The DAT/EM Summit Evolution stereoplotter is designed to integrate your 3D mapping tasks seamlessly by visualizing stereo 3D imagery and digitizing 3D coordinate information directly into your project using the CAD and GIS products you already use. Early in the Summit Evolution development, DAT/EM programmers decided that this software would align with the top industry-standard computer-aided design (CAD) and geographic information system (GIS) products. By doing this, we eliminated the time-consuming vector format translations that other photogrammetric software programs required. This is unique in the industry.

Summit Evolution includes DAT/EM Capture which works with standard CAD and GIS packages to offer you a comprehensive photogrammetric workstation with a familiar vector collection environment. We offer several different licensing levels so you can choose which modules and features are right for your business’s needs. In this blog, we explore how our software solutions can enhance your existing 3D vectorization, visualization, editing, and analysis results.

Interested in how Summit Evolution can revolutionize your business? Contact us to learn more.

The Summit Evolution Digital Photogrammetric Workstation

What makes Summit Evolution so special is that it provides a powerful set of tools for discovering and capturing 3D information, and it does this from stereo imagery. Stereo is created by taking two or more overlapping images, modeling the camera and flight acquisition conditions, and displaying on specialized stereo monitors. The offset of the two images creates depth, allowing the user to measure ground coordinates in three dimensions.

Summit Evolution projects can be created from a wide range of imagery, including scanned film and digital aerial, close range, digital sensor, orthophoto, synthetic aperture radar, LiDAR, and satellite sources. It is also possible to import projects from a third-party system and bring them into immediate production.

Summit Evolution includes CAD and GIS interfaces for convenient 3D vector collection. The contents of the GIS or CAD file are superimposed over Summit’s stereo images. The visual feedback you receive from superimposition is immediate, allowing you to verify that the vectors match the scene in three-dimensions. This allows you to see what lies around the base of a building, for example, and can digitize new 3D objects viewed there.

The powerful combination of superimposition and DAT/EM Capture is that they are available for both Summit Evolution and LandScape, DAT/EM’s 3D point cloud editor. This is the most user-friendly way available to visualize and capture the real world.

Summit Evolution: Software Compatibility

As the best in its class, DAT/EM operates in the photogrammetric software niche, and we have an outstanding reputation for being a great and responsive developer.

Our Summit Evolution software is compatible with CAD and GIS programs: Autodesk’s AutoCAD, Bentley’s MicroStation (including CONNECT), Esri’s ArcGIS, and Blue Marble’s Global Mapper. These software packages allow you to draw and edit 3D designs with speed and efficiency. The resulting vector files can be easily saved and stored in the cloud or delivered to your customers in these familiar formats.

Licensing Levels

Summit Evolution can be purchased in any one of our product levels. If you choose Professional, it will include orientation measurement, orthorectification, terrain visualization, contour generation, point translation, DTM collection, and more.

Feature Collection has all the vector collection tools that Professional has. It works best for those who want to focus on vector collection, but whose project setup, orientation, and orthophoto processing needs are met elsewhere.

Third in line is our Lite option, which is specifically designed for resource specialists, GIS technicians, and QA professionals. Lite has basic vector collection tools plus the ability to use these vector collection tools in their associated CAD program. Project setup and other advanced tools are not included.

Lastly, Summit UAS is a combination of Summit Lite plus LandScape, the point cloud editor, that creates a unique ability to analyze UAS data in stereo.

User-Friendly Design

Other user-friendly tools you’ll find include automatic model changes, color corrections, multiple viewports that show multiple models, and many vector collection tools specific to mapping.

Clever user setups include custom cursor designs, specialized 3D mouse button setups, a programmable keypad for complex settings, and several ways to efficiently pan and zoom throughout your imagery.

Specialized Modules

DAT/EM’s product line includes several tools that can be used in conjunction with Summit Evolution to offer the best of photogrammetric software to users. These include:

• Capture: DAT/EM Capture is the primary tool for 3D vector collection from stereo images. It includes such features as custom building-squaring, DTM point collection, CAD-specific attribute mapping, and spot elevations.
• Contour Creator: The Contour Creator module creates and stores elevation contours, smooths the appearance of linework, and stores them as CAD or GIS drawings or vector interchange files. It offers tools such as automatic depression contour identification, TIN- or grid-based calculations, and contour exclusion removal.
• MapEditor: The MapEditor toolkit for AutoCAD or MicroStation includes a variety of useful mapping tools, such as redundant feature detection, contour labeling, intersection detection and noding, layer and attribute changing, and symbol replacement.
• Airfield3D: Airfield 3D is provided with Summit Evolution Professional with the Capture for ArcGIS It performs various obstruction identification studies for United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-controlled airports. It conveniently superimposes obstruction identification surfaces over Summit Evolution’s stereo images. This helps the user digitize and report obstruction data.
• Ortho+Mosaic: The Ortho+Mosaic tool allows users to create orthophotos and orthophoto mosaics from Summit Evolution projects. It works with a variety of imagery, point file, and vector file input. Orthophotos can be adjusted, corrected, and exported to Tiff, BigTiff, and Jpeg2000 image formats.

Contact Us for a Demo

You can choose the Summit Evolution licensing level that works best for your business needs. We offer affordable tools that will get you going in 3D photogrammetry for far less money than what our competitors charge. Our customers say we have the best support in the industry! Additionally, our user-friendly design and software compatibility make our photogrammetric software an obvious choice for your 3D mapping needs.

Interested in trying out Summit Evolution for your business? Contact our team for a 30-day demo of our software.