I’m looking for a piece of software...

[JoeDimwit]

For the purpose of this conversation, let’s assume that I work for a large, well known automobile manufacturer, and flying a drone is only part of my job responsibilities. Let’s also assume that the drone program is still in its infancy (less than 3 months old), and we are looking for ways to expand our usefulness and value.

Given all that, I’m wondering if there is a way I can fly a path and take pictures over our storage lots, then use software to stitch those pictures together and get an accurate count of the vehicles in that lot. Bonus points if that can be broken down by colors, and even more bonus points if it can break down by color and sunroof.

Any ideas? Outside the obvious that I’m likely out of my ever-lovin’ mind?

 

[dbyantis]

Drone Deploy (Drone & UAV Mapping Platform | DroneDeploy) can layout a mission. Get a high school student for the summer to count the cars in the photos? Sorry, do not know of any (OTS) Off-the-shelf object recognition software.

 

[AnzacJack]

Drone Deploy (Drone & UAV Mapping Platform | DroneDeploy) can layout a mission. Get a high school student for the summer to count the cars in the photos? Sorry, do not know of any (OTS) Off-the-shelf object recognition software.

Yea, definitely something you may have to get a software guru to write up for you. I can’t imagine it would be too over the top. For the pics, there are a few, it as suggested already, drone deploy works

 

[brett8883]

For the purpose of this conversation, let’s assume that I work for a large, well known automobile manufacturer, and flying a drone is only part of my job responsibilities. Let’s also assume that the drone program is still in its infancy (less than 3 months old), and we are looking for ways to expand our usefulness and value.

Given all that, I’m wondering if there is a way I can fly a path and take pictures over our storage lots, then use software to stitch those pictures together and get an accurate count of the vehicles in that lot. Bonus points if that can be broken down by colors, and even more bonus points if it can break down by color and sunroof.

Any ideas? Outside the obvious that I’m likely out of my ever-lovin’ mind?

Like has been mentioned there is already mapping software that can stitch together many pictures like drone deploy and Pix4DCapture. To have a program count the number of cars is another matter. It’s really gonna depend on just how accurate it needs to be.

There was another member who was hoping for a similar software to count birds I think it was. I started making a program using Google vision to try to make it work but the member ended up during satisfied with a less automated approach so I didn’t pursue.

Google vision has a fairly user friendly API and seemed to me to be really good at coming up with additional information about an item accurately like, “car, blue, SUV.” The sunroof might be pushing it but it could tell you the color for-sure.

The trick with these types of programs is to narrow the mission as much as possible so you could have one system telling you “there are 400 items in this picture.” Then another one to analyze each “item” to determine what it is so it will say, “of the 400 items only 300 are cars.” (You only care about the cars so it doesn’t need to tell you what the others things are just car or non-car. Then you feed the 300 items to a program that can determine color and to another to figure out sunroof no sunroof.

So you aren’t crazy but this is still in its practical infancy and it will take a “guru” to put together a custom program for you since these kinds of programs aren’t flexible enough yet to many things well.

 

[Keule]

Any ideas?

Following links might help a little: Drone-based Object Counting
or this: NanoNets, Drone API

 

[brett8883]

Following links might help a little: Drone-based Object Counting
or this: NanoNets, Drone API

There ya go

 

[Meta4]

Even better:
There are apps being developed to integrate with DroneDeploy to count objects.
Here's one ...
TensorFlight
TensorFlight automatically detects various object like trees, animals and cars.
Receive results in DroneDeploy or export shapefile for detailed analysis. Detailed tutorial is at https://tensorflight.com/tutorial.

Some more details here: Developing Apps for Drone Data

 

[AnzacJack]

Wow. Some nice applications I’m definitely going to have to play with

 

[Racin8de]

You may want to contact a satellite company, lol... IDK!!