AIbirdUAV KCX8 Mapping drone

The professional mapping drone

Use this fully autonomous drone to capture high-resolution aerial photos that you can transform into accurate 2D orthrombosis & 3D models.

 

 

Four reasons to choose the KCX8

1. Map more, more accurately: The KCX8 can cover up to 5 sq. km in a single flight, and over smaller areas, flying at lower altitudes; it can acquire images with a Cannon 5DII of down to 1.5 cm/pixel.

2. No flying skills required: The KCX8 is easy to launch with the auto launch system, It then flies, captures images & lands itself. (However you can reprogram its flight or land manually if required.)

3. Because safety matters: The KCX8 uses Fiber Reinforced Plastics material, stable structure, minimizing its impact energy.

4. It’s all you need: The KCX8 is supplied with two sturdy carry case and two software packages: KCX8 ground station (flight planning and control) & AIbird UAV 3D Mapping (professional photogrammetric)

 

 

Technical specifications

Hardware

Weight (inc. supplied camera): Approx. 6.5 kg

Wingspan: 1300mm

Material: Fiber Reinforced Plastics

Propulsion: Electric pusher propeller, 520 W brushless DC motor

Battery: 11.1 V, 10000 mAh

Camera (supplied): SONY NEX-7

Cameras (optional): SONY A7R

Carry case dimensions: no need

 

Operation

Maximum flight time: 15-20 minutes

Nominal cruise speed: 12 m/s

Radio link range: 10km

Maximum coverage (single flight): 5 km²

Wind resistance: Up to 45 km/h (12m/s or 28 mph)

Ground Sampling Distance (GSD): Down to 1.5 cm (0.6 in) per pixel

Relative orthomosaic/3D model accuracy: 1-3x GSD

Absolute horizontal/vertical accuracy (w/GCPs): Down to 3 cm (1.2 in) / 5 cm (2 in)

Absolute horizontal/vertical accuracy (no GCPs): 1-5 m (3.3-16.4 ft)

Multi-drone operation: Yes (inc. mid-air collision avoidance)

Automatic 3D flight planning: Yes

Linear landing accuracy: Approx. 5 m (16.4 ft)

 

 

The KCX8 Mapping system solution

1.    Plan your flight

AIbirdUAV ground station software makes it easy to plan and simulate your mapping mission.

Plan: Import your preferred base map and define the area you want to cover. Then specify your required ground resolution, with a maximum GSD of 1.5 cm, and image overlap.

Ground station automatically generates a full flight plan, calculating the KCX8 required altitude and displaying its projected trajectory.

Flying over uneven terrain? Use ground station’s 3D mission planning feature to take elevation data into account when setting the altitude of waypoints and the resulting flight lines – improving ground resolution and increasing safety.

Simulate: To ensure your mission’s success, run a virtual flight that simulates wind strength and direction. Then make any flight plan updates required and prepare to launch.

 

2.    Fly

Launch: To launch the KCX8, auto to launch form launching cradle by auto system.

The artificial intelligence inside the KCX8 autopilot continuously analyses data provided by the Inertial Measurement Unit and onboard GPS to control every aspect of its flight.

Monitor: Using KCX8 ground station software you can view the KCX8 flight parameters, battery level and image acquisition progress in real time.

Control: Made a mistake with your planning? Reprogram your drone’s flight plan and landing point mid-flight.

 

3.    Create

Process: Use the KCX8 supplied AIbirdUAV Mapping software to easily process your flight’s photos.

In just a few clicks you can transform this imagery into geo-referenced 2D orthomosaics, 3D point clouds, triangle models and Digital Elevation Models (DEMs).

Trust: With the KCX8 GSD of down to 1.5 cm, relative orthomosaic/3D model accuracy of 1-3x GSD, and absolute horizontal/vertical accuracy of down to 3/5 cm, you can have full confidence in the accuracy of the outputs you produce.

 

4. Your results

Once you have created your orthomosaic and 3D model, it's time to put this data to work - for example by measuring distances, taking cross-sections, extracting volume data, or exporting to third-party software to add GIS data or create custom maps.