When Ground Pro is enabled on a project, every 360 Walk automatically reconstructs into a 3D Walk: a navigable mesh of the captured space, in addition to the standard 360 imagery, floor map, and ceiling map. A 3D Walk lets you verify measurements, compare against previous Walks or a BIM model, and share findings with your team, all without a return site visit.
Availability: Who has access?
3D Walks are available to Ground Pro customers. Contact your account team or email support@dronedeploy.com to learn more about Ground Pro access.
How to use 3D Walks
Capture a Walk
Capture a 360 Walk using the DroneDeploy Ground app on an interior level. Ground Pro processes the Walk automatically into a 3D Walk, alongside the floor map and ceiling map. For capture tips, see 3D Walk Capture Best Practices.
Open the 3D Walk
- Navigate to the project's Explore page.
- Select the Interior tab, then choose the level that contains your Walk.
- Open the Walk, then switch on Pro Viewer to access the 3D Walk's measurement and dollhouse tools.
Navigate the 3D Walk
Move through the 3D Walk the same way you'd move through the space in person, following the captured path. Switch to dollhouse view for an overhead, orbiting view of the full 3D model, which is useful for understanding layout and picking a starting point before you drop back into the walkthrough.
Take a measurement
- With Pro Viewer turned on, select the Measure tool.
- Click the first point on the model.
- Click the second point to complete the measurement.
Measurements save automatically to the 3D Walk. See the Limitations section for factors that affect measurement accuracy.
Compare, annotate, and share
- Compare: Compare a 3D Walk against a previous Walk on the same level, or against a BIM model, to review progress or check conditions against design intent. See BIM Compare for DroneDeploy Ground.
- Field Notes: Add point annotations directly on the 3D model to flag issues or track follow-ups.
- Export: Export the 3D Walk mesh as an OBJ file for use in other tools.
- Share: Share a 3D Walk with your team using a public share link or a Snapshot.
Key features
- Automatic 3D reconstruction from a standard interior Walk capture. No separate scan or upload is required.
- Spatial navigation through the captured space, plus a dollhouse view for a full overhead model.
- Point-to-point distance measurements, saved directly on the 3D Walk.
- Comparison against previous Walks or an uploaded BIM model.
- Point annotations with Field Notes.
- Mesh export as OBJ.
- Sharing through public share links and Snapshot.
Limitations
- Measurement accuracy depends on the quality of the underlying mesh reconstruction, which depends on capture quality, and on the level's scale. Follow the guidance in 3D Walk Capture Best Practices to improve accuracy.
- 3D Walks are supported for interior captures only. Exterior Walks don't generate a 3D Walk model.
- Enabling Ground Pro on a project isn't retroactive. Walks captured before Ground Pro was enabled need to be reprocessed to generate a 3D Walk. Contact support@dronedeploy.com for help reprocessing existing Walks.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: Do I need to capture anything differently to get a 3D Walk?
A: No. A 3D Walk is generated automatically from a standard 360 Walk capture on a Ground Pro-enabled project. Following the guidance in 3D Walk Capture Best Practices produces the best results.
Q: Will my existing Walks automatically turn into 3D Walks once Ground Pro is enabled?
A: No. Enabling Ground Pro on a project applies to new Walk captures going forward. Contact support@dronedeploy.com to reprocess existing Walks.