Easy & Fast Topographic Survey Work

With PPK processing alone, expect 3 to 5 cm accuracy. With a local GNSS base, 4–5 well-placed ground control points and a careful setup, accuracy improves, with examples of 1 to 2 cm in some cases. Results vary with site conditions.

Accuracy is highest in open environments with strong GNSS signal and high visual texture, where residuals tighten significantly. In canopy or visually complex obstruction zones, accuracy depends more heavily on ground control distribution and reconstruction geometry.

The qCam continues capturing imagery even in low-GNSS environments. In these conditions, positioning is reconstructed primarily from image overlap and control alignment rather than continuous satellite lock.

Absolute accuracy is maintained through:

• ground control points
• GNSS re-acquisition when exiting canopy
• post-processing alignment in the Looq Platform

Bridging into open sky areas at the start and end of capture improves overall stability.

Photogrammetry performs best in high-texture environments with vertical variation. On flat or low-feature sites, GNSS and ground control carry more of the positional accuracy load. In these conditions:

• More dense GCP placement improves stability
• Overlap patterns become more important than geometry complexity
• Reconstruction relies more heavily on control than feature matching

The workflow remains valid, but control strategy becomes the dominant accuracy driver.

A minimum of three ground control points is required for the Align to Control workflow (rigid-body transformation).

Four to five points is recommended for redundancy and quality checking.

Best practice:

• Distribute GCPs around the extents of the capture area
• Avoid linear placement
• Ensure all points are clearly visible in the dataset

The workflow is designed for single-operator field capture. One technician can:

• Place or verify ground control (if pre-set)
• Perform full site capture using qCam
• Complete walk-through coverage without additional crew

No second operator is required.

A typical 20-minute capture produces:

• ~1.5–2 GB LAZ point cloud
• Thin LAZ reduces this to ~10% of original size
• GeoTIFF orthos and panoramic imagery add modest incremental storage

Data is stored, processed, and shared through the Looq Platform (qApp), enabling browser-based access without requiring local CAD storage.

Cap each capture at 30 minutes. For sites larger than that, plan adjacent tiles with overlap and place ground control inside the overlap zone. That’s how the platform stitches separate tiles into one continuous dataset. The PPK adjustment runs per tile; the Align-to-Control transformation locks them together against your surveyed network.

Coffee-cup hold, mild brisk pace, snaking pattern across the site. Multiple parallel passes in opposite directions. Walk features of interest like curb lines and breaklines directly; circle objects of interest for oblique geometry. Avoid jerky motion and fast turns. Loop closures at safe crossings tighten the entire reconstruction.

Upload your surveyed GCPs as a CSV to qApp, mark each point in the 3D viewer through the ATC wizard, then run the rigid-body transformation. The platform reprocesses the cloud and ortho aligned to your control network. Typical office time: 20 to 30 minutes per capture once the GCPs are surveyed.

Virtual Survey is a browser tool in qApp for picking points and lines from the 3D viewer using a feature code library. Output: feature-coded CSV ready for Civil 3D or Trimble Business Center import. Field-to-finish extraction without a separate CAD station.

12 to 24 hours from upload to deliverables in qApp is typical. Worst case 24 to 48 hours. Most topographic captures fall in the 12-hour range; complex sites with multiple tiles, heavy canopy, or limited GNSS coverage take longer.

Yes. That’s how tiling works. Each tile captures independently, processes through PPK separately, then both tiles align to the same surveyed control via the ATC tool. Place GCPs in the overlap zone between adjacent tiles and the platform stitches them seamlessly.

Photogrammetry reconstructs 3D from 2D imagery, so the qCam captures everything it can see, including base-of-pole, under-canopy detail, and structure interiors that aerial LiDAR can’t reach. LiDAR is faster for very large open sites; handheld photogrammetry wins where ground-based, single-tech capture is the safest and fastest call. They complement; they don’t directly replace each other.

RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) corrects GNSS positioning in real time during capture, requiring a continuous radio link to a base station. PPK (Post-Processed Kinematic) corrects positioning after capture by aligning to base station RINEX data, with no radio dependency. Looq uses PPK because it works in areas where RTK radio coverage is unreliable, and shorter base-to-rover baselines under 5–10 km produce tighter results.

No. Looq complements your total station rather than replacing it. Total stations remain best for high-precision discrete points (survey control monuments, structural deformation, anything needing single-millimeter targeting). Looq fits the work where dense, continuous, single-tech ground capture is the safest and fastest call: corridors, urban sites, under canopy, manholes, anywhere a total-station crew of two would be slow or exposed.

Yes. The capture downloads as standard LAZ + GeoTIF + feature-coded CSV, formats Civil 3D handles through Autodesk ReCap. Stakeholders viewing the data in qApp don’t need a CAD seat at all; the browser-based viewer lets them measure, share, and inspect from a link. CAD seats stay where they’re needed (design), not where they’re not (viewing).

Yes. Any base station that captures a static RINEX file works: Trimble, Emlid, Leica, others. You upload the RINEX along with your capture and the platform uses it for PPK corrections. Shorter baselines under 5–10 km produce the tightest residuals.

Send them a qApp browser link from your project. Viewer-role access lets them measure, navigate, and inspect the point cloud without installing CAD or GIS software. No seat purchase required for the recipient, which is useful when handing data to project owners, planning teams, or anyone outside the survey shop.