Mach9 Expands AI CAD Platform to Process Aerial Lidar and Photogrammetry Data
Architecture · BIM collaboration · Construction methods
Mach9 announced support for aerial lidar and photogrammetry data in its AI CAD software. The platform processes drone, helicopter, and fixed-wing point clouds to generate draft deliverables within hours, extracting 3D features and surfaces.
Mach9 has updated its AI CAD software to support aerial lidar and photogrammetry data, extending beyond its original focus on mobile and terrestrial scanning. Survey and geospatial teams can upload point clouds captured by drones, helicopters, or fixed-wing aircraft into the web-based application. Mach9 combines AI feature extraction, CAD editing, point cloud classification, and surface modeling to produce initial deliverables in hours, aiming to address bottlenecks where aerial flight data required weeks or months of manual drafting. The software extracts planimetric features such as curbs, building footprints, pavement edges, utility poles, and 3D catenary wires, exporting vector and surface data to formats including DXF, DWG, SHP, GDB, and LandXML. Civil engineering firms, including Langan and McElhanney, have reported using the platform on aerial surveying projects.
Key takeaways
- Mach9 added aerial lidar and photogrammetry point cloud support to its AI CAD platform, expanding beyond mobile and terrestrial scanning.
- The web tool automates feature extraction, point cloud classification, surface modeling, and 3D catenary wire drafting for utility corridors.
- Processed outputs export directly to standard civil and survey formats including DXF, DWG, SHP, GDB, and LandXML.
- Engineering firms using the tool report reduced delivery schedules and fewer remobilizations to the field on aerial survey projects.
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