Most quarry survey specifications require a breaklines survey. Virtual Surveyor allows you to create a lightweight line survey from your drone data. You can then export your line survey as a commonly used CAD format and upload it to mining and quarrying software. 


Overview


Import Your Drone Survey Data

Create your project and drag and drop your drone survey dataset (Orthophoto + DSM) into the Project View.



Create Line Survey Items

Like a surveyor in the field, measure breaklines and points.


  • Use the Polyline tool from the HOME tabto add breaklines. 
    • Activate the Guided Breakline Tool (Only available in the Peak plan) to make the line selection creation much faster. 



  • To complete your survey, you can quickly add Points to the terrain. 
  • Use the Point tool to manually place Points where you need them. 



Organize Your Survey Items

You can use the Layer Manager to give a structure to your project. 

  • Create and manage layers in the Project View
  • Rename and renumberProject Items or move them from one layer to another. 
    • For example, you can create layers to group crest, top of bank, bottom of bank, etc.



Use the styling options in the HOME tab to set the shape, size, and color of your survey items. 


Export Your Line Survey

To use your survey in mining or quarrying software, export it as a .dxf, .xml, or .shp file. 

  • The Export Survey tool is available in the EXPORT tab
  • The Export feature works as "what you see is what you get" or "WYSIWYG". 
  • The layer's structure and the Project Item's naming are included in the data with the export.


Tips & Tricks

  • Even if a TIN surface is not required in your final deliverable, it may be helpful to generate it within Virtual Surveyor. 
    • It allows you to check your line survey and validate the quality of your model. 
    • Enable all your survey items and click on Triangulate All to generate the surface. 
    • Displaying contour lines may also help you assess your survey.