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Monitoring

Understanding Monitoring in Pix4Dfields​

Monitoring in Pix4Dfields enables farmers, agronomists, and researchers to track crop health, growth, and field conditions over time. This involves capturing drone or multispectral imagery, processing it, and analyzing vegetation indices to guide decisions.

Key Monitoring Capabilities​

1. Real-Time Field Monitoring​

  • Import drone images (RGB or multispectral) and process them in-field on a laptop or tablet.
  • Generate instant orthomosaics without the need for internet.
  • Quickly assess overall field conditions immediately after flight.

2. Vegetation Indices​

  • Create crop health maps using indices such as:
    • NDVI – Normalized Difference Vegetation Index
    • NDRE – Normalized Difference Red Edge
    • VARI – Visible Atmospherically Resistant Index
  • Detect plant stress, nutrient deficiencies, and irrigation issues.

3. Timeline Monitoring​

  • Compare maps from different flight dates.
  • Track trends in growth, stress, and yield potential.
  • Build a seasonal "growth timeline" for entire fields.

4. Zonation & Prescription Maps​

  • Segment fields into zones based on plant vigor.
  • Generate variable-rate application maps for fertilizer or pesticide application.
  • Export shapefiles for use in tractors or farm management systems.

5. Collaboration & Decision Support​

  • Share monitoring results with farmers, advisors, or contractors.
  • Export reports in GeoTIFF, SHP, and PDF for GIS integration.
  • Sync data with platforms like John Deere Operations Center and other FMIS systems.

Monitoring Workflow Example​

  1. Fly a drone over a maize field using RGB + multispectral cameras.
  2. Import images into Pix4Dfields → process into an orthomosaic.
  3. Apply NDVI index to highlight stressed vs healthy areas.
  4. Compare with previous flights using timeline view.
  5. Export a prescription map for variable-rate spraying.
  6. Monitor results after intervention → repeat as needed.

Outputs for Monitoring​

  • Orthomosaics (RGB / multispectral)
  • Vegetation Index Maps (GeoTIFF, PDF)
  • Prescription Files (SHP, ISO-XML)
  • PDF Reports for decision-making