SimActive Adds Interactive Mode to Correlator3D to Speed Up Photogrammetry Workflows
SimActive has announced a new interactive mode in Correlator3D, its photogrammetry suite for turning aerial and satellite imagery into orthomosaics, digital surface models, digital terrain models and point clouds. The feature is designed to shorten automated photogrammetry pipelines by letting users run multiple scripts in succession within a single session, removing delays between operations and reducing total execution time.
Targeting Repetitive, Unattended Workflows
The new interactive mode addresses a specific pain point in large-scale mapping: repetitive workflows built from several short scripts. Many operators drive Correlator3D through its command-line interface to run unattended processing on batch servers, queuing job after job through the night or across a weekend. Historically, every script restart carried software startup overhead, forcing the application to reload between queued operations even when the work itself was identical in nature.
By keeping Correlator3D loaded and ready for the next operation after each script completes, the interactive mode eliminates that delay. Operators can queue script sequences without manual handoffs between them, and the software now generates completion messages that let it integrate cleanly with external automation tools. The practical effect is a faster, more predictable pipeline for organizations that process thousands of images on a routine schedule.
“Automation plays an important role in large-scale mapping workflows,” said Louis Simard, chief technology officer at SimActive. “This new mode helps users complete automated workflows faster, particularly when numerous short operations must be performed.”
Why Automation Matters for Surveying and Mapping
Correlator3D sits at the center of a growing ecosystem of geospatial automation. The software converts raw imagery captured by drones, aircraft and satellites into the standard deliverables that surveyors, engineers and GIS analysts depend on, including seamless orthomosaics, digital surface models that reflect the tops of buildings and vegetation, digital terrain models of bare ground, and classified point clouds from both photogrammetric and LiDAR sources.
As flight platforms have become cheaper and sensors have become sharper, the volume of imagery entering these pipelines has exploded. A single corridor survey or open-pit mine mapping campaign can generate tens of thousands of overlapping frames. Processing that data efficiently requires a command-line workflow that can run without an operator at the keyboard, and any reduction in per-job overhead compounds quickly across hundreds or thousands of queued operations.
The interactive mode is aimed squarely at this dynamic. Rather than changing what Correlator3D produces, it changes how quickly and how autonomously it can produce it, tightening the gap between capture in the field and deliverable in the client’s hands.
The change also matters for how mapping teams orchestrate their software stacks. Many geospatial firms already tie Correlator3D into broader automation through its command-line interface, feeding it imagery as soon as it lands on a server. Completion messages that plug into external automation tools mean a finished orthomosaic or terrain model can automatically trigger the next step in a workflow, whether that is quality review, tiling for a web viewer or delivery to a client portal. Removing startup overhead between short jobs turns a series of stops and starts into a single continuous run, which is often the difference between a deliverable arriving overnight and arriving the next afternoon.
Webinar on Full Automation
SimActive will host a webinar titled “From Images To Results: Can Photogrammetry Be Fully Automated?” on September 10, 2026. David Alamillo joins as guest and Michael O’Sullivan hosts. The session will examine how far end-to-end automation can extend in photogrammetric processing, with topics that tie directly to the new interactive mode and its role in unattended pipelines.
The timing is notable. As the industry pushes toward beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations and remote data capture at scale, the processing back end has to keep pace. A drone can now map a site autonomously, but the value only materializes when the resulting imagery is converted into accurate, georeferenced products quickly enough to inform decisions. Features like Correlator3D’s interactive mode are a quiet but important part of closing that loop.
Registration for the webinar is available through the SimActive webinar page, and more information about Correlator3D is available on the SimActive website.
Source: DRONELIFE, “SimActive Adds Interactive Mode to Correlator3D for Faster Photogrammetry Workflows” (September 9, 2026).
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