LineVision PLS-CADD

User Manual

Vendor-independent GPS video extension for PLS-CADD

Contact:

Remote GeoSystems, Inc.
3307 S College Ave.
Suite 224
Fort Collins, CO 80525 USA
970.367.7808
info@remotegeo.com

LineVision PLS-CADD is the only “vendor-independent” GPS video extension for PLS-CADD and the only one that is designed to support both aerial helicopter, UAV and ground-based visual inspections.

LineVision PLS-CADD will allow you to click on a structure or specific point along your ROW asset corridor in PLS-CADD, and then easily review color (EO), Infrared (IR), corona (UV) video and oblique photos geographically associated with that point.

Key Features:

• Unique Quick Scan feature lets users easily preview video clips for any point along the line segment in the PLS-CADD project by hovering over a point and clicking the “L” hot key

• Map Viewer interface provides users an intuitive reference for where the videos and photos were taken and where they are being viewed during post mission analysis

• Dual Video Viewer for analysis of multiple video streams such as multi-sensor gimbal cameras with color and IR/corona or multiple camera angles such as Nadir and oblique

• Support for multiple video formats including MPEG4, MPEG2, .MOV and .AVI

• Image Snap lets users snap and save a geotagged digital still image from the motion video

• Photo Finder lets user easily search and review high resolution oblique still images by simply right-clicking on a location in the Map Viewer – photos are then returned based on a user-defined radius of the click point.

• Included Photo Geotagger software allows users to automatically reassign Lat/Lon data to a .jpeg images to a structure’s location vs. where it was actually taken. Users may also assign Lat/Lon data to previously un-geotagged photos

• Customizable interface lets users save their preferred layout to maximize workspace productivity

 

Geospatial Video File Support:

File Format	.MP2, .MP4 (H.246), .AVI (MJPEG), .MOV
GPS Companion File Format	GPX, XML, CSV, & KML
Embedded GPS Metadata	Remote GeoSystems “Whisper” (Persistent GPS Encoding)

 

Geospatial Photo Support:

.JPEG

GPS metadata in EXIF header

Before you install LineVision PLS-CADD, make sure your system meets these hardware and software requirements:

Minimum
Processor: Dual-Core Processor 2.0 GHz or faster
RAM: 2 GB RAM or higher
Hard Drive: 1 GB Free Hard Drive Space*
Video Card: 256 MB Graphics card such as NVIDIA GeForce 8600 or ATI Radeon HD 2600 or better**

* LineVision only takes a few MB to install although video files can be very large (approximately 1 GB+) so having numerous GB of hard drive space free is recommended.
** Since PLS-CADD, Video and Maps will all be running at the same time, a “high-end” graphics card is highly recommended.

Software
PLS-CADD
Internet Connection*
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 (will be installed with the LineVision software if it is not already installed)
Windows XP, Windows 7 or Windows 8
* An internet connection is required for prerequisite software to be installed and it is required for the LineVision Map Viewer to function correctly.

If you meet these requirements, proceed to install the software.

You will need to download the software clicking the appropriate link below:

LineVision PLS-CADD

http://store.remotegeo.com/Files/LineVision_2.0.zip

NOTE: Some web browsers may not recognize LineVision PLS-CADD and often flag it as “dangerous.”  This is NOT the case. Select “Accept” from the menu. 

Attention Windows 8 Users: When installing the software Windows 8 may pop up a display window saying the installation is blocked. Simply click more info and then click the Run Anyway button to allow the software to be installed.

 

1. Double-Click the setup.exe file in the extracted (unzipped) LineVision_2.0 folder

2. Select the Next button once the LineVision PLS-CADD installation wizard launches.

3. Select the Next button. We recommend you keep the default Installation Folder. You also have the option of allowing just yourself or anyone using the PC to access LineVision PLS-CADD. Select the Next button.

4. Read the License Agreement and click the I Agree radio button. By clicking on the I Agree button you have accepted the terms of the License Agreement. Click the Next button.

5. Select the Next button to confirm the installation.

6. The software will begin installing on your PC.

7. Software installation of LineVision PLS-CADD is now complete. Click Close to exit the installation wizard.

IMPORTANT! Your LineVision PLS-CADD software license key is unique to a specific PC and cannot be transferred. Do not enter the license key on a computer if you do not intend to use that computer with LineVision PLS-CADD in the long term. If you need to transfer a license to a new PC please contact Remote GeoSystems. 

IMPORTANT! You will need to be connected to the Internet in order to complete your one-time registration.

1. When LineVision PLS-CADD launches, you will be prompted to enter your software license key, copy and paste the license key in the Registration window. Click the Continue button.

2. In a few seconds you should receive confirmation that your software has been successfully registered.

 

To launch LineVision PLS-CADD first launch PLS-CADD. Next select Drafting > Attachments > LiDAR Video Setup > Remote GeoSystems LineVision…

LineVision PLS-CADD will not automatically appear. To view and work in LineVision simply “middle” click your mouse on a point in PLS-CADD and select Show LIDAR Video or press the L hot key

 

Once you launch the LineVision PLS-CADD software, the application appears with the Map Viewer on top and Video Viewer on bottom in the factory default layout. Like most traditional Windows programs there is also a “Menu Bar” across the top.

