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Pix4D

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Pix4D
Information
VR/AR VR
Developer Pix4D
Platform photogrammetry
Operating System Windows, Linux, iOS
Type Software
Genre photogrammetry
Input Device images , videos
Language English
Version 4.10.1 (PIX4Dmapper, February 16, 2026)
Release Date 2011 (Pix4UAV)
Website https://www.pix4d.com


Pix4D is a Swiss company which started in 2011 as a spinoff of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Computer Vision Lab in Switzerland and develops a suite of software products that use photogrammetry and computer vision algorithms to transform DSLR, fisheye, RGB, thermal and multispectral images into 3D maps and 3D modeling.[1][2] The company is based in Lausanne and is part of the group of the Paris-based drone maker Parrot, which includes Pix4D in its consolidated results.[3][4][5]

Pix4D's software turns photographs from drones, handheld cameras and phones into point clouds, textured 3D meshes, orthomosaics and elevation models.[2][6] Its 3D mesh exports have been used as source assets for virtual reality scenes built in Unity, and its mobile scanning app PIX4Dcatch has an augmented reality mode that overlays 3D models, design files and survey points on the live phone camera view.[7][8]

Reviewed 9 October 2026. Checked company history, Parrot results, leadership, product list, PIX4Dmapper release notes, VR/AR project and PIX4Dcatch AR claims, export formats and computer requirements against the cited Pix4D, Parrot, press and ISARC sources. About review dates.

History

Pix4D was founded on June 2, 2011, in Lausanne by Olivier Kueng, Pascal Fua, Vincent Lepetit and Christoph Strecha.[9] The company was spun off from EPFL's Computer Vision Laboratory (CVLAB), which Fua directed, and Strecha was its CEO.[1] Its first product was Pix4UAV, which combined photogrammetry with images taken by unmanned aerial vehicles.[3]

On July 27, 2012, Parrot announced that it had invested 2.4 million Swiss francs in Pix4D for a minority share, alongside a larger investment in the EPFL drone start-up senseFly.[1][10] In the announcement, Strecha said the collaboration with Parrot and its AR.Drone quadcopter would "open the consumer market where Pix4D's technology will be used to create a new dimension in Augmented Reality (AR) user-experience and 4D gaming."[10] Pix4D later became part of the Parrot group, which reports it as a separate business line. In its 2022 full-year results, Parrot said the 11 Pix4D software solutions accounted for 45% of group revenue,[5] and its business update for the third quarter of 2022 gave Pix4D revenue of 8.1 million euros for that quarter, 37% of the group's consolidated revenue.[4] For the fourth quarter of 2025, Parrot reported 9.2 million euros of revenue from its photogrammetry business (Pix4D), and 31.8 million euros for the full year 2025, 40% of group revenue.[11]

By its tenth anniversary in June 2021, Pix4D had grown from one product to 14 and had six offices on three continents; it marked the date with a new logo designed in-house.[9] On October 1, 2024, Andrey Kleymenov became CEO and Pierangelo Rothenbühler became chief technology officer, while Strecha moved to the roles of chief scientist and board member.[12] In its 15th-anniversary post of May 2026, the company listed offices in Lausanne, Madrid, Berlin, Denver and Tokyo.[3]

Products

Pix4D's suite of products has included Pix4Dmapper, Pix4Dfields, Pix4Dbim, Pix4Dreact, Pix4Dsurvey, Pix4Dmodel, Pix4Dcapture and Pix4Dengine. As of October 2026, the Pix4D website lists the following products, while PIX4Dcapture, its former image acquisition app, is no longer supported.[13][14]

Product Description
PIX4Dmapper Desktop photogrammetry software for drone mapping; its product page points users processing more than a thousand images to PIX4Dmatic[2]
PIX4Dmatic Desktop photogrammetry software for large aerial and terrestrial projects; it can also generate Gaussian splats exported in .ply format[15]
PIX4Dcloud Online platform for drone and ground mapping, progress tracking and site documentation[13]
PIX4Dcatch iOS app for terrestrial 3D scanning that combines photogrammetry with LiDAR and optional RTK positioning, with AR features[6]
PIX4Dfields Agriculture software, launched in 2018[3]
PIX4Dreact Mapping software listed under the company's mapping and 3D modeling products[13]
PIX4Dengine SDK Software development kit for photogrammetric processing; the documentation for version 2.17.0 (release 2026.05) gives installation steps for Linux (Ubuntu 22.04) and Windows[16]

PIX4Dmapper versions

The PIX4Dmapper release notes list versions back to 1.1 in 2014. Pix4D no longer offers downloads of earlier versions.[17]

