In looking at a demo of DD, I see you can color code the stockpile (volume) measurements. Is it possible to have it total the volumes for multiple stockpiles of the same type/color?
If the ground is flat and you had multiple small piles, could you just draw an outline around all the piles or will that significanty increase the error percentage?
Note I tried to use the volume tool but when I complete the shape, nothing happens. I’m guessing it doesn’t work on a trial account but then why even show the tool?
Hope you are doing well and thanks for swinging by the DroneDeploy Forum. I’m happy to address your questions below:
1. Is it possible to have it total the volumes for multiple stockpiles of the same type/color?
Our volume toolbox is intended to calculate the volume of single features (stockpile, benches, etc.). So, if you are planning to sum the volume of several stockpiles on your map, I would recommend you to use our GCP Volume Analysis app to export the volume results as a CSV file and perform that math on the spreadsheet software of your preference.
2. If the ground is flat and you had multiple small piles, could you just draw an outline around all the piles or will that significanty increase the error percentage?
If the ground is flat and you have multiple piles, I would recommend you to draw one polygon per pile. When you are doing so, please make sure that you are selecting the “Lowest Point” base plane for more accurate results on that flat area.
3. Note I tried to use the volume tool but when I complete the shape, nothing happens.
If you have our Pro trial plan, you can absolutely use our volumetric tool. Just ensure that you are using Google Chrome or Firefox for better performance.
Thanks for the response Andrea. I know how to use the Volume Measurement tool. It’s pretty simple. I think the problem is I’m trying to use it on the Sample Construction Project, which isn’t my project.
If my guess is correct, you can’t add new annotations or volume calculations unless you’re either a user on the same account, or another DD user that the project has been shared with. I would think the latter is the relationship I should have with the Sample Project since it appears as a project in my trial account but I am guessing you have done a custom override on the ability to add volume measurements for sample projects, otherwise trial users would be seeing new volume measurements and annotations created by other trial users and that would get really messy in a hurry.
It’s very confusing though as you still present the Volume measurement icon and clicking on it activates the tool but when you click to the starting point to close the polygon (working with your sample project) nothing happens. Had me beating my head against the wall for quite a while. I would think it would be a good idea to make a note in the volume measurement documentation that it doesn’t work on your sample projects (assuming I’m correct.)
I’m sorry to hear that you are not able to play around with our Example maps and the volume annotations. Certainly, you cannot create annotations in our Example maps, but you should be able to see the volume results from the existing annotations.
Please note that once you have your own maps, you should be able to use this functionality. So, we encourage you to also test our flight app by flying your drone and capturing some images that you can use to upload to your account.
In the meantime, I would suggest downloading the example dataset that is available in our How to Process Datasets support documentation. This is not a construction site, but it is a dataset of images that you could use to test our product.
Totaling annotations has been a feature request for a while now… Mass takeoff area versus individual areas is a case by case issue. If it is truly flat or a constant slope in both directions you will probably see little difference.