Larger maps

I've had good success in my first few smaller missions -- both with data acquisition and with the processing at MapsMadeEasy.

When attempting to map my first larger map (aprox 50 acres) I had several problems. Following is a brief log:

When starting the mission, I got the warning that 'maximum waypoints exceeded'. As there was considerable prep for this mission, I decided to continue.
After 3 or 4 flights into the mission, the next flight would not start after pressing the start button. I restarted the app and the drone, then the next flight proceeded.
After consuming my 7 batteries, I stopped for the day to then reconvene the next day to continue the mission.
After a 2 flights into continuing the mission, the drone did not go to the next flight starting point. Instead, started recording pictures as it headed to the next starting point. At this point, I abandoned the mission.
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When attempting to submit my ~1900 4k photos to MapsMadeEasy, I get a message that ~1100 photos is the maximum. I submit my first 1100 photos, and processing went as expected.
Also, the recorded mission on MapsMadeEasy appeared to be missing an entire flight -- earlier in the mission before I aborted.

Questions:

Do my symptoms imply that I cannot create a map of this size?
How do I know ahead of time when planning a mission what my limits are? (waypoints and data).

Mark Trumpold 6 de Fevereiro de 2020 15:34

Comentário oficial

1. DJI aircraft only accept 100 waypoints for any given flight. Map Pilot is just telling you that only 100 waypoints of however many were planned were loaded. There is a good chance it wouldn't be able to fly all of them anyway unless it is in super rough terrain. You are in relatively rough terrain but it looks like most of your flights were battery limited, not waypoint limited. We have no way of knowing how long the flight will take before it takes off so we just send it out with 100 waypoints even if it will only use 50 of them.

2. Odd... No ideal but you took the appropriate action.

4. This will happen if you manually land the aircraft by taking it out of the programmed flight mode without switching it back into the programmed flight mode before landing. It causes some event messages to be missed and the sync is lost. Make sure you are checking your blue verification path before each takeoff to ensure that things are looking right. If they are not you can override the restart location manually:

https://support.dronesmadeeasy.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005940746-Manual-Restarting-Point

5. This means that you only had enough points to process 1100 images. You would have needed to purchase more points to process all 1900.

6. This happens sometimes. We are working on it. The files are still on your device for review.

_____

1. You can process up to 4000 images at a time, you just have to pay for it.

2. I think this is all covered above.

In general, the Mavic Air is not suited to professional mapping.

Zane 6 de Fevereiro de 2020 16:44

iniciar sessão para comentar.

8 comentários

Thank you Zane for you comments.

Regarding:

1. When planning the mission, how do I calculate number of waypoints per flight?

4. I'll have to revisit my landing process. Have been manually taking over when close so as to not miss the landing spot.

5. After revisit, I now understand the point system, thanks.

BTW: I'm a long way from trying to do this professionally. My mapping is for a mountain in my back yard we are trying to scout a trail to the top. Been a very fun experiment. I'm new to drones as well...

You guys rock!!

Mark Trumpold 7 de Fevereiro de 2020 16:04 0 votos

1. You don't really have to worry about it. If you are doing flat flight it is just every corner in the flight plan. If it is Terrain Aware then it is more complicated.

4. It is best to let the aircraft land on its own and just make fine adjustments with the sticks.

Your map, um, rocks! Lots of them! That is such a cool area.

Zane 7 de Fevereiro de 2020 16:19 0 votos

Regarding:

1. I am using terrain aware, as it is very rugged landscape. I keep an eye on discrepancies in the terrain data, but it seems to be very good in my case. What happens when I get 'waypoint maximum exceeded' -- is the flight not going to be complete? Can I avoid this case maybe with less elevation delta per flight?

Thanks again Zane.

I have to say that this 3d mapping technology is very fascinating. In my case, I should be able to scout the mountain virtually, versus many frustrating hikes.

Mark Trumpold 7 de Fevereiro de 2020 18:23 0 votos

It will take off anyway. It can only take 100 waypoints when it takes off. In almost all circumstances that is more waypoints than it will be able to fly in a battery anyway. In the case where the terrain is rough and it blows through the 100 waypoints more quickly it will come back and land to get the next 100. Even if that occurs after a few minutes. You can make it go through the waypoints more slowly by flying higher. We maintain the specified AGL altitude plus or minus 5%. Flying higher widens that tolerance band.

Zane 8 de Fevereiro de 2020 01:33 0 votos

Got it!

Thank you Zane for all the good info!

Mark Trumpold 8 de Fevereiro de 2020 16:36 0 votos

Wanted to give some positive feedback on this thread.

After Zane's info on how waypoints are handled, I finally submitted my ~2k images (collected over 3 days) to MapsMadeEasy. The 50 acre map of my mountain side came out AWESOME! Imported to Google Earth -- no problem. I can now effectively scout 'virtually' for a path to the top. Thanks much!

Mark Trumpold 12 de Fevereiro de 2020 13:53 0 votos

Thanks for the feedback!

Zane 12 de Fevereiro de 2020 16:26 0 votos