Orthomosaic with the MA2?

[Kyle76]

I may be wrong, but I don’t think there’s a hobbyist “version“ different from a pro version of Dronelink, it’s just how you pay and your honesty.

 

[Ron Caballero CAP]

You would need to be able to use one of the mapping apps like DroneDeploy to properly fly a grid and capture images at the right places with precise overlaps of 70% or more.
That's not possible with the Mavic Air 2 until DJI release the SDK for the drone to allow 3rd party developers to produce apps that work with the Air 2.
You don't want to hear it but for now, your only option would be to use a different drone.

I was in touch with DJI on the subject of mapping apps. They told me that it is up to the mapping apps to create the links. I rhwn contacted DorneDeploy. They told me they are working on it. So, I guess the SDK has been released.

 

[Geofff]

So I have the opportunity to earn some money with my MA2 if I can figure out how to fly, image, and create an orthomosaic. Since we can't fly the mission with 3rd party apps, what are my options (besides using a different drone, not an option)? Obviously I'm new to this, and I won't take the missions without a clear path forward to providing a professional result.

Just a thought, have you had a look at Hivemapper. Might do the job for you. They offer free for recreation use and a couple of pricing options for commercial use. I have signed up for free use and have just done a flight over a constructed wetlands but haven't processed it yet.

 

[The Real DERO]

So I have the opportunity to earn some money with my MA2 if I can figure out how to fly, image, and create an orthomosaic. Since we can't fly the mission with 3rd party apps, what are my options (besides using a different drone, not an option)? Obviously I'm new to this, and I won't take the missions without a clear path forward to providing a professional result.

I have been learning to use Open Drone Map. I have experimented with doing manual missions and the results are not good enough to sell as a service. The software, which I paid for the installer and recommend it, is great and will give the results you are looking for, but we will have to wait for some mission planning software for the MA2 before being able to do this with usable results. Here are some good comparisons of the different solutions available.

 

[Ron Caballero CAP]

I have been learning to use Open Drone Map. I have experimented with doing manual missions and the results are not good enough to sell as a service. The software, which I paid for the installer and recommend it, is great and will give the results you are looking for, but we will have to wait for some mission planning software for the MA2 before being able to do this with usable results. Here are some good comparisons of the different solutions available.

I just went to OpenDroneMap. All I see is a wide variety of applications with no clarification. Would like to give members here some clarification?

 

[Johnrichardson]

ODM is amazing open source software for 3d models and orthomosaics. I have been using.g it for about 18 months now with my Mavic Pro. It can generate both orthomosaics and 3D Models, exportable to gis and cad platforms, and has a host of other features such as contouring, dem generation etc. It has comparable features to pix4d and agisoft, and best of all its free if you install it yourself, or alternatively if you want to you can at a minimal cost purchase the windows installer! All funds for for the windos installer go straight back into the software development.

All you need is an adequately resourced PC to be able to process the datasets you capture with your drone. I have been using drone deploy to capture the images with my Mavic Pro, but have just upgraded to an Air 2 so I'm currently waiting for Dronedeploy or another third party app to release to support grid mapping for the MA2.

I really recommend you check this out if you interested in creating orthomosaics or 3D models with your drone. There is also a very active community forum who are always ready to help if you ever have issues.

WebODM Drone Software - OpenDroneMap™

A free, user-friendly, extendable application and API for drone image processing. Create maps, point clouds, 3D models and DEMs from aerial images.

www.opendronemap.org

 

[Ron Caballero CAP]

ODM is amazing open source software for 3d models and orthomosaics. I have been using.g it for about 18 months now with my Mavic Pro. It can generate both orthomosaics and 3D Models, exportable to gis and cad platforms, and has a host of other features such as contouring, dem generation etc. It has comparable features to pix4d and agisoft, and best of all its free if you install it yourself, or alternatively if you want to you can at a minimal cost purchase the windows installer! All funds for for the windos installer go straight back into the software development.

All you need is an adequately resourced PC to be able to process the datasets you capture with your drone. I have been using drone deploy to capture the images with my Mavic Pro, but have just upgraded to an Air 2 so I'm currently waiting for Dronedeploy or another third party app to release to support grid mapping for the MA2.

I really recommend you check this out if you interested in creating orthomosaics or 3D models with your drone. There is also a very active community forum who are always ready to help if you ever have issues.

WebODM Drone Software - OpenDroneMap™

A free, user-friendly, extendable application and API for drone image processing. Create maps, point clouds, 3D models and DEMs from aerial images.

www.opendronemap.org

I went to your link. Here us what popped up. No explanation on what each provides. Can you help?

 

[Droning on and on...]

I went to your link. Here us what popped up. No explanation on what each provides. Can you help?

View attachment 112422

Did you click on either of them?

