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Only a few things are needed to make MapPilots a killer app

After using MapPilot a few times, I'd like to leave a few suggestions that would make it probably the best app for mission planning and data collection.

- gimbal control: MapPilot flies with the gimbal pointed down (-90 degrees). It has been shown in several papers that a 'convergent geometry' leads to better models and maps. This can be achieved by flying a mission with the gimbal slightly inclined (-30 degrees). 

- precise control (numerically) over flight direction: we can set up the flight direction by a rotation gesture with the fingers over the screen, but to get precise control (and ensure repeatability of missions, for instance), we need to be able to set this flight direction by the azimuth degree.

- real support for geotiff: been able to use mapbox to get a user-created basemap is great but this involves having an internet connection, and that might not be available when one is working on the field (I'm thinking in remote areas that I have been working, like the Amazon). My suggestion is to provide support for geotiffs that we can upload to MapPilot via iTunes (or other app). This would really allow us to go to the field, make a preliminary and lower-resolution flight (but still much higher than what we get in remote areas with MapBox or Apple maps), and use that flight data to make a new basemap which would be used to plan a detailed flight.

- support for DEMs: following on the logic of the user-created basemap that could be uploaded directly to MapPilot, if we could upload a DEM (perhaps created with the preliminary flight data), we could use MapPilot amazing capability of 'terrain awareness' to plan very detailed and precise flights.

thanks for the great app!

Carlos Grohmann

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The gimbal is freely controlled using the normal control on the remote. If you need numerical feedback, that is available by entering debug mode (hold down on the top status bar for 8 seconds).

There is a readout of the missions pass heading labeled "Heading" under the battery and signal strength readouts. 

We will not be supporting arbitrary GeoTiffs because mobile devices lack the horsepower required to deal with the large files. Most people's computers have a hard time with them...

We plan on supporting Maps Made Easy created DEM data in the future but do not plan on supporting arbitrary DEM data for the same reasons as the standard GeoTiffs. 

Thanks for the feedback.

Zane 1 صوت
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Thanks for the quick reply, Zane.

 

Numerical feedback is alright but, as a scientist, I'm always thinking in terms of reproducing the experiments, and also on describing them correctly. So if at least we could see the planned heading when we rotate the flight lines...

The same goes for the gimbal. I have to run some tests to see if the debug menu will do the trick, but I believe this wouldn't be hard to implement (pretty much all apps do it) and it could be located in the 'camera control' menu.

Or we could have some sort of 'advanced' menu with gimbal, heading...

 

As for the GeoTiffs, I understand that they can be hard to deal with, but what about jpegs/pngs + world files? These can be exported easily from QGIS and are simple to understand. A DEM could be used in the same way (with a greyscale png of elevation), although some user input might be necessary to inform the minimum and maximum elevation of the DEM.

 

Carlos Grohmann 1 صوت
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You can see the heading setting when rotating the flight plan. The gimbal angle readout that is in the debug panel shows the angle to one decimal place which should be sufficient for any repeatability needs. We stick things in the debug menu that are not of use to at least 90% of our users. 

 

 

Zane 1 صوت
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Thanks again for the feedback Zane.

Indeed the heading is there, I missed it because it gets hidden behind the menu at the top of the screen.

Speaking of menus, the debug menu also gets hidden, by the terrain profile.

 

Changing a bit on the subject, today we went to the field to collect data for geological hazard risk. MapPilot worked perfectly. The terrain awareness is fantastic!

 

 

 

Carlos Grohmann 1 صوت
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Carlos, can you point me to the papers you reference talking about a 30 degree incline producing better results than nadir?

I didn't know about the debug mode-- that is great to have some extra control there.

Re: the heading. Maybe it's a silly expectation, but I use the two-finger gesture to rotate the heading to near 180 degrees, but then spend a bunch of time trying to rotate it to *precisely* 180 degrees-- a few degrees too small, then a few degrees too large, etc. Then if I make any further adjustments to the outline of my polygon, the heading gets reset. I do like the quick ability to adjust the heading with the two-finger gesture and I can see how most users would be okay with that. Can a manually entered heading be incorporated into the debug menu also? Or can the heading not be readjusted each time I move a perimeter point or estimated takeoff location?

Re: DEMs. I understand there is a lot of preprocessing you all do to make the 1 arc-second DEM usable via MapPilot. Are there plans to make the 1/3-arc second USGS DEM available through MapPilot for those of us flying in the conterminous US?

Michael Koontz 0 أصوات
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Hello Michael

here are two papers that deal with the precision of SfM-derived models and point that using a 'convergent geometry' (adding flight lines with non-nadir camera) increases precision:

Wackrow R, Chandler JH. 2011. Minimising systematic error surfaces in digital elevation models using oblique convergent imagery. The Photogrammetric Record 26: 16–31. DOI:10.1111/j.1477-9730.2011.00623.x.

James, M.R., Robson, S., 2014. Mitigating systematic error in topographic models derived from UAV and ground-based image networks. Earth Surf. Process. Landf. 39 (10), 1413–1420. DOI: 10.1002/esp.3609

 

Re: heading/gimbal: Like you said, the two finger rotation gesture is not very precise and the heading always changes after minor adjustments to the area of interest. 

I personally think that we could have a sub-menu (flight specs?) with these options.

 

 

 

Carlos Grohmann 1 صوت
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Thanks for the papers, Carlos.

+1 to the additional heading control in the flight specs.

Michael Koontz 0 أصوات
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+1 for support for geotiff (raster kmz) suggested by original poster. Mobile app Pix4DCapture can import raster kmz (kmz up to 10 square kilometers of 0.5 m/pixel resolution, tested myself, opens quickly on average smartphone). It would be great if MP could do it too.

Vladimir Sviridov 0 أصوات
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'DEM TIFs are supported'

Well, this is online solution. Original poster mentioned great advantage of being able to do all custom DEM/basemap completely offline. 

As Carlos mentioned: Fly drone at high latitude over , make rough basemap and DEM, load them in MP, plan very precise flight based on preliminary flight. 

This would be great for those who do a lot of  unplanned, opportunistic mapping.

Anyway, Map Pilot is a great tool already!

Vladimir Sviridov 0 أصوات
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