Version Date Release type Notes
1.1.23 April 30, 2014 New release Earliest version in the published release notes[17]
2.0.71 August 10, 2015 New release [17]
3.0.13 October 11, 2016 New release A Mac build of 3.0.13 followed on November 2, 2016[17]
4.0.21 October 3, 2017 New release [17]
4.5.2 July 15, 2019 Preview Pix4D reported that in version 4.5, step 1 (initial processing) and step 2 (point cloud and mesh) each ran about 20% faster than in version 4.4.12[17][18]
4.5.6 March 12, 2020 New release [17]
4.9.0 December 14, 2023 Stable [17]
4.10 May 15, 2025 Stable Removed the 66 MP image limit, so the "large frame" add-on is no longer needed; base map provider changed to MapTiler[17]
4.10.1 February 16, 2026 Stable Latest version as of October 2026[17]

VR and AR use

3D models for virtual reality

Pix4D's textured meshes have been loaded into game engines and online 3D viewers. PIX4Dmapper users can upload a 3D textured mesh to Sketchfab with one click; Pix4D recommends the .fbx format, which embeds the texture, and a texture size of 4096x4096 pixels for Sketchfab instead of the default 8192x8192.[19] In May 2016 Sketchfab added VR viewing for models on its platform through apps for the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Gear VR and Cardboard, plus a WebVR viewer in the browser.[20]

Pix4D has published several customer projects that used its output for VR and AR:

Project (year reported) Organization Pix4D use VR/AR output
Mâlain Castle (2017) XXII Group 650 photos (18 MP) from a DJI Phantom 3 Standard, processed with Pix4D into a model with a 16K texture in about 20 hours on a laptop Model retopologized for Unity and shown in a social VR app on the HTC Vive and on the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro with Google Tango[7]
Festival venue planning (2017) XCell Aerial 3D map of the festival area made in PIX4Dmapper, then imported into 3ds Max, where tents and a stage were added Model with annotations and audio hosted on Sketchfab for viewing in VR headsets; the company said it was also developing annotated event guides alongside its HoloLens work[21]
Jeju World Heritage VR flying simulator, South Korea (2019) Drone Orange (DO2) Images from a DJI Phantom 4 Pro processed in Pix4Dmapper in two days, at 3.5-8 cm ground sampling distance Meshes polished in 3ds Max and ZBrush, then built into a VR flight experience in Unity with a motion simulator, alongside an AR program and 3D-printed miniatures[22]

For the Jeju project, which took seven months in total, Drone Orange CEO Moses Jung told Pix4D: "If we had created the 3D models and triangle mesh from scratch, it would have taken us much longer than using Pix4D's results."[22]

Pix4Dmapper also appears in research on VR for infrastructure inspection. A paper presented at the 34th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC 2017) by researchers from National Taiwan University and Taiwan's Ministry of Transportation and Communications described a system that turned UAV photos of bridges into 3D models with photogrammetry software "such as Pix4Dmapper or Agisoft PhotoScan" and displayed them in a VR headset for inspector training. The authors found that the automatically built bridge models gave only a rough outline, so they paired them with panoramic images for detailed checks.[23]

Augmented reality in PIX4Dcatch

PIX4Dcatch is an iOS app that turns a phone or tablet into a 3D scanner using images and LiDAR data.[8] According to its App Store listing, it is optimized for LiDAR-equipped Pro iPhones, runs on all ARKit-enabled devices and requires iOS 18.0 or later; the listing describes displaying "3D models and points directly in your phone camera in AR", including IFC models from PIX4Dcloud and ArcGIS Online projects.[8]

Pix4D announced PIX4Dcatch 2.0 on April 30, 2024, adding what it called professional-grade AR and support for three more RTK receivers: the Emlid Reach RX, Trimble DA2 and Bad Elf Flex. The AR features let users overlay models on a site for approval during design, construction and inspection, send annotations from the office to field staff, and view scans of underground utilities after a trench has been filled.[24] Pix4D stated an accuracy of up to 1 cm in good conditions, with certified tests showing an average error under 5 cm and a maximum under 10 cm.[24]

Two AR tools are documented:

  • PIX4Dcloud AR shows PIX4Dcloud projects in the PIX4Dcatch camera view, indoors or outdoors, with layers that can be switched on and off, processed Autotags, and annotations and design overlays at adjustable opacity. It requires a PIX4Dcatch professional license. It works without an RTK receiver, but Pix4D warns the model may then be placed less accurately and "highly" recommends RTK.[25]
  • AR Points display ground control points and other known points from a point collection during capture. Collections more than 1 km away are unavailable. The feature also requires a professional license, with an RTK device recommended.[26]

Pix4D's product page lists AR features, RTK connection and automatic GCP detection in the paid Pro plan; a free Discovery plan offers basic LiDAR scanning.[6]

Applications

The major applications are:

  • Aerial survey
  • Agriculture and Precision agriculture
  • Construction
  • Cultural heritage
  • Education
  • Energy
  • Mapping
  • Surveying
  • Mining
  • Public safety
  • Research
  • Humanitarian aid and development aid
  • Natural resources and Environment
  • Real estate
  • Virtual reality (VR)

Languages

Desktop version: English, Spanish, Mandarin (zh-CH, zh-TW), Russian, German, French, Japanese, Italian and Korean.[27] Cloud version: English and Japanese.