Let’s first cover the different components of the LineVision PLS-CADD application interface.

Video Viewer:

This Panel will show the Video Viewer with a geotagged video stream. User may select which one is displayed by clicking on the labeled tab. NOTE: When you load another geo-synchronized video, you will see additional Video Viewer Panels. This will be displayed by default below the Map Viewer Panel (You can always change the Panel layout. Simply drag and drop the panel into the desired location).

Map Viewer Panel:

This panel displays a variety “point” and “path” data from geospatial video to photos and SHP files, using Bing’s popular mapping technologies to provide base maps. For help with Bing maps and navigation please visit http://help.bing.microsoft.com/#apex/18/en-us/n2999/1 for more information and tutorials

NOTE: All panels are movable and can be “floating,” “docked” and resized. Simply left mouse-click the top of the panel and drag it to where you want it on the screen to float the panel. Alternatively you may “pin” the panel to one of the arrows that appears when you begin dragging the panel. You can also resize the panel by clicking on one of the edges or corners and move your mouse accordingly.

Menu Bar: The menu bar at the top offers six (6) main menus which we will cover in more detail later: File, Options, Map, Advanced, Window and Help.

Open Video:

Select this menu item to navigate to your video. If your video has a GPS “companion file” with the same file name (but different file extension) in the same folder, or your video was recorded with the geoDVR, then your video will automatically load and zoom-in to its recorded location on the background map.

If your video’s GPS Companion File is named something different than the video file, or in a different file folder, then you will be asked to select the appropriate GPS Companion file. What this file is named may vary depending on which hardware you used to record your geospatial video and/or how you have you files named and organized.

Save Current Layout and Settings as Default:

This will let you save a custom layout of the panels and will return to this layout the next time you launch LineVision PLS-CADD.

Advanced Settings & Window Positioning:

Load Saved Layout Settings: Select this menu to restore your custom default layout settings if you have changed them while working on your LineVision PLS-CADD project.

Reset Settings to Factory Default: Select this setting to restore the panel layout to the standard 3 panel layout.

Exit:

Selecting this menu item will close LineVision PLS-CADD.

Maintain Video Aspect Ratio:

Check this menu item if you want the video aspect ratio to remain consistent when you move and resize the video panel. (Recommended) By default this option is checked.

Play on Click Settings:

Check this menu item if you want videos to begin playing from the map location at which the path was clicked. By default, Pause Video at Click Location is checked.

Open PLS-CADD Clicks in New Window:

Selecting this menu item will open a new LineVision PLS-CADD window every time Show LIDAR Video is selected.

Clear PLS-CADD Click Location:

Selecting this menu item will remove the blue marker from the Map Viewer Panel that was created when Show LIDAR Video was selected.

Program Settings:

Selecting this menu item will bring up Figure 17 which will allow you to specify the Maximum Allowable Distance Between Mouse Click and Video Start Position.

Always ask for GPS Companion File:

Check this menu item if you want LineVision PLS-CADD to always ask which GPS companion file you would like to use with the video. The default is un-checked which means the application will attempt to identify companion files with the same name as the video. If LineVision PLS-CADD does not see a GPS companion file, it will then ask you to select a corresponding companion file. Selecting this option is recommended if your GPS companion files usually have a different name than the corresponding video file.

 

Show Map:

Selecting this menu function will bring up the Map Viewer Panel.

Set to United States View:

Selecting this menu item will make the Map Viewer Panel center on a United States view.

Set to World View:

Selecting this menu item will make the Map Viewer Panel center on a World view.

Zoom In:

Selecting this menu item will focus closer in on the cursor location in the Map Viewer Panel.

Zoom Out:

Selecting this menu item will move out on the cursor location in the Map Viewer Panel.

Use Bing Maps:

Checking this menu item will make Bing Maps appear as the default in the Map Viewer Panel.

Use Open Street Maps:

Checking this menu item will make Open Street Maps appear as the default in the Map Viewer Panel.

Refresh Map:

Selecting this menu item will refresh the map that is loaded into the Map Viewer.

Enter Bing Map Key:

Selecting this option will allow you to use your own Bing Maps in the Map Viewer. Enter your key in and select okay to use your Bing Maps.

Advanced Menu

Dual Video:

Enable Dual Video Mode:

Selecting this menu item will allow you to select another video to view in the Map Viewer Panel and side by side with the other Video Viewer Panel.

Auto Size App for Dual Video:

Checking this menu item will auto size the LineVision PLS-CADD software to make both Video Viewer Panels easier to see.

 

Photo Search

Set Photo Search Directory:

Selecting this menu item will open up a directory selection window which you can use to find photos based on a video marker location.

Set Photo Search Radius:

Selecting this menu item will open up a window which allows you to set the maximum allowable distance between Video Marker and Photo.

Launch Remote Photo GeoLocator:

Select this menu item to launch the remote GeoSystems Photo GeoLocator to geotag non-geotagged photos or to re-geotag previously geotagged photos to a new location.

