Why Use Waypoint Missions?

[dwallersv]

I never said people shouldn't use it, I gave my opinion, if you can't handle that well that's your problem.

Hehe, you're amusing.

You spent several posts bragging about how you don't need any of these tools 'cause, well, you fly these sorts of things all the time by hand.

Are we supposed to be impressed?

If you're not trying to persuade people not to use Litchi, then just exactly what is the point you are trying to make, over several posts?

It sure looks to me like that was the point. If not, please enlighten us.

 

[Kestrel]

Hehe, you're amusing.

You spent several posts bragging about how you don't need any of these tools 'cause, well, you fly these sorts of things all the time by hand.

Are we supposed to be impressed?

If you're not trying to persuade people not to use Litchi, then just exactly what is the point you are trying to make, over several posts?

It sure looks to me like that was the point. If not, please enlighten us.

You are whats wrong with forums, no need to be hostile. All I said was certain things can be done by hand. Get over it.

 

[SkunkWerx's]

So... probably a dumb question but I'm curious as to what people are using these Waypoint missions for exactly? I think it's very cool that you can program them on a computer, upload them, and fly the MP autonomously... but other than the cool factor, what are the practical uses of this?

I own a large piece of property ...... I use the waypoint mission to fly the perimeter of it while I pan the camera to check on wild life and trespassers out of Hunting season that want to hunt and kill them ........ Plus take some cool pictures at the same time.
Litchi is an Awesome Program worth the price .... You can set Longitude and Latitude to the seconds and it's pretty dam accurate for using the public GPS signals
FlySafe-FlyFree

 

[SkunkWerx's]

Thanks guys - helpful stuff. So I'm assuming that it's very risky to plan waypoint missions below the tree line in tight areas (say - like up a street in your neighborhood) because the GPS accuracy just isn't good enough to pull that off without significant risk??

Waypoint missions depend on a good GPS signal lock at all times without interruption .. Flying under the tree line will be too risky
A Good GPS signal to the Mavic is accurate to about 3 feet
Always check your altitude settings B4 you run your mission even if you ran it 100 times
Better to be safe then sorry

 

[Logger]

...A Good GPS signal to the Mavic is accurate to about 3 feet
..

About being the operative word
Try this:
Turn your Mavic on and wait for it to register a home point once it has a good fix in a clear area. Then either take it for a walk for 20 minutes or even just sit it there powered on. As you wander about the RC screen displays distance to home point. After some time has elapsed, place the Mavic back in the same exact spot you powered at the home point and check this Distance. Whilst sometimes it is only a couple of feet with a good signal , It is not uncommon for it to indicate it is 20 or 30 feet.
For this reason I work on 10m or 30' as my real world accuracy ballpark.

 

[SkunkWerx's]

About being the operative word
Try this:
Turn your Mavic on and wait for it to register a home point once it has a good fix in a clear area. Then either take it for a walk for 20 minutes or even just sit it there powered on. As you wander about the RC screen displays distance to home point. After some time has elapsed, place the Mavic back in the same exact spot you powered at the home point and check this Distance. Whilst sometimes it is only a couple of feet with a good signal , It is not uncommon for it to indicate it is 20 or 30 feet.
For this reason I work on 10m or 30' as my real world accuracy ballpark.

Logger thanks for informing me about such a large differential ....... I have never experienced it and will defiantly keep it in mind now

 

[dwallersv]

Gang, the geometry of the visible satellites at any given time can significantly affect the achievable GPS accuracy at a given location. This is calculated as the Dilution of Precision (DOP).

Most or the time, because there are 24 satellites, there is usually a decent configuration visible so we get decent accuract (within 10-15 feet). However, from time to time the DOP can get bad, and you'll have poor accuracy.

DOP can be forecast. There are several online sites that will calculate DOP for a location and time -- you can use this to plan when to execute a mission that requires the best accuracy possible.

I use a PC app called Trimble Planning that shows all sort of great GPS-satellite data this purpose.

Regardless of what forecasting (or not) you try to do, there are GPS apps for both iOS and Android that will give you real-time information about the satellite constellation, including DOP and it's specific components (VDOP, HDOP, PDOP, TDOP), so you can decide if the the satellite geometry is good enough in real time to run your mission.

The more precision you need, the close you want DOP to be to 1.

 

[guest112]

Any plans to support iOS?

Unfortunately for now it is only Android. We would love to have the manpower to develop for both platforms from the outset, but for now iOS is future plans with no ETA yet.
Nevertheless, we hope that in the meantime you will still find a way to try it out, maybe with a friends Android device?

