Does anyone know of other options for tree count processing? I need to count 1000 acres of Pistachios for a client and I’m looking for a less expensive alternative to Agremo.
Thanks for any suggestions guys, much appreciated.
Regards,
Kevin Gillespie
I sent you a copy of my old post on this subject. It cost me 1K to get Rhino 6 (the latest version) for developing this solution. If you want to pursue Rhino for a solution I can provide you a no-cost copy once you are registered on the McNeel Rhino forum. It is written in Python and has a GUI interface. You need a 3D .obj file from DD that is imported into Rhino for processing.
Ypu can do it in pieces and add up the results as I think 1000 acres will make too big of a .obj file.
For you to get this to work may require significant learning and some programming. As an alternative I would be willing to process managable sized .obj files to generate a report like you see in my old posting. To get accurate tree heights you need a LiDAR bare-earth model for your site. This process works best for trees with pointy crowns like evergreens. I would enjoy the challange of processing the data from your site to summarize the tree data. I am retired and do not plan to take another job ever. So there will never be a charge for any work I do. This approach would avoid the need to get Rhino and spend time learning how to use it. But it you want to continue this line of analysis getting Rhino woukd make sense and I can provide you help in getting started.
Regards,
Terry.
Hi Terry,
Thank you very much! That’s incredible!
Couple things, we don’t have access to LIDAR, I’m mapping this farm with an RGB camera and will produce a stiched geo-tiff. I break the farm down into manageable sizes, like 100 acre blocks. I can stitch them all together in the end if we need to but find everything goes so much better at the reduced size.
Agribotix and Agremo both offer tree counting but at a very high cost for us, we wouldn’t make anything off the job so that won’t work for us.
I really appreciate your help here, Terry. I can definitely produce an OBJ file, but we are flying at 375’, usually we fly 3D imaging at 250’ AGL and increase the overlap, this all impacts our costs in the end. That will double the time on site easily, probably more. Do you think an OBJ file will be effective at 375’ AGL?
I’d love to try some new approaches out on this because we’re not going to make money if we have to charge our clients what Agremo and Agribotix are charging. That really means we won’t be doing it and that’s not the solution we’re looking for.
Thanks again, Terry, I’m optimistic we might find a solution for this, that would be great for a lot of people!
Sincerely,
Kevin Gillespie
Kevin,
What kind of trees are you counting? My approach works best for pointy trees like douglas fir and the like. The first step would be to try processing one of your .obj files. Mine are like 380MB for 20 acres so to send me one of yours will require something other than an email attachment.
My approach does not use an AI-driven pattern matching algorithm like I have seen in commercial packages. So its capabilities are limited. But it has definitely spotted all the tall trees in a 20 acre plot.
Regards,
Terry.
Hi Terry,
The trees are pistachios and they’re mature. I only need the count, height is not necessary. Do you think it will work with an RGB image? I don’t have the maps shot in 3D, they’re all in 2D. Is there any way we could get 2D to work for count? It’s a stitched geo-tiff out of dronedeploy. I’ve shot about 700 acres today and yesterday and will start processing tonight.
Most of the blocks are around 80 acres, they shouldn’t be too bad size wise, not much more than 380mb, maybe 500. I have a google drive I upload my imaging to so you would just need to download the processed map.
Thanks, Terry, I can’t tell you how much I really appreciate your help here. Do you think this is an option I could learn?
I can shoot a 3D tomorrow if the 2D won’t work. I was wondering, since I didn’t need height, just the tree count.
Thanks again, Terry.
Sincerely,
Kevin Gillespie
Kevin,
My method requires a 3D .obj file. Your existing photos that were processed by DD should have the option for a 3D .obj file export. No need to shoot new photos I believe. I am concerned that the pistachios trees will be too flat looking for my contours-based method to work well but I will give it a try.
Regards,
Terry.
Hi Terry,
I understand completely and yes, I just rerun it as an 3D image but I won’t have the obliques but at 375 feet you won’t see much 3D.
Sounds great, Terry, let’s give it a go, thanks! I will send you a link when the processing is done. I’m going to need a more private way of sending you the link, however. You can email me at kevin@caluav.com and I can send you a private link for the processed obj file.
Thank you again, Terry!
Sincerely,
Kevin Gillespie
Hi Kevin
Another alternative ( played with this about 12 months ago) is to use Fuji (Is Just Image)
There were a couple steps to do the processing, happy to hunt back and find if you want.
Cheers
Neill
Hey Kevin, Scopito can help you in your case.
Look for it at the DD app market and let me know if you think it is suitable.
If you like the solution, I will be able to assist you with the price 
Thank you, Dani-Scopito, I will take a look at it!
Definitely, Neill, I would like to find out more about that if you can provide a link or something, thanks for your help on this!
Kevin