Launch Remote KMZ to KML Converter:

This is a simple extra utility for converting a Google Earth KMZ (zipped) file to a Google Earth KML (unzipped) file.

NOTE: LineVision Google Earth – Pro – will automatically do the conversion by selecting the Load KML/KMZ menu item.

Insert Ortho Overlay:

This Feature Coming Soon

Set Ortho Overlay Folder:

This Feature Coming Soon

 

The purpose of the Windows Menu is to let you backup and restore your application settings and custom layout. The Windows Menu is for situations where users and/or end-clients might be using multiple copies of LineVision PLS-CADD on different PCs and need to move data files around, but also want to transfer their application settings and windows layout.

Backup Settings & Window Locations:

Selecting this menu item will let you select the folder location to save your application settings and custom layout as a .XML file.

Restore Settings & Window Locations:

Selecting this menu item will let you select the folder location where you previously saved your application settings and custom layout as a .XML file so that it can be restored.

 

Email Program Logs:

Select this menu item to easily report any errors should they occur while using LineVision PLS-CADD. A window will pop up and ask you for your information. The application’s program log will automatically be attached to the email

About:

Select this menu item to determine your LineVision PLS-CADD software build/version number. Remote GeoSystems technical support may ask for this number when resolving support issues.

 

Open Video

Select the Open Single Video item in the File menu. LineVision PLS-CADD can play up to 4 simultaneously collected geospatial video files. See Open Video and Open Multiple Videos menu descriptions in the File Menu section above for more detail.

Go to File > Open Video

Select the video file you want to load.

NOTE: A GPS companion file must accompany the video file in order for it to load properly into LineVision PLS-CADD.

The video will load and begin playing. A red track will appear on PLS-CADD in the Map Panel showing the “path” of your recorded video. A yellow marker will be moving along the video path as the video plays indicating the location where it was recorded at that moment.

Interacting with Video

LineVision PLS-CADD enables users to geospatially review post-mission video recordings by simply clicking any of the red points along the aerial or terrestrial GPS track positioned in PLS-CADD. The video then automatically advances or reverses to that point in the video so that analysts and subject matter experts can visually interpret what was recorded at that specific place and time.

Snap a Photo from Video

If something of interest is detected in the video, users may pause and “snap” a still image from the video, which is then geo-tagged and can be saved for future analysis. First, pause the video by clicking the Play/Pause button, then press the Photo Snap button indicated by the Camera Icon in the lower right-hand side corner of the Video Viewer panel. The Image Viewer will then appear with a geo-tagged still photo from the video.

Inspect a Snapped Photo: To inspect a photo select the Image Viewer and zoom into the photo using either the scroll wheel on your mouse or selecting the Magnifying Glass Icon.

Save a Snapped Photo: To save the photo click the Save Icon to the left of the magnifying glass icon and choose the location where you would like to save the file.

 

Photo Searching

To find geo-tagged photos that are in a specified radius (see Set Photo Search Radius) of a marker simply right click on the marker and select Find Photos. If you have geo-tagged photos that are in the photo directory (see Set Photo Search Directory) they will appear in a new window (Figure 36). Clicking on a photo in the LineVision Photo Search Results Window will open the image in the Image Viewer Window.

 

REMOTE GEOSYSTEMS, INC.’s (REMOTE GEO) SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS, WITHOUT ANY  WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR ANY WARRANTY ARISING BY LAW, STATUTE, USAGE OF TRADE, OR COURSE OF DEALING. YOU ASSUME ALL RESPONSIBILITY AND RISK FOR THE USE OF THE SOFTWARE AND REMOTE GEO DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR ANY LOSS, INJURY OR DAMAGE RESULTING FROM USE OF THIS PRODUCT, WHETHER DIRECT OR INDIRECT, AND WHETHER OR NOT REMOTE GEO HAS BEEN ADVISED OF OR HAS KNOWLEDGE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH LOSS, INJURY OR DAMAGE. IN NO EVENT SHALL REMOTE GEO HAVE ANY LIABILITY TO YOU OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FOR ANY COMPENSATORY, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF REVENUE OR PROFIT, LOST OR DAMAGED DATA OR OTHER COMMERCIAL OR ECONOMIC LOSS, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, OR THEY ARE FORESEEABLE.  WE ARE ALSO NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR CLAIMS BY A THIRD PARTY. THE LIMITATIONS IN THIS SECTION SHALL APPLY WHETHER OR NOT THE ALLEGED BREACH OR DEFAULT IS A BREACH OF A FUNDAMENTAL CONDITION OR TERM OR A FUNDAMENTAL BREACH. Some states do not allow the exclusion of incidental or consequential damages or the limitation of duration of an implied warranty so the above limitations may not apply to you.

 

ANY CONTENT OR MATERIAL DOWNLOADED OR UPLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE SOFTWARE IS DONE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK.  YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM/NETWORK OR ANY LOSS OF DATA THAT MAY RESULT FROM THE DOWNLOAD OR UPLOAD OF ANY SUCH CONTENT OR MATERIAL OR THE USE OF THE SOFTWARE.