Inputs

Images: Images in jpg and tiff format captured by any camera (compact, DSLR, thermal, multispectral, fisheye, 360°, large-frame etc.)[27][28]

Videos: Video up to 4k resolution in avi, mov, wmv, and mp4 format (4k resolution recommended).[27][29] Pix4D's documentation says 4K video gives reasonable results while Full HD is usually not enough, and it advises against video for accurate mapping because results are worse than with still images.[29]

Outputs

2D: Nadir orthomosaics, Orthomosaics from user-defined orthoplane, Google tiles, Index maps (Thermal, DVI, NDVI, SAVI, etc.), Georeferenced annotations

2.5D: Nadir DSMs, DTMs from user-defined orthoplane

3D: Full 3D textured mesh, 3D PDF for easy sharing of 3D mesh, Tiled Level-of-detail (LoD) mesh, point cloud, Contour lines, Georeferenced annotations

Animations: .mp4 and .avi formats and flythrough waypoints in .csv format.

The PIX4Dmapper brochure lists these export formats:[27]

Output Formats
Full-color point cloud .las, .laz, .ply, .xyz
Classified point cloud .las, .laz
3D textured mesh .ply, .fbx, .dxf, .obj, .pdf
Level-of-detail mesh .osgb, .slpk
Digital surface model GeoTIFF (.tif), .xyz, .las, .laz
Digital terrain model GeoTIFF (.tif)
Orthomosaic GeoTIFF (.tif), .kml
Contour lines .shp, .dxf, .pdf
Index, reflectance and thermal maps GeoTIFF (.tif); index maps also .shp

Technical requirements

Pix4D's current documentation lists 64-bit Windows 10 or Windows 11 for PIX4Dmapper, on a PC or on a Mac computer using Boot Camp. The minimum is an Intel i5/i7 or Ryzen 7 processor and a GPU compatible with OpenGL 3.2 (integrated Intel HD 4000 or above). Recommended hardware is a quad-core or hexa-core Intel i9, Threadripper or Ryzen 9 processor, a GeForce GTX card compatible with OpenGL 3.2 with 2 GB of memory, and an SSD.[30]

Memory and storage depend on project size:[30]

Project size (14 MP images) Minimum RAM Minimum free space Recommended RAM Recommended free space (SSD)
Small (under 100 images) 4 GB 10 GB 8 GB 15 GB
Medium (100-500 images) 8 GB 20 GB 16 GB 30 GB
Large (500-1,000 images) 16 GB 40 GB 32 GB 60 GB
Very large (1,000-2,000 images) 32 GB 80 GB 64 GB 120 GB

