Mavic 2 Pro and GS Pro - 99 waypoint limit

[Tim Sisson]

Having issues with this limitation. It pauses the mission at the 99th waypoint and then asks me if I want to resume from last waypoint or exit the mission. If I select “resume from last”, it pulls up the pre-mission check list and says I’m too far - must be within 1 mile. But my UAS is only 300 to 400 yards away. The only thing I can then do is exit.
Does anyone know why I’m getting this error? And why can’t GS Pro support more than 99 waypoints?

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

According to the DJI download page FAQ, there's this:

"Yes. However, when a flight mission has more than 99 waypoints, DJI GS Pro will automatically section the waypoints into groups, each containing a maximum of 99 waypoints. When each group of waypoint actions are completed, the mission will pause by default. You can continue the mission by using the “Resume from Last Stopped Point” function. "

So you state that you have the "resume from last" prompt, but are your waypoints beyond 99 sectioned into another group?

Chris

PS: This app is iOS only? I thought that DJI's preference for iOS over Android was "just a myth that people keep perpetuating".

 

[Keule]

list and says I’m too far

Are you sure it says: too far ... ?
It's usually: you are too close to the next waypoint
In this case, just move away manually by 10 ft or so and press resume and the next set of waypoints are being executed.

 

[Keule]

This app is iOS only?

yes

 

[Tim Sisson]

Thanks for the quick replies. I wish I had taken screen shots (will next time).. Yes - The options popped up to "Resume from last waypoint" or to "Exit the mission"... I think a couple of other options but I can't remember what they were... But when I chose "Resume from last waypoint", and the checklist popped up so I could continue, there was a list that popped up and an error saying I was outside of the 1m limit from the home point. It restricted the "continue" button and the only choice I had was to "Cancel"... I can recreate this easily so this afternoon I will capture some screen shots...


Really - DJI needs to address this by writing the waypoint data to the SD card in 99 waypoint chunks. Then it could just pause the missions at each 99th point and automatically load the next set instead of making you go through this extra set of steps... Does anyone know if this is on their roadmap?

I wanted to add that I am using GS Pro as part of required processing SW for Photomoasic imaging for Civil Air Patrol. CAP mandates use of GS Pro (currently) so training UASMP personnel is really complicated by issues like this... Hopefully it will be addressd soon...

 

[Keule]

Does anyone know if this is on their roadmap?

DJI does not disclose anything that looks like a roadmap...

Just to give you an idea of how DJI is working on a specific topic:
Before v2.0.0 of GSPro operators have no access to flight logs. They were never created in GSPro. Many requests were made through various channels from commercial operators and from big companies operating many DJI aircraft in their fleet.
It took DJI two (2) years until this 'feature' was included in their code ...

 

[dkuhne]

Out of interests what are you doing with 99 way points? You’d think you battery would run dry before then!

Can you set fewer waypoints but have your drone facing a point of interest for the waypoints instead?

 

[Keule]

Out of interests what are you doing with 99 way points?

When doing mapping/surveying missions with rolling shutter cameras, you should be stopping the AC while taking images to avoid light blurred images.
Each stop equals 1 waypoint. It's easy to have missions with 300, 400 or more waypoints.

You’d think you battery would run dry before then!

All mapping apps are able to handle this situation. The mission is automatically paused, AC is returning to home, after the battery is changed, resume mission.

Can you set fewer waypoints but have your drone facing a point of interest for the waypoints instead?

This kind of work is more of a 'technical' nature and has nothing to do with usual cinematography because there is no POI.
Usually, in mapping the camera points down -90° to get orthometric images.

 

[Tim Sisson]

Out of interests what are you doing with 99 way points? You’d think you battery would run dry before then!

Can you set fewer waypoints but have your drone facing a point of interest for the waypoints instead?

For Land survey type missions where resolution and details matter, I use the “hover and shoot” capture mode for the Photomap and 3D Photomap exercises. As mentioned above, when you do this, each photo represents a waypoint. So if you have 175 photos That will be taken during your mission, you’ll have ~175 waypoints.

