Pix4D

{{Infobox software

| name = Pix4D

| logo = Pix4D logo.png

| screenshot =

| developer = Pix4D

| released = 2011

| latest release version = 4.8.2

| latest release date = September 21, 2022

| operating system = Windows, Linux, MacOs

| language = EN, ES, FR, DE, IT, JP, KO, zh-CN, zh-TW, RU

| genre = photogrammetry, 3D computer graphics software, computer vision, Point cloud

| license = Proprietary

| website = {{URL|pix4d.com}}

}}

Pix4D is a Swiss software company that specializes in terrestrial and drone photogrammetry mapping software. It was founded in 2011 as a spinoff from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Computer Vision Lab in Switzerland.Mitchell, Michael.[https://actu.epfl.ch/news/epfl-spinoff-turns-thousands-of-2d-photos-into-3d-/ "EPFL Spinoff Turns Thousands of 2D Photos into 3D Images"], EPFL, Lausanne, 9 May 2011. Retrieved on 17 January 2017. It develops a suite of software products that use photogrammetryBritanica, {{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/science/photogrammetry |title= What is photogrammetry |date= 2019 }}{{cite journal | last1= J. Vallet a / F. Panissod a / C. Strecha b / M. Tracol c |title= Photogrammetric performance of an ultra light weight swinglet "UAV" |journal= The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences|volume= 3822 |pages= 253–258 |date= Sep 16, 2011 |url=https://www.int-arch-photogramm-remote-sens-spatial-inf-sci.net/XXXVIII-1-C22/253/2011/isprsarchives-XXXVIII-1-C22-253-2011.pdf|bibcode= 2011ISPAr3822C.253V |doi= 10.5194/isprsarchives-XXXVIII-1-C22-253-2011 |doi-access= free }} and computer vision algorithms to transform DSLR, fisheye, RGB, thermal and multispectral images into 3D maps and 3D modeling.Trout, Christopher. [https://www.engadget.com/2011/05/07/pix4d-turns-your-2d-aerial-photographs-into-3d-maps-on-the-fly/ “Pix4D Turns Your 2D Aerial Photographs into 3D Maps on the Fly”], “Engadget”, 7 May 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2016.{{cite journal | doi=10.5194/isprsannals-II-3-135-2014 | title=Automated End-to-End Workflow for Precise and Geo-accurate Reconstructions using Fiducial Markers | year=2014 | last1=Rumpler | first1=M. | last2=Daftry | first2=S. | last3=Tscharf | first3=A. | last4=Prettenthaler | first4=R. | last5=Hoppe | first5=C. | last6=Mayer | first6=G. | last7=Bischof | first7=H. | journal= ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences| volume=II3 | pages=135–142 | bibcode=2014ISPAn.II3..135R | doi-access=free }} The company has 7{{Cite web |title=About Pix4D, the leading photogrammetry software company |url=https://www.pix4d.com/about-us |access-date=2022-12-13 |website=Pix4D |language=en-US}} international offices, with its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Pix4D suite of products includes PIX4Dmapper, PIX4Dfields, PIX4Dcloud, PIX4Dreact, PIX4Dsurvey, PIX4Dcatch, Pix4Dmatic, PIX4Dcapture Pro, and PIX4Dengine. In April 2021 Pix4D added the viDoc RTK rover, a handheld hardware device, to its portfolio.{{Cite web |title=The viDoc RTK rover: survey-grade 3D models with Pix4Dcatch |url=https://www.pix4d.com/blog/launching-vidoc-rtk |access-date=2022-12-13 |website=Pix4D |language=en-US}}

Its software lines operate on desktop, cloud, and mobile platforms.[https://pix4d.com/hybrid-innovation/ "Mobile + Desktop + Cloud"], "Pix4D". Retrieved 18 January 2017.

PIX4Dmapper has been used to map the Matterhorn mountain in Switzerland,Drone Adventures team. [https://www.pix4d.com/blog/modelling-matterhorn/ “Matterhorn mapped by fleet of drones in under 6 hours”], 11 January 2018, the Christ the Redeemer statue in BrazilSimonite, Tom. [https://www.technologyreview.com/s/535596/high-resolution-3-d-scans-built-from-drone-photos/ “High-Resolution 3-D Scans Built from Drone Photos”], MIT Technology Review, 19 March 2015. Retrieved on 18 January 2017. and also the 2018 lower Puna eruptionUH Hilo Team. [https://www.pix4d.com/blog/mapping-volcanic-eruption-drones/ “Mapping Kilauea's volcanic eruption with drones”], 28 February 2019, in Hawaii island. Pix4D software uses imagery captured with drones, mobile devices, or planes to recreate scenes in 3D.

