Litchi, question about creating missions

[Gringorio]

Hey all,

I haven't used Litchi in a couple years. Now I'm being asked to use it for planning transect missions. The issue, at least I think it is, is that we will be in the middle of nowhere with no cell or internet. I just tried to create a mission via my tablet in airplane mode and the map wasn't shown so I could not plan a mission. Do I simply have to cache the map for mission planning off line? If so, can I cache enough map to cover several hundred square miles in the Pacific Ocean? Or, is there a way to create a mission off line?

Thanks for your help!

 

[TedS]

Hey all,

I haven't used Litchi in a couple years. Now I'm being asked to use it for planning transect missions. The issue, at least I think it is, is that we will be in the middle of nowhere with no cell or internet. I just tried to create a mission via my tablet in airplane mode and the map wasn't shown so I could not plan a mission. Do I simply have to cache the map for mission planning off line? If so, can I cache enough map to cover several hundred square miles in the Pacific Ocean? Or, is there a way to create a mission off line?

Thanks for your help!

I'm not sure I fully understand what you are planning to do, but I planned several missions with Litchi "Mission Hub" on my PC to be flown later this fall when I'm in the NE Ontario bush, where there is no cell coverage.

Litchi will cache the area you plan to fly if you scan the area and zoom in and out with the device you plan to use, while you still have an internet connection. Do this just prior to the trip.

The downside is that you may lose cached maps if you turn off the device. I plan to keep my device on and charged for the whole two week trip.

However, even without the map, Litchi should simply run the waypoint mission per the plan, assuming it was synchronized to your device. I suggest you do a test beforehand so you have confidence in what Litchi will do.

I would also add, I pre-fly all Litchi missions by using Virtual Litchi Mission (VLM) in Google Earth Pro to check elevations, camera angles, and obstacles often modifying the route numerous times before I fly. The accuracy of elevations and obstacles is not exact, so I sometimes I fly the route virtually with the camera level and forward to check for obstacles first, then I setup the camera angles, since it will be flying with camera facing sideways and even backwards to the flight path at times.

 

[AMann]

Is your are to fly in all open ocean or is there any land in it? If just water, why not just preplan the mission beforehand and forgo the map later? Or just preload the land area only? The coordinates of your waypoints wont change.

 

[Gringorio]

Thanks for your replies! The issue is that we can't pre-plan missions since we don't know exactly where we'll be going, just a general idea. We'll be locating drifting ghost nets that could be anywhere in our large search area. So I can't pre-plan missions on shore where I'd have internet access.

 

[AMann]

Thanks for your replies! The issue is that we can't pre-plan missions since we don't know exactly where we'll be going, just a general idea. We'll be locating drifting ghost nets that could be anywhere in our large search area. So I can't pre-plan missions on shore where I'd have internet access.

I see, I have not tried this but you may be able to create a text file in the necessary format and extension manually and simply enter in the lat and longs of your desired waypoint coordinates. I used to do this with my own DXF files In CAD programs and it worked pretty well. You gave me a good idea for my next project, if no one else responds, I’ll see if I can play with it and figure out how to do it later tonight.

 

[AMann]

OK, Got home and found out I have some family things going on this evening so you’re going to do some homework here but, you’re going to have to create a KML file and then file import it into Litchi.

If you create a simple KML project with Google Earth that approximates what you think you will be doing in the ocean, all you have to do is open that file up as a template When you’re out in the water and edit the lat longs in it in order to create a new KML file for your ocean missions based on your desired GPS waypoints.

Here’s a tutorial from Google on how to set up KML files. A text editor like windows notes to edit files like this, Then save it with a .kml extension name. You can test your file by opening the KML file you ceeate in GoogleEarth to see how accurate you were- Just compare it with your known GPS location.

KML Tutorial | Keyhole Markup Language | Google for Developers

developers.google.com

Tip: To see the KML "code" for a feature in Google Earth, you can simply right-click the feature in the 3D Viewer of Google Earth and select Copy. Then Paste the contents of the clipboard into any text editor. The visual feature displayed in Google Earth is converted into its KML text equivalent. Be sure to experiment with this feature.

 

[AMann]

Also some good info on this thread:

Litchi, Autopilot and KML files, how does it work

Please anyone before I loose my mind... has anyone got an example of a KML file that will load into the Autopilot App... I have not been able to get a Google Earth KML file to load, because G-E KMl's do not contain waypoint markers, when you export them nor can I get an exported file from Litchi...

mavicpilots.com