 

[Tim Sisson]

I wanted to provide a quick update on my original inquiry. Thanks for the multiple responses which helped me get past the issue.

in short, when flying a mission with say 128 waypoints, when the 99th waypoint is reached, the GS Pro software will stop the UAS and hover in place. It will prompt you to either “Cancel the Mission”, “Start Over” or “Resume from last stopped point”. The issue I was having was when I would select “resume” it should have loaded the next 99 or remaining waypoints and then continued.

When you select the continue option, GSP pops up the pre-mission checklist again so it can load the next set of waypoints. I was getting an error telling me (I thought) that is was more than a mile from the flight area and wouldn’t let me continue. I was wrong - the message actually was saying that my UAS was ”too close” to the first (next) waypoint - that my UAS needed to be at least 1m (1 meter) from the first (next) point.

Easy to resolve by backing my UAS up 10 or 15 ft. before selecting resume. When I did that, everything worked great.

I think the error message could be better worded but I could have done a better job reading as well. Thanks all for you’re help!

 

[BobbyBob]

when a flight mission has more than 99 waypoints, DJI GS Pro will automatically section the waypoints into groups, each containing a maximum of 99 waypoints. When each group of waypoint actions are completed, the mission will pause by default. You can continue the mission by using the “Resume from Last Stopped Point” function. "

Does anyone know plz, if this handy way of coping with more than 99 way-points works when Litchi is automating the flight, or does this only work with GS Pro ?

 

[Tim Sisson]

I'm not sure about how many waypoints Litchi supports in a single mission upload. The limit of 99 waypoints while using GSP is tied to the fact that the waypoints are stored in the aircraft's internal memory (not the SD Card). The GSP will subdivide the total waypoints for a mission (can be hundreds) into 99 waypoint chunks. It loads the first 99 and then fly’s that chunk. Then it allows you to load the next 99 waypoints and continue flying. This process repeats until all waypoints have been achieved. For Litchi, you can certainly create missions that have hundreds of waypoints but it may handle them differently. GSP considers every photograph as a waypoint (in Hover and Shoot mode) which is why seemingly simple missions can be hundreds of waypoints. Litchi may do this differently. Sorry I can't be of more help...

As an aside, “Why does DJI use internal memory?” Several reasons: 1. The Mavic’s internal memory is much faster than the SD card so there’s less latency in data access. 2. The Mavic’s internal memory is also used for all of the Aircraft’s logging data, configurations, mission parameters, telemetry data and, of course, waypoint data. 3. By using the SD card only for imagery data, SD cards can be swapped between missions without loosing critical configuration data. And Lastly – 4. By using internal memory, DJI controls the quality and speed of critical memory components which is a form of failsafe/reliability control. Especially if/when there is a loss of controller link. The Aircraft still has everything it needs to safely perform it’s emergency procedures.

Why do I not use Litchi? There are many people using Litchi and love it. I prefer to use GSP and Go4 over Litchi because a) I haven’t found a single mission scenario where I couldn’t achieve it using Go4 or GSP. b) I believe GSP/Go4 are more stable software than Litchi and c) I have three colleagues who have had issues with their Mavic going haywire while using Litchi. Again, just my experience and preference. There are just as many pilots out there who prefer and use Litchi.

 

[BobbyBob]

TQ Tim, ver userful detail - Lithchi is also limited to 99 but I doubt handles the load of the next 99 very well. I think I need to use GSP: how long does it take GSP to upload the next 99 ?

 

[Tim Sisson]

Usually, in my experience, the 99 waypoint chunks will upload in about 10 seconds... The Aircraft will stop and hover at the 99th waypoint, then will present a menu asking if you want to continue or return to home point. I usually back the drone up about 15ft and then click on Continue... Then it completes the upload (10 seconds) and then continues from where it paused. BTW: Similar thing if your battery runs down during a mission. You can return to home, power down, swap batteries and then resume from where it left off.

 

[BobbyBob]

That's exactly what I've been trying to find out It;s touched on here and there, but never so clear. Time to start learning GSP. A final Q have is: Can that continuation to the next 99 batch be done while in "return to home - in the event of signal drop out" is set (hgihly desirable for my low alt projects); or do you have to be in "continue mission - in the event of signal drop out" ? Thanks Tim