Skip to content
Octo × Drone PT Request an assessment

Octo for drone aerial photogrammetry

The flight becomes an orthomosaic overnight. The one who accepts the error is you.

Aligning photos, adjusting with ground control points, building the dense cloud, DSM, DTM, orthomosaic and report all run end to end by script in Metashape Professional, the PIX4Dengine SDK and OpenDroneMap. Octo writes the pipeline, places the markers from a file, keeps the check points separate and stops the batch when the error exceeds the criterion. The flight plan and authorization, the targets in the field, acceptance of the accuracy and the signature stay with qualified people.

Request an assessment See what it does
A drone flies strips over an area with overlapping photo footprints, ground control points and check points; Octo, in the center, takes the flight to an accuracy card with check-point RMSE and to a queue of products that ends in review by a person FICTIONAL FLIGHT · STRIPS · GSD ▲ CONTROL ● CHECK ACCURACY CONTROL (6) RMSE XY · Z CHECK (5) RMSE XY · Z CRITERION: PROJECT'S MEETS → CONTINUES ACCEPTED BY: LEAD PRODUCTS CLOUD · GROUND CLASS DTM · DSM ORTHO · REPORT SIGNATURE: PERSON marker.reference.enabled = False # check point OCTO × DRONE PHOTOGRAMMETRY T-05
Metashape Pro2.3.2Python reference from Aug 25, 2026
OpenDroneMap3.6.2release of Aug 12, 2026, AGPL-3.0
ANACRBAC 100replaced RBAC-E 94 on Jun 16, 2026
Sources16listed at the end of the page
01

What Octo does with drone photos.

Six possible deliverables, drawn from the research. All of them run on the client's machine or server, with the original photos only read, and all of them go to review by the person accountable for the survey.

Headless Metashape

A pipeline with metashape.sh -r or the standalone Python module: align, optimize, dense cloud, ground, DTM, DSM, orthomosaic and PDF report, with the approved parameters saved in the script.

Deliverable: a reviewable script, tested on a flight already processed by hand

GCPs from a file

Reads the point spreadsheet and the marker table (photo, pixel) and creates the markers, with check points excluded from the adjustment. Flags any point seen in fewer than three photos.

Deliverable: markers created without clicking photo by photo

Separate RMSE and a stop on criteria

Computes control and check-point RMSE, writes CSV and JSON, and stops before the dense cloud if the check points exceed the criterion the person in charge approved.

Deliverable: per-point error table and a plain-language summary

OpenDroneMap batch

Several flights queued in ODM on Docker, with a pinned version, or on a NodeODM through the API (PyODM), each flight with its own log and quality control.

Deliverable: batch + summary of every flight

Product quality control

Checks that the orthomosaic, DSM, DTM and point cloud exist, reads the actual GSD, measures no-data areas and the vertical error at the check points, including for products made in other software.

Deliverable: qc.json per flight, with what passes and what doesn't

Flight plan checked before going to the field

GSD, footprint, overlaps and motion blur calculated at the terrain's minimum and maximum elevations, with a reminder of the authorization requirements, which stay with the pilot.

Deliverable: plan checked in seconds
02

Eight arms, one processed flight.

The same Octo cycle, applied to drone photogrammetry. Each arm has a narrow role; the ones who fly, measure the targets, accept the accuracy and sign are people.

  1. Discovery

    Surveys what already exists

    Software and edition (Metashape Pro or Standard, ODM, DJI Terra, PIX4Dmatic), drone and camera, RTK or PPK, how targets are measured and where photos and products are stored.

  2. Data

    Pins down references

    Coordinate system, normal height with IBGE's hgeoHNOR2020, the format of the point spreadsheet and markers, the names of the flight folders.

  3. Security

    Looks after access and imagery

    License key kept out of the script, original photos only read. Aerial photos show people, license plates and houses: they are assessed with the client (LGPD, Brazil's data protection law) before going to any external service, including AI.

  4. Architecture

    Chooses the path

    Metashape, PIX4Dengine SDK or ODM; local workstation, GPU server or NodeODM; what runs overnight and where the batch stops and waits for review.

  5. Development

    Writes the pipeline

    Python and shell with the criteria saved, a log per flight, exit codes, a simulation mode and the source of each call noted in the file.

  6. Review

    Checks against a known flight

    Compares with a flight already processed by hand: same RMSE, same GSD, products overlaid in QGIS. Checks by the numbers and the image, not by the absence of errors.

  7. Release

    Delivers for review

    Products and the report go to a review folder. Nothing reaches the end client or a public agency without the lead's acceptance.

  8. Documentation

    Records what applies to your project

    Software version, parameters, criteria and the result of each flight. One contract's criteria are never assumed for another.

Octo works in a support role. It does not fly, does not request authorization in SARPAS, does not place or measure targets, does not sign an ART and does not declare an accuracy class: that belongs to qualified people.

03

Every task, its own path.

The criteria Octo uses to choose, always with the documentation for the version installed at the client.

