The Composite Survey tool allows you to fly and upload worksite surveys in smaller sections and merge them with other surveys to form a complete and up-to-date view of the whole worksite without the need to fly the entire site. You can visualize, measure, and report on the entire site more frequently with less time and effort in capturing data.
Users also often ask if they can upload more images to a dataset after processing it. For example, forgotten photos or newly captured photos may be in another folder after a completed survey. The composite survey feature allows you to upload additional photos as a new dataset and merge them with the original dataset.
To use the composite survey tool, users must have Process level permissions.
Composite Surveys can also be used to trim survey boundaries.
Merging surveys
Select the surveys you want to merge by clicking on the survey name in the top toolbar and click MERGE DATASETS.
Choose which surveys you want to merge and click CONTINUE.
Surveys must be on the same site to merge, and merging is limited to 25 datasets.
Your dataset must contain an ortho or terrain to be merged successfully.
Select the time and date stamp for the composite survey. By default, the site's timezone and the date and time of the latest partial survey are used.
You can also rename the composite. By default, it is named “Composite” with the current date. Click CREATE.
You also have the option to change the date and name of the composite survey after creation.
Once merged, the new composite survey will be included in the dropdown menu with the other surveys for your site.
If you have a very large survey area that is not feasible to fly frequently, merging small sections of your site on top of the entire survey is possible. In this use case, the newest survey would be the topmost survey in the composite.
Modifying composite surveys
Composite surveys may also be modified. To merge additional surveys into the composite, click on the merge tool to the right of your created composite.
Add additional surveys to merge by checking the box next to the survey, or remove any survey by unchecking the box next to the survey. Click CONTINUE.
You can change or update the information here, then click MODIFY.
To quickly rename the composite, click on the three dots menu, then choose Rename.
You can also delete the composite from the same location by clicking the trash can icon and confirming the deletion.
Changes may take up to 10 minutes to appear. If they still aren’t visible, a browser refresh might be necessary.
How can I view my composite surveys?
Composite surveys are visible in the Visualizer, the Measurement report, and PDF Maps.
In the Platform
Once created, you can load the composite into the Visualizer by choosing it in the dropdown menu.
In the mobile app
Composite surveys are visible in the mobile app. Simply log in and select the composite survey from the Survey dropdown menu.
Crew
Create a Crew link to view and share composite surveys with other team members.
Click the Crew Icon on the left sidebar and click CREATE CREW LINK. Check out our article on how to share Crew links.
Measurement Reports
To view composite surveys as a Measurement Report, click the OUTPUTS tab and choose Measurement Report from the REPORTS category.
PDF Maps
To download a PDF Map of your site, click on the OUTPUTS tab and choose PDF Map from the MAPS category.
Currently, composite surveys will not include point cloud data, or a Processing Report associated with it. Both point cloud data and processing reports can still be accessed from the original survey.
What can I do with a Composite Survey?
Measure
Any tool available in the Platform can be used with Composite Surveys, such as:
- A composite can be measured just like any other dataset.
- Designs can be added to the composite dataset and measured against.
- You can measure across partial boundaries, but please note accuracy depends on the accuracy of the underlying partial surveys and the location of the stitched boundary.
Please note that zoom levels in your new composite survey may differ. Each partial survey has a maximum zoom level which is determined by the ground sample distance (GSD). If all of the surveys in a site were captured using a similar drone/camera flown at around the same altitude, it would result in relatively similar terrain resolutions, hence, similar maximum zoom levels.
However, due to different site conditions and other factors, it’s possible to have surveys in the same site to have different maximum zoom levels. Please refer to this article for more information on GSD
Export files
Just like with other survey data, you can export numerous file types from your platform, including:
- Outlines in DXF and KML,
- Surface mesh in DXF and TTM,
- Contours in DXF.
I still can't do it!
We wrote these articles to equip you with everything you need to get the job done on your own, but we understand that sometimes this isn't sufficient.
If you're stuck, you can connect with our support team by clicking the support button on the top right corner of your user portal.
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