Is ESRI Drone2Map useful? Recommend instead of PIX4D?

Question

Hi everyone, I work in a small mining company and I'm responsible for the drone surveying, but we are in the very beginning of the process. I need to find out what software the company will purchase.

I'm thinking to purchase the Drone2Map because of the integration with the GIS data with ArcMap. I also read about Pix4D, but I don't know how easy is to export the processed data to ArcMap.

What software do you recommend? I read a few informations about Drone2Map, but I'm thinking to get it for the easy integration of the data.

Thanks,

NicoBonnafoux · Answer

@james-noble and @carl00 as of version 2022.1, Drone2Map only uses Esri's own technology for processing, including the new ArcGIS Reality engine in Drone2Map Advanced. .

P√•l_Herman_Sund · Answer

My five coins @carl00 and supporting @james-noble

All droneimaging processing softwares has it "pros and cons" and not one of them are best under all possible imaging conditions. Most softwares will deliver ortophotos, pointclouds and meshes which you can use in, or import into, ArcGIS softwares.

But Drone2Map shines (obviously) in the integration with ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online/Enterprise. When you leave ArcMap (which you should do rather sooner than later)  and head to ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online you will not regret using Drone2Map (and go for the advanced license). There is also a lot going on in the Imaging/Reality Capture area within ArcGIS which Drone2Map benefit from.

As pointed out by James there is (or soon to be) an extension also for ArcGIS Pro to process drone imagery. My understanding is that choosing this one vs Drone2Map is related to the scale (#images) for your projects.

pH
(working at Norwegian ESRI distributor)

james-noble · Answer

Hi @carl00 , under the hood they both use the same Pix4D engine! Like you say, with Drone2Map there is lots of integration with the rest of the ArcGIS system. I'd also recommend taking a look at ArcGIS Pro, which is the successor to ArcMap. This is where Esri are focusing their development, and there's significantly more support/capability for 3D and Drone workflows.