10 year anniversary & rebranding

In June 2021, Pix4D celebrated its 10-year anniversary. To commemorate the event, Pix4D updated its logo and website styling.{{Cite web |title=10 years of Pix4D: a celebration, and a new logo |url=https://www.pix4d.com/blog/pix4d-anniversary |access-date=2022-12-13 |website=Pix4D |language=en-US}} The rebranding involved new styles for the logo font and color scheme, as well as updated style formats for product names and color schemes.

File:Pix4D logo Evolution.jpg

Pix4D User Conference

Pix4D launched its first User Conference in 2019.{{Cite web |title=The first ever Pix4D User Conference: Highlights |url=https://www.pix4d.com/blog/first-pix4d-user-conference |access-date=2022-12-13 |website=Pix4D |language=en-US}} The event was held in October 2019 in Denver, Colorado. It was attended by over 250 people and hosted at the McNichols Civic Center Building. Pix4D announced two new products at the event: PIX4Dreact and PIX4Dsurvey. Apart from keynote speeches by Pix4D staff members, there were also guest presentations by visitors.

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, no event took place in 2020. In 2021, Pix4D launched a User Conference called "From the Ground Up". The conference was live for 24 hours and included 40 sessions broadcast in 4 languages - English, Japanese, Spanish, and Portuguese. The event consisted of Pix4D product presentations, user keynote talks to demonstrate how people were using Pix4D software, and a Speed Quiz with the Pix4D Training Team.

In 2022, Pix4D hosted 2 User Conference events - 1 in Tokyo{{Cite web |title=Pix4D announces User Conference in Tokyo in June 2022 |url=https://www.pix4d.com/blog/tokyo-user-conference-announcement |access-date=2022-12-13 |website=Pix4D |language=en-US}} and 1 in Denver, Colorado.{{Cite web |title=Highlights of the Pix4D 2022 User Conference in Denver |url=https://www.pix4d.com/blog/pix4d-user-conference-curtis-denver |access-date=2022-12-13 |website=Pix4D |language=en-US}} The structure was similar to the 2019 event.

Languages

Pix4D's website is available in multiple languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, and Portuguese.

The desktop versions of Pix4D software are available in: English, Spanish, Mandarin (zh-CH, zh-TW), Russian, German, French, Japanese, Italian and Korean.

The Cloud versions are available in: English, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Simplified Chinese, Portuguese, and Thai.
The mobile versions of Pix4D software are available in English.

Industries

The major industries that Pix4D software is used, are:

