The new Interior view within DroneDeploy equips Construction, Property Management, and Energy customers with the ability to organize their interior Walks and Levels alongside maps and models on multi-level sites within DroneDeploy.
In this article, we will cover:
- Overview of Interior Levels
- Creating a Level
- Uploading a Drawing to a Level
- Drawing Alignment
- Setting a Base Floor Plan
- Switching and Managing Levels
- Adding Media to Levels
- Creating Folders for Levels
- Uploading & Viewing Media
- FAQ
Overview
The Level View at a glance:
- A clear view of interior Walks on specific Levels
- Organize captures, associated Drawings, and Field Notes by location on the project site
- Compare & Inspect Walks on the same Level over time
Creating new Levels and uploading corresponding Drawings and Walks allows for seamless navigation from maps and models of the site exterior, to ground-based captures across multiple Levels on the building interior.
The new Interior Level view mode is activated by clicking on the Interior tab at the top right of the EXPLORE page.
Creating a Level
Levels can be added to a project from the Interior view mode.
If this is the first time you are accessing the Interior view you will be asked to upload a drawing, which will then prompt you to create a Level.
- Click + Upload drawing, and you will be prompted to create and name a Level to which the overlay will be added.
The upload modal will appear:
We will retain the name of the drawing as the new Level name. You can edit this to the left of the alignment screen:
Select Done and view your new Level and Drawing in the Interior tab:
Adding Drawings to Levels
Multiple overlays can be added to a level (think HVAC or MEP plans in addition to architectural), but at least one floor plan must be uploaded before Walks can be added to the Level.
Note: You can upload drawings directly from your projects in Procore, Autodesk BIM 360, or PlanGrid into DroneDeploy.
Use the + icon in the left panel to add additional drawings to your Level or Exterior:
Drawing Alignment (Exterior/Interior)
Once your Drawing has been uploaded, you’ll be automatically taken to the alignment screen. Here, you can choose which Level you want to add the Drawing to (it will default to the Level or map you viewed last), and choose your alignment points.
Step 1: Choose to align it to an overlay/orthomap on the Interior or Exterior. Note: the alignment pins will default to the bottom left and top right of the drawing rather than both pins floating on the top left. If you have a previous overlay uploaded, the alignment pins will match the position of that previous alignment.
Step 2: Place drawing on another overlay or orthomap. Note: If you have a previous overlay uploaded, the alignment pins will match the position of that previous alignment.
Once you have completed the alignment, you'll see a processing notice when the Drawing has been uploaded. This is expected and you will have a low-resolution placeholder available!
Setting a Base Floor Plan
Should you upload multiple overlays to a single level, you have the option to choose a "Base Floor Plan", which will be the layer that you will see by default when you drop into that Level.
To set a Base Floor Plan, open the Overlays tab in the left panel:
The current Base Floor Plan will be noted by a grey flag:
To update this, choose the target plan, then toggle on "Base Floor Plan":
Switching and Managing Levels
Once a Level has been added to your project, a Level selector will appear at the top next to the Interior tab.
Once you click into the Level selector, the Level manager will appear. From there you can navigate to any Level within a project, view the media types uploaded to each Level, and reorganize Levels.
Use the Manage Levels button to reorder, delete, and edit your Levels!
Note: Admins and editors in DroneDeploy can edit Level names, reorder Levels, or delete them at any time via the Manage Levels modal.
Deleting a level will not delete the data on that level - Drawings, Walks, Media, and associated Field Notes will return to the Exterior Map view.
Adding Media to Levels
We allow Walks, Panos, Photos, and Videos to be uploaded on any Level.
From the Level select Upload next to Media in the left-side panel. From there you will be directed to the Smart Uploader where you can upload your media.
Walks can be added to a Level during upload as part of the alignment step or after upload with the steps below:
- Select the Walk layer on the left-side panel and click the three dots to the right of the name. Choose ‘Edit Location’. This will take to to the alignment page, where you can choose the level that you’d like to move your Walk to.
- After hitting ‘Done’, you will be taken to the new Level the Walk has been added to, and any associated Field Notes will be moved to the Level as well.
Creating Folders for Levels
Enables users to organize their levels into folders.For example, in a multi-building site, users can utilize folders to categorize levels according to each building. For instance, creating a folder for "Building A" and another for "Building B."
How to:
Select "New Folder" button to create a folder and type out the name you will title this folderOnce completed simply select "Save" and the new folder will be created showing a green prompt in the bottom left corner of this being completed successfully:
Congratulations - Your new folder has now been created to organize your levels!
Adding Scale to Levels
Improve your Walk marker visualization and alignment by setting the scale of your Interior Levels. With this feature, you can assign an official scale to your drawings, enabling DroneDeploy the opportunity to place your Walk markers and pathways better as close to reality as possible.
How to Set Scale:
Step 1) Open the interior level panel by clicking on the current level:
Step 2) Use the three-dot menu to choose "Set Scale"
Step 3) Use the crosshair tool to choose a reference distance on the map. In this way, you tell DroneDeploy exactly how to scale your drawing, giving us more precise ways to place your Walks.
You can use a scale bar on your drawing or any known measurement in the file.
Note: If you wish to have this function in meters, head to your settings to update your unit preferences.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
I have existing Walks in DroneDeploy - how can I use Levels? Existing Walks can be migrated to Levels without needing to re-upload. Selecting ‘Edit Location’ from the sidebar will take you to the Alignment page, where a Level can be selected
Will an existing Drawing be added to a Level? No, at this time you will need to re-upload the existing Drawing in order to add it to the new Level.
Can multiple Walks be added to the same Level? Yes, customers can add as many Walks as they’d like to a Drawing on a Level.
Can multiple Drawings be added to a Level? Yes - customers have shared that it may be valuable to have both architectural plan/demo drawing for a level available for reference.
What if my Walk covers multiple levels? Best practices for processing and visualization of Walks within DroneDeploy, is to keep capture limited to one Level. A workaround for this case is to reflect the capture area in the chosen Level name, and include Drawings from all areas walked on the Level.
What if my project has multiple buildings? Levels are our first introduction of grouping in DroneDeploy, and we’ve optimized for single buildings that are multi-level with this release. That being said, customers have flexibility in their Level naming and in what floor plans they add. We anticipate some users may use ‘Phases’ or ‘Buildings’ to organize their Walks within the Levels structure.