Glossary

A quick reference for the terms and abbreviations used throughout AVAG documentation, from data formats and processing options to measurement and map tools. If you come across a term on any page that isn’t clear, check here first.

Automated processing — Free, fully automated photogrammetric processing included on every plan. Requires no Ground Control Points (GCPs); coordinate system is read from photo EXIF data.

AVAG Admin — User role with full User permissions plus access to User management (inviting/removing teammates).

AVAG Guest — User role limited to viewing assigned data. Cannot upload, delete, or create projects, objects, or layers.

AVAG User — User role that can view, upload, delete assigned data, and create projects, objects, and layers.

Base surface — The reference plane used in a volume calculation. Methods include Triangulated, Lowest point, Highest point, Average point, and Custom elevation.

Check points — Independent GCPs not used during processing, reserved to validate accuracy afterward. Best practice: use a minimum of 3.

Classification (point cloud) — A category assigned to each point in a point cloud (e.g., Ground, Building, Vegetation, Water). Used to isolate specific elements of a scene.

Coordinate system — The geographic reference frame used to position your data. AVAG supports any coordinate system and reads it automatically from photo EXIF when available.

Credits — AVAG’s currency for Expert processing. 1 credit = 1 expert-processed dataset of up to 500 photos, priced at 99€/credit. Credits don’t expire.

Cut/Fill map — A color-coded visual (blue = fill, red = cut, white = no change) showing material added or removed between two surveys or between a survey and a base plane.

Design surface (layer) — A 3D surface imported via LandXML, used to compare planned construction designs against actual survey data.

Dock (drone dock) — An automated docking station connected to AVAG via cloud storage (S3), enabling scheduled or remote drone flights to upload imagery without manual intervention.

DSM (Digital Surface Model) — A raster elevation model representing the height of everything visible from above, including structures, vegetation, and stockpiles. The foundation for volume calculations and terrain analysis in AVAG.

Expert processing — Paid, semi-automated processing handled by AVAG’s photogrammetry team. Includes GCP application, accuracy verification, and the advanced MapClean feature. Purchased as credits.

EXIF — Metadata embedded in photo files (including GPS coordinates) that AVAG reads automatically to determine a dataset’s coordinate system when GCPs aren’t used.

FPV (First Person View) — A 3D navigation mode where you move through a scene as if walking through it, looking freely in any direction.

GCP (Ground Control Point) — A surveyed reference point used during processing to anchor photogrammetric data to precise real-world coordinates, improving absolute accuracy.

GeoTIFF — A georeferenced image file format (.tif/.tiff) used for orthophotos and DSMs. Contains embedded geographic coordinates.

Layer — A single dataset within an Object (e.g., one drone flight). Each layer can contain up to four sublayers: Orthophoto, DSM, Slope, and Point Cloud.

LandXML — A civil engineering file format (.xml) used to import 3D design surfaces, such as a planned earthworks grade, for comparison against survey data.

LAS / LAZ — Standard 3D point cloud file formats. LAS is uncompressed; LAZ is a compressed version of the same data.

Limit box — A defined 3D boundary that hides everything outside it in the point cloud view, used to isolate a specific feature for inspection or measurement.

Mesh — A 3D surface model made of triangles with photographic texture applied, giving a realistic, measurable 3D representation of a site.

MapClean — A tool for digitally removing unwanted objects (vehicles, machinery, stockpiles) from a DSM by interpolating the terrain beneath them, so subsequent calculations reflect true terrain.

Multi-window — A display feature allowing up to four independent map views open simultaneously, each showing a different layer, date, or view mode for side-by-side comparison.

No GCPs — The default checkbox setting for photo uploads that triggers free Automated processing using EXIF-based positioning instead of ground control.

Object — The middle tier of AVAG’s data hierarchy (Project → Object → Layer). Groups related layers together, e.g., all flights over a specific site area.

Orbit (3D view) — A 3D camera mode where the view rotates around a fixed central point, useful for inspecting a stockpile or structure from all angles.

Orthophoto — A top-down aerial image corrected for lens distortion and georeferenced, functioning like an accurate satellite-style map of a site.

PANO — The 360° panoramic tour view mode, used to navigate ground-level imagery linked to map positions.

Point Cloud — A dense collection of georeferenced 3D points generated via photogrammetry or LiDAR, used for detailed 3D visualization and measurement.

Project — The top tier of AVAG’s data hierarchy. Contains one or more Objects.

PPK (Post-Processed Kinematic) — A GNSS correction method that can recover positional accuracy after a flight, provided the drone supports it and logging was active — a fallback if RTK signal drops mid-flight.

RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) — A GNSS correction method giving drones real-time positioning accuracy during flight, good for fast internal monitoring but not always sufficient for high-stakes decisions like billing or design comparisons.

Section profile — An automatically generated series of cross-sections perpendicular to a drawn center line, commonly used for road or corridor surveys.

Shapefile (.shp) — A widely used GIS vector format for storing points, lines, and polygons with attributes, often exported from surveying software or land registries.

Slope (layer) — A visualization of terrain gradient derived from the DSM, used to identify steep areas and drainage patterns.

Sublayer — One of up to four data types within a layer: Orthophoto, DSM, Slope, or Point Cloud.

Triangulated (base surface) — A volume-calculation base method that creates a best-fit triangulated plane across a polygon boundary; the most accurate method for irregular terrain.

WMS (Web Map Service) — A standard protocol for displaying external map layers (e.g., cadastral maps, national orthophotos) behind your drone data.

WMS Region — The country/region setting on an account or dataset that determines which country-specific WMS services (e.g., ČÚZK, LPIS for Czech users) are available.

ČÚZK — The Czech Office for Surveying, Mapping and Cadastre. Provides several WMS layers (national orthophoto, cadastral map, topographic map) available to Czech-region AVAG accounts.

LPIS — Land Parcel Identification System. A WMS layer showing agricultural land parcels and field boundaries, useful for agricultural drone surveys.