Aerial survey{{cite book |last1=Sirguey |first=Pascal |url=http://geocart.cartography.org.nz/2016/downloads/abstracts/2016-062_sirguey-boeuf-cambridge-mills.pdf |title=Evidences of Sub-Optimal Photogrammetric Modelling In RPAS-based Aerial Surveys |last2=Boeuf |first2=Julien |last3=Cambridge |first3=Ryan |last4=Mills |first4=Steven |date=Aug 18, 2016}}
Agriculture and Precision agriculture{{cite book |last1=F. Bachmann, R. Herbst, R. Gebbers, V.V. Hafner |url=http://www.uav-g.org/%5C/Presentations/UAS_for_Agriculture/Bachmann_F-Micro_UAV_based_geo-referenced_orthophoto_generation.pdf |title=Micro UAV based georeferenced orthophoto generation in VIS+NIR for precision agriculture |date=Sep 2, 2013}}{{Dead url|date=June 2024}}
Construction{{cite book | last1= Shahab Moeini, Azzeddine Oudjehane, Tareq Baker, Wade Hawkins |title= Application of an interrelated UAS - BIM system for construction progress monitoring, inspection and project management1 |date=Aug 8, 2017 |url=https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/pmwj61-Aug2017-Moeini-Oudjehane-Baker-Hawkins-application-of-integrated-uas-bim-system.pdf}}
Cultural heritageJuergen Landauer, ResearchGate {{cite book |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332401516 | title= Automating Archaeological Documentation with Robotics Tools | date= April 1, 2019 }}Juergen Landauer, ResearchGate {{cite book |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325734506 | title= Towards automating drone flights for archaeological site documentation | date= Sep 1, 2018 }}
Education{{cite book | last1= Khaula Alkaabi, Abdelgadir Abuelgasim |url=http://www.crdeepjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Vol_5_1_2_IJSSAH.pdf | title= Applications of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Technology for Research and Education in UAE | date= Sep 8, 2019 }}
Energy{{cite book | last1= Áthila Gevaerd Montibeller |url=https://scholarworks.uni.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1408&context=etd | title= Estimating energy fluxes and evapotranspiration of corn and soybean with an unmanned aircraft system in Ames, Iowa | date= July 1, 2017 }}
Engineering{{cite book | last1= Raid Al-Tahir |title= Integrating UAV into geomatics curriculum |date=Sep 2, 2015 |url=https://www.int-arch-photogramm-remote-sens-spatial-inf-sci.net/XL-1-W4/387/2015/isprsarchives-XL-1-W4-387-2015.pdf}}
Mapping{{cite book | last1= Christoph Strecha, Olivier Küng, Pascal Fua |url=https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/175351/files/eurocow_strecha.pdf | title= Automatic mapping from ultra-light uav imagery | date= Feb 10, 2012 }}Jakub Markiewicz, Dorota Zawieska MDPI {{cite journal|title= The influence of the cartographic transformation of TLS data on the quality of the automatic registration |date= Feb 1, 2019 |doi= 10.3390/app9030509 |doi-access= free |last1= Markiewicz |first1= Jakub |last2= Zawieska |first2= Dorota |journal= Applied Sciences |volume= 9 |issue= 3 |page= 509 }}
Government{{cite book | last1= Hyung Taeck Yoo, Hyunwoo Lee, Seokho Chi, Bon-Gang Hwang, Jinwoo Kim |title=Computing in Civil Engineering 2017 |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317575004 | chapter= A Preliminary Study on Disaster Waste Detection and Volume Estimation based on 3D Spatial Information | date= Mar 3, 2016 |pages=428–435 |doi=10.1061/9780784480823.051|isbn=9780784480823 }}
Insurance{{cite book | last1=Robin Hartley |title= Unmanned aerial vehicles in forestry – reaching for a new perspective |date= May 1, 2017 |url=https://www.interpine.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/UAV-Drones-in-Forestry-Reaching-for-a-New-Perspective-May-2017.pdf}}
Inspection{{cite journal | last1=Dong Ho Lee, Jong Hwa Park |title= Developing Inspection Methodology of Solar Energy Plants by Thermal Infrared Sensor on Board Unmanned Aerial Vehicles |journal= Energies |date= Jun 30, 2019 |volume= 12 |issue= 15 |page= 2928 |doi= 10.3390/en12152928 |doi-access= free }}
Surveying{{cite book | last1=Bernhard Draeyer / Christoph Strecha |s2cid= 3110690 |title= How accurate are UAV surveying methods? |date= Feb 2014 }}
Military{{cite book | last1= Major Kijun. Lee |title= Military application of aerial photogrammetry mapping assisted by small unmanned air vehicles |date= Mar 22, 2018 |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/1056512.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701074224/https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/1056512.pdf|url-status=live|archive-date=July 1, 2019}}
Mining{{cite book | last1=Anne Rautio, Kirsti Korkka-Niemi, Veli-Pekka Salonen |title= Thermal infrared remote sensing in assessing ground / surface water resources related to the Hannukainen mining development site, Northern Finland |date= Jun 30, 2017 |url=http://imwa.info/docs/imwa_2017/IMWA2017_Rautio_1286.pdf}}
