-end laptop PC.
Here are the details of the base kit as advertised by AirGon:
• AV-900 hexcopter sUAS (based on the DJI-S900 frame) equipped with a PX4 autopilot. This is an AirGon design, integrated in our assembly laboratory.
• Navigation grade GNSS
• Mission Planning software
• Autopilot software
• High capacity battery for 20 minute flight durations
• NEX-5T camera
• 2 axis gimbal camera mount
• Autopilot controlled waypoint camera triggering system
• Battery charging system
• Pelican carrying case with custom foam inserts for the AV-900
• Agisoft PhotoScan software for point cloud and orthophoto generation suitable for base data preparation for volumetric analysis (an upgrade to Pix4D is available for customers needing more advanced base mapping products such as bare earth orthophotos)
• LP360 for sUAS software for QC, point cloud cleanup, volumetric analysis and derived product generation
• 4 days of training (travel expenses not included).
