Mapping software?

[AussieWings]

Hello all,

I am a new drone pilot with an immediate need to map large areas (searching for missing radio control aircraft). The Air 2S seems to be a drone that cannot currently be made to work with mapping software. I of course discovered this after the purchase. This model seems to be 'semi-pro' and therefore not yet integrated with existing mapping platforms.

I have attempted to run : Measure Ground Control, DroneDeploy, and DroneLink. Although the people at the last one mentioned did respond, and tell me that their platform will work (with some issues) I am currently finding that their website is glitchy and inoperable.

I wonder if there's any guidance avail from others in this community? I may have to accept that I have bought the wrong drone for running these missions, and that starting over is the only option. It is however still a great drone within it's own right.

 

[ThatBeardedDroneGuy]

I thought DroneDeploy supported the A2S. I just signed up for a mapping course with Drone Launch Academy and I was planning on using my A2S. Hopefully I don't run into that issue.

 

[millbah]

This is why I bought the MA2 to run Dronelink, then I had to buy an iPhone . Best to buy the software first then figure the drone and the phone platform. It's worse than buying a car. All this after buying the M3 in anticipation of having mapping & mission software being available, which it hasn't.

 

[jshreen]

Hello, AussieWings. I don't have any experience with the DJI A2S, but I do have experience with Drone Deploy. A little research tells me that DJI designed the A2S for taking really good images and video for personal and commercial purposes, but not for mapping purposes. DJI's excellent Ground Station Pro doesn't even support the A2S.

Accordingly, DD does not include the A2S as a supported aircraft. And I don't think a georectified orthomosaic map, or even a photomosaic map would suit your need. I'm not even sure that the A2S records the location coordinates in the metadata in each photo image file that is captured. Without the location coordinates, stitching photos together to create a map is very difficult.

I recommend using a free program like Litchi to lay out waypoints for the A2S to fly between and capture images or video that can be loaded to a PC to review on a large screen. You will need to experiment with imagery captured with the camera pointed straight down (nadir) versus imagery captured at an angle (oblique). Vegetation on the ground may require several passes over the same spot from different directions depending on the height of the vegetation, level of the terrain, and angle of the sun.

Good luck.

 

[PHZ]

Litchi uses waypoints for the feature you want. The Air 2s has no waypoints. Neither does the M3. (All so sad and fixable.)
Buy a good used M2 Pro, M Pro or ??
I have experience doing exactly what you are trying to accomplish using DroneDeploy and DJI Go4 using an M2. It is best to fly about 50’ altitude, which means many passes to cover the ground and get in between rows of corn or beans. (Ask me how I know.)
With your unit, use DJI’s flight app(I use Go4), and use the feature to shoot every two or three seconds on the camera function. Then, use the map showing where the drone is flying in the app to manually fly a grid of your selected area. Back and forth, slide over 50’ or so, and come back. Bring lots of batteries.
Go through the pictures manually afterward, as you are likely to miss the airplane in real time (again, ask me how I know). It is helpful, very helpful to have a VO AND someone else staring at your screen (use a tablet), to see if they can spot it real time, saving you perusing all the photos afterwards and then trying to figure out where the magic photo was shot.
Also, lost airplanes are never quite where you think they are (or they would have already been found), so be prepared to explore a wide area.
Good luck! I hope you are not wasting your efforts on a $200 foamie.