Public safetyJae Kang Lee, Min Jun Kim, Jung Ok Kim, Jin Soo Kim, Tri Dev Acharya, Dong Ha Lee MDPI {{cite journal|title= Crack Detection Assisted by an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Wonjudaegyo Bridge in Korea |journal = Proceedings|volume = 4|pages = 23|date= Nov 15, 2018 |doi = 10.3390/ecsa-5-05835|last1 = Lee|first1 = Jae Kang|last2 = Kim|first2 = Min Jun|last3 = Kim|first3 = Jung Ok|last4 = Kim|first4 = Jin Soo|last5 = Acharya|first5 = Tri Dev|last6 = Lee|first6 = Dong Ha|doi-access = free}} and Emergency respond{{cite journal | last1= Daniel Heina, Steven Bayera, Ralf Bergera, Thomas Krafta, Daniela Lesmeisterb |title= An integrated rapid mapping system for disaster management |journal= The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences|volume= 42W1 |pages= 499–504 |date= Jun 9, 2017 |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/84276342.pdf|bibcode= 2017ISPAr42W1..499H |doi= 10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-1-W1-499-2017 |doi-access= free }}
Research{{cite book | last1= H.A. Follas, D.L Stewart, J. Lester |title= Effective post-disaster reconnaissance using unmanned aerial vehicles for emergency response, recovery and research |date= Apr 3, 2016 |url=https://www.nzsee.org.nz/db/2016/Papers/O-37%20Follas.pdf}}
Humanitarian aidJingxuan Sun, Boyang, Yifan Jiang, Chih-yung Wen MDPI {{cite journal|title= A Camera-Based Target Detection and Positioning UAV System for Search and Rescue (SAR) Purposes |date= Oct 25, 2016 |doi= 10.3390/s16111778 |doi-access= free |last1= Sun |first1= Jingxuan |last2= Li |first2= Boyang |last3= Jiang |first3= Yifan |last4= Wen |first4= Chih-Yung |journal= Sensors |volume= 16 |issue= 11 |page= 1778 |pmid= 27792156 |pmc= 5134437 |bibcode= 2016Senso..16.1778S }} and Development aid{{cite book | last1= Dustin W. Gabbert, Mehran Andalibi, Jamey D. Jacob |title= System Development for Wildfire SUAS |date= Sep 7, 2015 |url=https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1258086}}
Natural resources{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/295980109 |doi=10.7848/ksgpc.2015.33.6.605|title=Calculation of Tree Height and Canopy Crown from Drone Images Using Segmentation |year=2015 |last1=Lim |first1=Ye Seul |last2=La |first2=Phu Hien |last3=Park |first3=Jong Soo |last4=Lee |first4=Mi Hee |last5=Pyeon |first5=Mu Wook |last6=Kim |first6=Jee-In |journal=Journal of the Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography |volume=33 |issue=6 |pages=605–614 |s2cid=130779355 |doi-access=free }} and EnvironmentE. Prado, F. Sánchez, A. Rodríguez-Basalo, A. Altuna, A. Cobo, ResearchGate {{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332508002 | title= Semi-automatic method of fan surface assessment to achieve Gorgonian population structure in le Danois bank, Cantabrian sea | journal= The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences| volume= 4210 | pages= 167–173 | date= April 1, 2019 | bibcode= 2019ISPAr4210..167P | last1= Prado | first1= E. | last2= Sánchez | first2= F. | last3= Rodríguez-Basalo | first3= A. | last4= Altuna | first4= A. | last5= Cobo | first5= A. | doi= 10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-2-W10-167-2019 | doi-access= free | hdl= 10902/16330 | hdl-access= free }}Fister, W., Goldman, N., Mayer, M., Suter, M., and Kuhn, N. J, Geographica Helvetica {{cite journal | title= Testing of photogrammetry for differentiation of soil organic carbon and biochar in sandy substrates |journal = Geographica Helvetica|volume = 74|pages = 81–91| date= Mar 15, 2019 | issue=1 | doi = 10.5194/gh-74-81-2019|last1 = Fister|first1 = Wolfgang|last2 = Goldman|first2 = Nina|last3 = Mayer|first3 = Marius|last4 = Suter|first4 = Manuel|last5 = Kuhn|first5 = Nikolaus J.|doi-access = free}}
Real estate{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303827066 |doi=10.5194/isprs-archives-XLI-B1-1165-2016|title=Multi-Criteria Gis Analyses with the Use of Uavs for the Needs of Spatial Planning |year=2016 |last1=Zawieska |first1=D. |last2=Markiewicz |first2=J. |last3=Turek |first3=A. |last4=Bakuła |first4=K. |last5=Kowalczyk |first5=M. |last6=Kurczyński |first6=Z. |last7=Ostrowski |first7=W. |last8=Podlasiak |first8=P. |journal=The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences |volume=41B1 |pages=1165–1171 |bibcode=2016ISPAr41B1.1165Z |doi-access=free }}
Virtual reality (VR){{cite book | last1= R. J. Stone |s2cid= 16678832 |title= Keynote paper: Virtual & Augmented reality technologies for applications in cultural heritage: A human factors perspective |date= 2015 }}

Pix4D

10 year anniversary & rebranding

Pix4D User Conference

Languages

Industries

References

Further reading