In mid-October, the whole Plex-Earth team left Athens for Vourgareli, in the Tzoumerka mountains of Greece, for our LatLon 2026 retreat. Between hiking in the rain and rafting the Arachthos river, we took an honest look at where Plex-Earth stands and where it’s heading: from a single CAD plug-in to a family of products, our approach to AI, and how our teams work together. Here’s the full story.

We are thrilled to welcome another leading Premium Provider to Plex-Earth. Vexcel operates one of the world’s largest aerial imagery programs, capturing highly detailed and accurate imagery across more than 45 countries using fixed-wing aircraft and UltraCam sensors. With consistent updates, oblique imagery, and commercial licensing, Vexcel gives professionals a reliable view of real-world site conditions for planning, design, and analysis.

Premium imagery in Plex-Earth from Vexcel, Airbus, and Vantor comes with more than pixels. Each one carries metadata, a record of when, how, and with what accuracy it was captured. Reading it is the difference between picking imagery on gut feel and picking it for reasons you can defend.

DEM, DTM, and DSM are not interchangeable, but elevation data providers treat them as if they are. Using the wrong surface type, like a DSM where a DTM is required, for example, means your calculations are running off vegetation or rooftop heights, not the ground. By the time that error surfaces in the model, you're looking at rework. This post breaks down what each term actually means, how providers use them inconsistently, and how to verify what you're working with before it costs you.

Not all basemaps perform the same in a CAD environment. This guide breaks down the three built-in providers available in Plex-Earth, Google Maps, Azure Maps, and OpenStreetMap, covering coverage quality, resolution limits, and the right use case for each. It also covers when to connect a regional WMS service or step up to a premium provider like Nearmap or Hexagon.