You may come across situations where you need to complete your photogrammetric drone survey using Total Station Data or other forms of terrestrial data (GPS). These additional points can be measured by any type of terrestrial survey equipment and imported into Virtual Surveyor to complete your model.


Overview


CSV File Format

To be compatible with Virtual Surveyor, your .csv file needs to be in a proper format. Read our article on Importing CSV for more information on .csv file formats. 


Just as a quick example, it should look something like this when viewed in Notepad:



Import Your CSV File

  1. Drag and drop the file anywhere in Virtual Surveyor and a new layer is created in the Project View using the file name (unless you include a Layer column).
    Or 
  2. Click on or choose files in the bottom left portion of the Virtual Surveyor application and open the file you want to use from the File Explorer.


Using Total Station Data to Survey Under a Bridge

Here is an example of using terrestrial dataset to complete a drone dataset. Since It is not possible to see the terrain under the bridge with the initial drone dataset, your best bet is to use Total Station Data to complete this kind of drone survey. You can always use other forms of terrestrial data for other areas that drone datasets may not be able to get.



  1. Drag and drop the .csv point file in the Project View.

  2. Use the Transparent Terrain Lens to see the points under the bridge.

  3. Draw lines to connect the points and create the survey under the bridge.

  4. Triangulate the survey to create the surface under the bridge

  5. The road survey is complete both above and under the bridge, and can now be exported. 


Tips and Tricks

  • Along with .csv files, you can also use a CAD file exported from your survey equipment. 
    • In addition to points, those files can contain other survey items like lines or boundaries. 
  • Other file formats you can import include Shapefile (.shp) and Drawing Exchange Format (.dxf).