senseFly Announces the eBee RTK Mapping Drone – the Most Flexible Survey-grade System on the Market

senseFly Announces the eBee RTK Mapping Drone – the  Most Flexible Survey-grade System on the Market

senseflyCheseaux-Lausanne, Switzerland, June 11, 2014 – Swiss mini-drone manufacturer senseFly announces the eBee RTK, the only fully integrated, fully compatible survey-grade mapping system on the market.

The eBee RTK, available in Q3, 2014, will offer surveying and engineering professionals a highly accurate and flexible mapping solution that works alongside their existing base stations and does not require any third-party software.

“This new survey-grade version of the eBee is the missing link our customers have been waiting for,” says Jean-Christophe Zufferey, C.E.O. of senseFly. “The eBee RTK offers
surveying and engineering professionals the very highest positional accuracy, without the need for ground control points. It is compatible with customers’ existing base stations, and
each mission’s entire workflow – including the transmission of GNSS corrections to the drone – is integrated within the system’s software.”

3 reasons to choose the eBee RTK 

1. Survey-grade accuracy

Absolute orthomosaic / Digital Elevation Model accuracy of down to 3 cm (1.2 in) without the need for GCPs – meaning less time spent in the field and high precision in even the most inaccessible areas.

2. Fully integrated workflow

The eBee RTK’s supplied flight planning & control software (eMotion 2) connects to the base station and broadcasts correction data to the rover (eBee RTK) – no additional logger or
third-party software required.

3. Compatible with existing base stations

The eBee RTK is compatible with most leading brands of base station, working seamlessly alongside a surveyor’s existing portfolio of instruments. The Bee RTK features an integrated GNSS receiver with RTK functionality. It flies, acquires images and lands autonomously. Plus the entire eBee RTK aircraft weighs just 0.7 kg (1.5 lbs) – minimising its power usage (optimising the drone’s flight time), allowing the drone to be hand launched (no accessories required), and ensuring the safety of people and objects on
the ground.

The eBee RTK is supplied as standard with two software packages: eMotion 2 flight planning and control software; and Postflight Terra 3D professional photogrammetry software (powered by Pix4D).

With its maximum flight time of 40 minutes, the eBee RTK can photograph areas of up to 10 km sq(3.9 mi sq) in a single flight. Its 16 MP still camera is capable of shooting aerial imagery at down to 2 cm (0.7 in) / pixel resolution. Once imported into Postflight Terra 3D, these images can be used to generate orthomosaics with accuracy of down to 3 cm (1.18 in) and digital elevation models of down to 5 cm (1.96 in).


3 ways of working with the eBee RTK

The eBee RTK can be used in either of three different ways to suit a particular user’s preference and access to in-country correction data networks:

  • Real Time Kinematic (positioning the base station on a known position)
  • Virtual base station (requires internet connection & VRS/Ntrip network subscription)
  • Post processing (on-site or in the office later)

Availability: The eBee RTK is available to pre-order  immediately, either from senseFly direct or our network of approved resellers (see http://www.senseFly.com/about/where-to-buy.html) with shipping expected in Q3, 2014.

About Real Time Kinematic

Real Time Kinematic (or RTK) is a form of satellite navigation capable of enhancing the precision of position data provided by satellite-based positioning systems such as GPS, GLONASS and/or Galileo. RTK works by measuring the phase of the signal′s carrier wave, rather than the information content of the signal, and it requires just a single reference station to provide real-time corrections. In terms of its use with GPS position data, RTK is sometimes also referred to as Carrier-Phase Enhancement.

Editorial contact:
Matt Wade
PR Manager
Telephone: +41 21 552 0466 / +41 79 853 0412
E-Mail: pr@sensefly.com

Technical specifications and more:see separate Fact Sheet

About senseFly
senseFly is a Swiss company that develops and manufactures autonomous ultra-light mini-drones (also called UAVs) and related software. The technology behind senseFly’s products originated in 2001, when a team of robotic researchers at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) began investigating the control and navigation strategies of flying insects. This pioneering research led to the development of a highly integrated autopilot system, which employs smart control strategies similar to those found in flies and bees. senseFly was then founded in late 2009, launching its first commercial product – the swinglet CAM – shortly afterwards. In 2012 senseFly joined the Parrot Group and continues to pioneer the field of mini-drones for mapping and GIS applications.

Categories: Surveying

About Author

GIS Resources

GIS Resources is an initiative of Spatial Media and Services Enterprises with the purpose that everyone can enrich their knowledge and develop competitiveness. GIS Resources is a global platform, for latest and high-quality information source for the geospatial industry, brings you the latest insights into the developments in geospatial science and technology.

Write a Comment

Your e-mail address will not be published.
Required fields are marked*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.