TaskPathNotes
Process a flight headlessmetashape.sh -r or the Metashape wheelPython only in the Professional edition
Process on a Linux server with open-source softwareODM on Docker, pinned versionAGPL-3.0
Flight queue through an APINodeODM + PyODM, or WebODMToken as a parameter (NodeODM) or JWT (WebODM)
Photogrammetry inside your own productPIX4Dengine SDK (pix4dvortex)Python 3.10; commercial license
Place GCPs without clicking photo by photoA rótulo;foto;px;py table or detectMarkersMarker placement reviewed by a person
Keep check points separateMetashape reference.enabled=False; WebODM "Checkpoint"; ODM: left out of gcp_list.txtAccuracy RMSE only on check points
Use PPK positionsMetashape: accuracy per camera and antenna; ODM: --geoBase and antenna checked by a person
Check the flight planFlight plan checkDoes not replace the pilot's planning
Check third-party products (DJI Terra, PIX4Dmatic)Batch check, adapted to the file namesSame criteria for all software
04

From flights processed by hand to an overnight routine.

Three steps. Each one only makes sense after the previous one has shown results on your team.

A proposal, not a promise

1 Today

On-demand checks and scripts

You describe how you process a flight and Octo proposes the script, tested on a flight you already know.

  • Plan check before going to the field
  • Check-point RMSE recalculated from the error table
  • Comparison with processing done by hand
Gain: the same criteria on every flight
2 Next

Pipeline with GCPs from a file

Your standard processing becomes a pipeline, with markers created from a file and an automatic stop when the check points fail.

  • Headless Metashape or ODM
  • Error table and plain-language summary
  • Quality control for products from any software
Gain: the team reviews errors, not clicks
3 Later

Monitored overnight batch

The day's flights go into a queue at night, on a GPU server or NodeODM, with a summary read by Octo in the morning.

  • Flight queue with a pinned software version
  • Automatic sorting of what goes to review
  • Version, parameter and result log for each flight
Gain: the product doesn't wait for someone to remember
05

Confirmed by a source.

Every point below has a source published by the responsible agency (Planalto, INCRA, IBGE, ANAC, DECEA), by the vendor or by the project. ABNT standards appear only by number and title. The sources are in the next section.

4

points with a published source, each with its reference shown alongside.

ConfirmedRBAC 100 replaces RBAC-E 94
ANAC Resolution No. 805, of Jun 15, 2026, approved RBAC No. 100, fully replacing RBAC-E No. 94, effective on publication (Official Gazette of Jun 16, 2026). Acts issued under RBAC-E 94 remain valid; operations outside the open category have 2 years to obtain operational authorization.Source: Resolution No. 805/2026 (anac.gov.br)
ConfirmedSARPAS required even up to 250 g, and 4 days for aerial surveys
ICA 100-40, approved by DECEA Ordinance No. 2.094/DNOR8 and in force since Jul 1, 2026, requires SARPAS authorization even for aircraft of up to 250 g (art. 19 §4 and art. 55), except for recreational operation in airspace designated for recreation (art. 55 §2), with 4 calendar days' notice for aerial surveys or areas over 100 km² (art. 57).Source: ICA 100-40, published in BCA 058 of Mar 30, 2026
ConfirmedIn Metashape, a check point is an unchecked box
Markers with the box unchecked are check points; the report gives XY, Z, total and pixel error for control and check points. The Python API exists only in the Professional edition; the current version is 2.3.2.Source: Metashape Pro 2.3 manual; Python reference 2.3.2; Agisoft downloads page
ConfirmedODM from the command line
ODM 3.6.2 runs on Docker with --project-path, produces dsm.tif, dtm.tif, an orthomosaic and a LAZ point cloud, and reads gcp_list.txt (coordinate system on line 1; 15 or more lines recommended). The WebODM report shows checkpoints in a separate table, with RMS and CE90/LE90.Source: docs.opendronemap.org; docs.webodm.net
06

What Octo does, and what stays with you.

Octo prepares everything, but it does not sign. The document of record stays with whoever is accountable for it.

Octo prepares

Surveys, calculates, organizes and produces the documents: spreadsheets, reports, drawings and draft legal descriptions.

Deliverable: material ready to check

Your team checks

The licensed professional checks what Octo delivered before signing. If something doesn't add up, it goes back to Octo with the correction.

Step: checked by the person who signs

Who signs

Octo does not sign. Designs, technical reports, ART/RRT, statements of account and any official document are still signed by the licensed professional at the company or agency: here, the surveying or cartographic engineer with an ART filed with CREA, or the surveying technician with a TRT filed with CRT; for rural properties, the professional accredited by INCRA, who submits to SIGEF.

Signature: licensed professional, with ART or TRT
07

Sources.

Documentation from the vendors, open-source projects and agencies used in the research, consulted on Oct 31, 2026.

Your flight processed with the same criteria, every time.

The assessment starts with a flight your team has already processed by hand, without touching the original photos. You get a proposal for what can be automated, tested on that flight, and you decide with that in hand.

Request an assessment