 

[Turnerm]

Unfortunately for now it is only Android. We would love to have the manpower to develop for both platforms from the outset, but for now iOS is future plans with no ETA yet.
Nevertheless, we hope that in the meantime you will still find a way to try it out, maybe with a friends Android device?

Everything I do is on Android... except for my Mavic because I found the stock DJI app too buggy. So I bought an iPad mini specifically for flying my Mavic.

I'll give your app a shot on my Android phone to test it out.

 

[SkunkWerx's]

Gang, the geometry of the visible satellites at any given time can significantly affect the achievable GPS accuracy at a given location. This is calculated as the Dilution of Precision (DOP).

Most or the time, because there are 24 satellites, there is usually a decent configuration visible so we get decent accuract (within 10-15 feet). However, from time to time the DOP can get bad, and you'll have poor accuracy.

DOP can be forecast. There are several online sites that will calculate DOP for a location and time -- you can use this to plan when to execute a mission that requires the best accuracy possible.

I use a PC app called Trimble Planning that shows all sort of great GPS-satellite data this purpose.

Regardless of what forecasting (or not) you try to do, there are GPS apps for both iOS and Android that will give you real-time information about the satellite constellation, including DOP and it's specific components (VDOP, HDOP, PDOP, TDOP), so you can decide if the the satellite geometry is good enough in real time to run your mission.

The more precision you need, the close you want DOP to be to 1.

Wow thanks for the info this is good to know ....... one question dwallersv, is the DOP forecast effected by the KP index ??? I ask because I do use an app sometimes for it and if its high I won't fly .

 

[enohp15]

you can use this web site to have a look at what the satellites are doing at any given time.

Home

There are other sites, but I use this one, its easy enough to use.

 

[trev1968]

I shot this using Autopilot apps waypoints feature, I'd never be able to fly it this well by hand.

Great shots

 

[dwallersv]

Wow thanks for the info this is good to know ....... one question dwallersv, is the DOP forecast effected by the KP index ??? I ask because I do use an app sometimes for it and if its high I won't fly .

I don't know what the KP index is.

DOP in the future can be calculated because we know where the satellites will be in the future. That's all there is to "forecasting" DOP.

 

[SkunkWerx's]

Sorry I didn't explain ...... Kp index has to do with the Earths geomagnetic field in the range 0–9 with 1 being calm and 5 or more indicating a geomagnetic storm that will effect many electronic devices along with RC systems

 

[Barrettsbuzzin]

Lovely, smooth video mate.

How did you gauge the height of the trees alongside the castle in the first part of the clip?

The camera seemed to just skim over the top of them!

Just good luck or careful planning?!

Absolute unfiltered good luck with a tiny little pinch of planning. I wanted it closed, but it was a little closer than I wanted, but just kept the finger hovering over the sport mode just in case

 

[dwallersv]

Sorry I didn't explain ...... Kp index has to do with the Earths geomagnetic field in the range 0–9 with 1 being calm and 5 or more indicating a geomagnetic storm that will effect many electronic devices along with RC systems

Hmmm... interesting. I love learning new stuff, thanks bro! Off to google for a while.

In any case, given your description, unless it can be forecast, it can't be a part of any planning. Otherwise, it certainly could play an important role in go/no-go decision on the mission day.

Me and google gonna be spending a little time together now...

 

[Mauri59]

Somehow, it's possible.
Since geomagnetic disturbances are consequence of solar flares, following the flares predictions, does the job.
Weekly Highlights and 27-Day Forecast | NOAA / NWS Space Weather Prediction Center

Solar flares and magnetic disturbances, anyway, does affect communications in the lower portion of the radio spectrum, from VLF to HF and (rarely) VHF.

unless it can be forecast, it can't be a part of any planning.

 

[RFP]

So... probably a dumb question but I'm curious as to what people are using these Waypoint missions for exactly? I think it's very cool that you can program them on a computer, upload them, and fly the MP autonomously... but other than the cool factor, what are the practical uses of this?

no one here answer the practical use of mission planner, it is for mapping for us mapper, we mosaic the scene that we got using agisoft of APS menci, it is important to get exact coordinate.

 

[Sprocket]

Somebody was asking about flying a waypoint mission on computer before actually flying it to confirm its integrity.
There is a thread in this room called Virtual Litchi Mission. Read the whole thread or just scroll to post #172 and download the file. Program works perfectly for me. Plan the mission in Mission Hub on Litchi website. Open VLM. Open the mission you created. Download .csv file. It will open in Google Earth. You need to have sidebar open in Google Earth. Scroll down to Temporary places and expand the misson. Hit the little movie projector and watch the mission fly. Really neat little program.