SkyeBrowse adds cut and fill, stockpile, and security camera tools to its 3D site models

Most people who hire a drone for a construction job aren't really after the pictures. They want answers. How much dirt is left to move? How big is that stockpile? What changed on site since the last flight? SkyeBrowse, a Texas company whose platform turns drone video into 2D maps and 3D models, has added a batch of tools meant to get those answers without leaving its software.

The release has two headline pieces. Timelines lets teams compare up to 10 surveys of the same site over time. Camera Coverage helps plan where security cameras should go, using a 3D model of the site. Both are available now.

Anyone who has delivered a site model knows the scan is only part of the work. Turning it into earthwork numbers or a stockpile report can mean exporting the model to other programs and working through more spreadsheets. SkyeBrowse co-founder and CEO Bobby Ouyang says customers told the company they were juggling exports, spreadsheets and CAD round trips for answers that were already in their scans. So SkyeBrowse put those answers on the model itself.

Cut/Fill checks a captured 3D model against the design surface a project is supposed to end up at. It accepts LandXML, DXF and GeoTIFF elevation files; lays a heatmap over the model; and works out the remaining cut, fill and net volumes. In plain terms, it tells the crew how much earth still has to move to meet the design.

Cross-Sections cuts station-and-offset sections along a centerline, at whatever spacing the user picks. It can also put together grade reports for haul roads. Results export as CSV, DXF or PDF.

Stockpile Inventory measures several piles in one pass. Each pile can get a name, a material and a density, which turns its volume into an estimated weight. The ways to work out the base of a pile include triangulated toe, best-fit plane, average, lowest point and a custom base. Reports export as CSV or PDF.

Bare Earth deals with the things that throw off a ground surface, like trees, buildings and vehicles. It sorts out which points are actual ground and lets users switch between a digital surface model (DSM, the surface with everything on it) and a digital terrain model (DTM, the bare ground). Its outputs include GeoTIFF and classified LAS files.

Timelines brings up to 10 surveys of the same site into one view. A date rail lets users step from survey to survey, play through the dates, or highlight what showed up, went away or moved. Measurements can be taken from any survey in the set.

Each new survey lines up with a base survey on its own. If the fit is off by about 4 inches or more, the software asks the user to match three points to correct it. Surveys can be shown against satellite imagery, and clients can view a timeline through a read-only public link without logging in.

For pilots who fly the same site on a regular schedule, that's a simpler way to show a client what changed between visits.

SkyeBrowse says its platform can reach survey-grade accuracy without ground control points (GCPs), which are points on the ground whose positions have been surveyed. Some clients and project specs still want documented proof, though, and the new GCP tool is built for that.

Users import control points or checkpoints from CSV, TXT or XYZ files; set the coordinate system with an EPSG code; and choose ellipsoidal or orthometric heights. The tool reports errors in X, Y and Z; root mean square error (RMSE); bias; and NSSDA 95% accuracy, then gives a pass or fail against the tolerance the user sets. Reports come as PDF or CSV. Running the check doesn't change the processed model.

Camera Coverage works in the same 3D model. Public safety agencies, event security teams and construction site managers can place virtual cameras on the model; set mounting height, field of view, range and tilt; and see what each one can cover. The tool works out how much of the site, or of an area the user marks out, is seen by at least one camera. Its Suggest feature can recommend up to 10 camera spots, or find the best place to add one more.

It can also show how snow and plow piles block the view and use a full year of sun positions to flag the months and hours when glare could be a problem. That could help teams find blind spots before any equipment goes up.

The new tools come with SkyeBrowse Pro models, at $49.99 per model, and with the Public Safety and Enterprise plans. New organizations can also get Camera Coverage and every construction tool except Timelines through a $5 offer on their first Commercial model.

SkyeBrowse says more than 1,200 public safety agencies around the world use its platform.

On construction and mapping jobs, the flight is often the quick part. The time goes into turning the data into something a superintendent or estimator can use. The fewer programs the data has to pass through, the fewer places a number can get lost along the way.