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cecilia Carron (2012-07-27). "A market leader in civilian drones joins senseFly and Pix4D". EPFL News. EPFL. https://actu.epfl.ch/news/a-market-leader-in-civilian-drones-joins-sensefly-/. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "PIX4Dmapper: Reliable photogrammetry software for classic drone mapping". Pix4D. https://www.pix4d.com/product/pix4dmapper-photogrammetry-software/. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Celebrating 15 years of PIX4D". Pix4D. 2026-05-31. https://www.pix4d.com/blog/15-years-pix4d/. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "PARROT 2022 THIRD QUARTER BUSINESS". GlobeNewswire. Parrot. 2022-11-17. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/11/17/2557792/0/en/PARROT-2022-THIRD-QUARTER-BUSINESS.html. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "2022 Full-Year Earnings". Parrot press release (AMF filing). Parrot. 2023-03-16. https://echanges.dila.gouv.fr/OPENDATA/AMF/MKW/2023/03/FCMKW118313_20230316.pdf. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "PIX4Dcatch: Turn your mobile device into a powerful, surveying tool with AR capabilities". Pix4D. https://www.pix4d.com/product/pix4dcatch/. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Veronica Alonso (2017-07-17). "Mâlain Castle by Yann de Couëssin from XXII Group". Pix4D Community. Pix4D. https://community.pix4d.com/t/malain-castle-by-yann-de-couessin-from-xxii-group/3206. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "PIX4Dcatch: 3D scanner". App Store. Apple. https://apps.apple.com/app/pix4dcatch-3d-scanner/id1511483044. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Miriam McNabb (2021-06-01). "Pix 4D Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary: Paying Homage to its History". DroneLife. https://dronelife.com/2021/06/01/pix-4d-celebrates-10-year-anniversary-paying-homage-to-its-history/. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Parrot invests CHF2.4 million in Pix4D". Startupticker.ch. 2012-07-27. https://startupticker.ch/en/news/parrot-invests-chf2-4-million-in-pix4d. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  11. ↑ "Parrot: 2025 Fourth-Quarter Business". Boursorama. Parrot. 2026-02-20. https://www.boursorama.com/bourse/actualites-amp/parrot-parrot-2025-fourth-quarter-business-02a5d18b79ea47178ad48fdb17840410. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  12. ↑ "Pix4D enters a new chapter, welcoming new leadership". Pix4D. 2024-09-30. https://www.pix4d.com/blog/new-leadership-at-pix4d. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "Professional photogrammetry and drone mapping software". Pix4D. https://www.pix4d.com/. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  14. ↑ "End-of-support - PIX4Dcapture". Pix4D Documentation. Pix4D. https://support.pix4d.com/hc/end-of-life-pix4dcapture. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  15. ↑ "PIX4Dmatic: Keep control of each processing step on your local machine". Pix4D. https://www.pix4d.com/product/pix4dmatic-large-scale-photogrammetry-software/. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  16. ↑ "PIX4Dengine SDK Documentation - pix4dvortex 2.17.0 documentation". Pix4D Developer. Pix4D. 2026-05. https://developer.pix4d.com/server/2.17.0/index.html. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  17. ↑ 17.00 17.01 17.02 17.03 17.04 17.05 17.06 17.07 17.08 17.09 "Technical release notes - PIX4Dmapper". Pix4D Documentation. Pix4D. https://support.pix4d.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005738363. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  18. ↑ "Faster processing with Pix4Dmapper 4.5". Pix4D. 2020-03-30. https://pix4d.com/blog/pix4dmapper-45-fast-mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  19. ↑ "How to use the 3D Textured Mesh in Sketchfab". Pix4D Documentation. Pix4D. https://support.pix4d.com/hc/en-us/articles/203282189. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  20. ↑ Romain Dillet (2016-05-17). "Sketchfab now supports all VR headsets for its 3D model sharing platform". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2016/05/17/sketchfab-now-supports-all-vr-headsets-for-its-3d-model-sharing-platform/. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  21. ↑ Veronica Alonso (2017-08-21). "VR environment for festival planning by XCell Aerial". Pix4D Community. Pix4D. https://community.pix4d.com/t/vr-environment-for-festival-planning-by-xcell-aerial/3955. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "An immersive VR experience built with photogrammetry". Pix4D. 2019-07-02. https://www.pix4d.com/blog/vr-experience-photogrammetry. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  23. ↑ Nei-Hao Perng, Bo-Sheng Bai, Po-Han Chen, Jen-Yu Han, Ming-Yi Jiang, Jyun-Hao Huang, Cheng-Wei Su, Po-Yuan Chen (2017). "Automatic Generation of 3D Models from UAV-captured Image Data for Immersive VR Applications". Proceedings of the 34th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC 2017). IAARC. https://www.iaarc.org/publications/fulltext/ISARC2017-Paper113.pdf. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "PIX4Dcatch scanning app embraces AR". AEC Magazine. 2024-04-30. https://aecmag.com/reality-capture-modelling/pix4dcatch-scanning-app-enbraces-ar/. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  25. ↑ "Using PIX4Dcloud AR to View Projects in Augmented Reality - PIX4Dcatch". Pix4D Documentation. Pix4D. https://support.pix4d.com/hc/en-us/articles/18283908415389. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  26. ↑ "Augmented Reality (AR) Points in PIX4Dcatch". Pix4D Documentation. Pix4D. https://support.pix4d.com/hc/en-us/articles/16181190863517. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 "Pix4Dmapper: The leading photogrammetry and drone mapping software (brochure)". Pix4D. DiCarlo Technologies. https://content.dicarlotech.com/hubfs/Software/Pix%204D/Pix4Dmapper-brochure.pdf. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  28. ↑ "Step 1. Before Starting a Project - 2. Configuring the Camera Settings - PIX4Dmapper". Pix4D Documentation. Pix4D. https://support.pix4d.com/hc/en-us/articles/202557419. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 "How to use Videos for Processing - PIX4Dmapper". Pix4D Documentation. Pix4D. https://support.pix4d.com/hc/en-us/articles/205294735. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 "Computer requirements - PIX4Dmapper". Pix4D Documentation. Pix4D. https://support.pix4d.com/hc/en-us/articles/202557289. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
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