Rome, N.Y.-based Microdrones today announced the launch of four new survey equipment systems, which join its “Microdrones as a Service,” or mdaaS, business model. The new systems include 3D mapping and modeling capabilities.

Microdrones grew out of a collaboration between the German inventor of the world’s first commercial quadcopter and a surveying payload and software developer in North America. The company, which has offices in Germany, Canada, France, China, and the U.S., delivers lidar technology and mapping systems developed for surveying, mining, construction, oil and gas, and precision-agriculture applications.

Microdrones Integrated Systems rely on a fully integrated geospatial workflow that enables the company’s software to transform raw data that its equipment collects in the field into valuable, high-quality survey-grade data.

Four new survey drones

The company said it is offering fully integrated survey drones for high-wall mapping and 3D modeling applications. mdMapper3000DμoG 3D aaS is intended to fills a niche where traditional manned aircraft can’t get close enough to a subject to get enough detail for high-end 3D models or high-wall mapping.

“Customers will capture all angles and surfaces via an array of five cameras with dual IMU [inertial measurement unit] direct georeferencing, all integrated into the processing workflow in mdInfinity software,” said Vincent Legrand, vice president of sales at Microdrones. “mdMapper1000DG 3D aaS provides similar 3D and high-wall mapping functionality, but with single IMU direct georeferencing and a smaller drone, to expand the addressable market with a popular price point.”

The newly released mdMapper3000DμoG Oblique aaS adds a fully integrated gimbal to the popular dual IMU direct georeferencing mdMapper3000Dμog system. This provides more opportunity to capture oblique imagery, which is helpful for high-wall mapping and mining photogrammetry applications, said Microdrones.

“We are especially excited about the release of our new mdLiDAR3000LR aaS survey equipment,” stated Vivien Heriard-Dubreuil, CEO of Microdrones. “The ‘LR’ stands for long range. Users will extend their data collection reach from high above or use the laser scanning power to collect extreme point density when flying at lower altitudes.”

All of the company’s drones come with a cloud-based processing of geospatial data, the Tap & Fly tablet app for control, and an encrypted digital data link. They are also resistant to magnetic fields, include integrated cooling covers, and are designed for easy handoff of control and to be able to communicate over extended ranges, said Microdrones.

Microdrones as a service

“Demand for our products and mdaaS has been very strong,” said Legrand. “The B2B [business-to-business] surveying, construction, and building trades have been busy and eager to adopt new technology that makes them more effective.”

“Customers have been looking for ways to acquire 3D and oblique imagery data, and we wanted to offer fully integrated systems, software, workflow, maintenance and support for these applications,” explained Heriard-Dubreuil. “In addition, we are proud to present a new survey-grade lidar system that can capture data from greater flight altitudes, or extremely detailed data from lower altitudes.”

“These new systems, combined with our Microdrones-as-a-Service business model, provide a complete technology ecosystem and product lineup that customers can adopt, adapt, upgrade and grow with,” said Frank Darmayan, chief operating officer of Microdrones.