The AgEagle team utilized the eBee X for cadastral mapping in Mombuca, a municipality situated in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, with a population of 3,508.
The team opted for the S.O.D.A. 3D camera to then create a 3D model, orthomosaic, and point cloud of the city, enabling mapping of vertical surfaces as well. The processing and 3D mesh were generated using ESRI Site Scan.
A cadastral survey, like the one conducted with the eBee X, allows officials to:
Integrating drones into cadastral operations improves maintenance accuracy, speed, and cost-effectiveness, ensuring safer infrastructure, road networks, and upcoming construction projects. Additionally, the data streamlines maintenance prioritization and planning.
In September 2023, catastrophic flash floods devastated Tsarevo (Bulgaria), causing loss of life and extensive damage.
To swiftly address the situation, the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water partnered with Sofia University’s Center for Geospatial Research and Technology. They employed AgEagle’s eBee X drones equipped with RGB cameras (S.O.D.A.).
The 2D orthomosaics and 3D elevation models generated have been invaluable for the assessment of the flood-affected region and the determination of post-flood actions.
This rapid large-scale mapping operation using eBee X drones was completed in a single day (processing included).
Learn more about the mission in this blog post.
In August 2018, the Morandi Bridge located in Genoa, Italy, suddenly collapsed, claiming the lives of 43 people and causing significant damage to the surrounding area.
Following the collapse, several organizations took charge of conducting an in-depth inspection and survey of the site. Their objectives were:
The team selected the eBee X fixed-wing drone with the S.O.D.A. 3D camera and RTK mode for this project because it was crucial to accurately capture all the details of the bridge’s ruins and the riverbed, ensure the geo-accuracy of the maps and obtain excellent 3D-mapping results to assist in the civil protection process.
Key results:
Learn more about the challenges and the results of the project in this case study.
Strata Engenharia, a company specializing in smart solutions for the road, airport, and rail sectors, was commissioned to map the extensive Brazilian National Highway System (SNV), with 33,000 km / 20,505 mi of roads.
The project’s goal was to collect data on road conditions to enhance highway safety. Strata Engenharia employed two eBee X drones with S.O.D.A. RGB cameras and RTK technology for precise positioning.
The decision to choose eBee X drones was based on their large coverage capabilities of 1,235 acres / 500 hectares in a single flight, user-friendly flight planning software (eMotion), and the proven ability to safely fly over people and moving vehicles.
*Please note that, due to the large scale of the project, the dataset contains only a fraction of the entire data.
In August 2022, the non-profit organization CyArk traveled to the historic Shirk Ranch in Adel, Oregon (U.S.) to document the homestead and accompanying ranch. The team captured lidar data in combination with terrestrial and aerial photogrammetry with the eBee X drone and S.O.D.A. 3D camera to create a 3D digital twin of the site.
The site is a time capsule of what life was like at a pivotal time in the late 1800s and early 1900s on a Western ranch, and offers a glimpse into the harsh realities of the terrain and culture surrounding rural farming in American history.
The highly accurate 3D model of the structures and their surrounding landscape can be used as a reference for any future conservation or preservation projects.
“Due to the remote nature and large terrain area the eBee X drone was instrumental in allowing the full scale of the site to be shown in our tour” explains Chris Millbern, CyArk’s 3D expert.
CyArk is a non-profit organization with a mission to digitally document, archive and share the world’s cultural heritage. The project was a combination of digital preservation and storytelling on behalf of the Oregon Bureau of Land Management. The data collected during the week-long field capture was also used to create the foundation for a free-to-the-public virtual tour.
Bulgarian GIS and spatial solutions company, Geographica, was commissioned by the Municipality of Sofia in 2021 to gather data to be used for two different projects:
1. Estimate the rooftop solar power potential of the city 2. Calculate the number of trees and green areas in each neighborhood.
The company was able to collect 2,136 ha / 5,281 ac of data in only 6 hours by flying two eBee X drones with S.O.D.A. cameras in a multi-drone mission managed in eMotion flight planning software.
Results:
Learn more about the challenges and the ROI of the project in this webinar.
When time is of the essence such as during floods and other disasters, it is essential that first responders use the right mapping drone for on-the-ground intelligence to facilitate a quick response.
Our team together with Santiago e Cintra recently mapped a flooded area of the Mogi Guaçú River (Brazil) using eBee TAC Public Safety drone with S.O.D.A 3D camera in only 35 min. They managed to map 847 ha / 2,095 ac in such short time because the drone sensor allows to reduce the lateral overlap from 60% to 30%, almost doubling the cover area.
After processing the data in Pix4D, an orthomap and DSM were delivered to São Paulo’s City Hall to aid the city’s emergency response.
Geospatial firm Geographica used one of its four eBee X fixed-wing drones with the RGB Aeria X camera to map an 8 km stretch of highway that connects the capital Sofia to the city of Burgas, on the Black Sea coast.
It was a demonstration project to showcase the value of drone mapping and data analytics for various government agencies in Bulgaria. The agencies responsible for the country’s road construction, maintenance and infrastructure management.
In addition to operational efficiency and safety while flying over people (OOP) and over moving vehicles (OOMV), the demo highlighted the value of drone data in the following applications:
Geospatial firm Geographica was commissioned by the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water and the World Bank Group to develop the flood risk map of Sofia, the capital.
The mission involved mapping a large area over people in the city center and flying near Sofia International Airport with the eBee X fixed-wing drone and its S.O.D.A. 3D camera.
Geographica works with all types of drones but chose the eBee X for this project. The reasons were its ease of use, large area coverage, safety and flight permissions. Weighing less than 2 kg, the eBee X eases the authorizations for operations over people in urban areas in Europe and the U.S.
Interested in Geographica’s projects? Check out this webinar in which they shared another project they did in Sofia to estimate solar energy potential on rooftops and calculate the green areas of the city: https://ageagle.com/webinars/multi-drone-customer-stories/
*Please note that, due to the large scale of the project, the below dataset contains only a fraction of the entire data.
The Altum-PT high-resolution multispectral camera was flown over a blueberry field at Sakuma Brothers Farms in Washington State for plant detection and counting.