 

[Huttcraft]

So I have the opportunity to earn some money with my MA2 if I can figure out how to fly, image, and create an orthomosaic. Since we can't fly the mission with 3rd party apps, what are my options (besides using a different drone, not an option)? Obviously I'm new to this, and I won't take the missions without a clear path forward to providing a professional result.

Hi BuckeyeRay - I don’t know what level of quality you need but I’ve done a few orthos completely manually, using DJI Go, eyeballing the overlap and grid, then merging the photos with the free Microsoft Image Composite Editor. I then uploaded the results to Zoomable, also free, to make it ... Zoomable. I’m just a hobbyist and have no interest in buying software for these tasks. I confirm, though, that it works.

Here’s one I did a few weeks ago of a cottage lake, to map navigability and shoals:

View Image

I used a creaky old Phantom 3S, with the camera at -90°, kept the drone’s heading at 0°, and set the altitude at 300m above the home point. I think this one ultimately used three rows of eight pics each, for 24 photos in total. I discarded the photos that were not necessary, and had to run a few experiments to get it right. This was good enough for my purposes.

Dave

 

[Brutha]

I’ve also done orthomosaics of my house plot using ODM and manual flying. The results were very good (for my purposes) after a bit of fiddling around.

How big is the area you need to map?

 

[The Real DERO]

I went to your link. Here us what popped up. No explanation on what each provides. Can you help?

View attachment 112422

The webodm is the one you want to use. All the software libraries listed below those links are the different open source modules included in ODM. WebODM and ODM are referring to the user interface. The web one is a browser based UI and more then likely the one you want. The ODM is a command line based user interface. I bought the installer and it simplifies the install greatly. The cost also goes to development

 

[Ron Caballero CAP]

Did you click on either of them?

I tend NOT to click on links when I do not know where they will take me...and the result/s to be expected. Thnat is a waste of time when I have things to do in which I have a good idea what IO am doing.
Care to guide me? That would be nice.

 

[Meta4]

I’ve done a few orthos completely manually, using DJI Go, eyeballing the overlap and grid, then merging the photos with the free Microsoft Image Composite Editor

What you've done is easy and appropriate for your use but it's making a planar panorama and not an orthophoto.

If the OP was asked to professionally create an orthophoto, there's a lot more that goes into an orthophoto.
This explains what an orthophoto is.

An orthophoto is an aerial photograph that has been geometrically corrected or 'ortho-rectified' such that the scale of the photograph is uniform and utilised in the same manner as a map. An ortho-photograph can be used to measure true distances of features within the photograph. Planimetric corrections have been applied to remove lens distortions and optics, camera angle, and differences in elevation (topographic relief) through a process of measuring ground control points to 'tie' the photo to the ground, in a drawing-pin like manner. An orthophoto is an accurate representation of the Earth' s surface. Orthophotos have the benefits of high detail, timely coverage combined with the benefits of a map including uniform scale and true geometry. ​

 

[Brutha]

What you've done is easy and appropriate for your use but it's making a planar panorama and not an orthophoto.

If the OP was asked to professionally create an orthophoto, there's a lot more that goes into an orthophoto.
This explains what an orthophoto is.

An orthophoto is an aerial photograph that has been geometrically corrected or 'ortho-rectified' such that the scale of the photograph is uniform and utilised in the same manner as a map. An ortho-photograph can be used to measure true distances of features within the photograph. Planimetric corrections have been applied to remove lens distortions and optics, camera angle, and differences in elevation (topographic relief) through a process of measuring ground control points to 'tie' the photo to the ground, in a drawing-pin like manner. An orthophoto is an accurate representation of the Earth' s surface. Orthophotos have the benefits of high detail, timely coverage combined with the benefits of a map including uniform scale and true geometry. ​

Although, if it’s a small area, a proper orthophoto is possible from manual flying, if you use something like ODM etc - I’ve done this myself.

 

[Alex Anticosti]

So I have the opportunity to earn some money with my MA2 if I can figure out how to fly, image, and create an orthomosaic. Since we can't fly the mission with 3rd party apps, what are my options (besides using a different drone, not an option)? Obviously I'm new to this, and I won't take the missions without a clear path forward to providing a professional result.

I realize georeferenced aerial images "manually"!
First I cover the surface in 48 Mb photos with 1/3 overlap from one image to another. In Photoshop I crop the images keeping the center (about 40% ) of each photo. Photoshop then merges the images into a single mosaic. I import this mosaic into ArcMap where I georeference it. I often export the result in pdf format that I can use with Avenza on my phone.

A bit long? Yes, but very functional. And at the third or fourth time it is much faster [emoji6].

 

[Knox360vt]

So I have the opportunity to earn some money with my MA2 if I can figure out how to fly, image, and create an orthomosaic. Since we can't fly the mission with 3rd party apps, what are my options (besides using a different drone, not an option)? Obviously I'm new to this, and I won't take the missions without a clear path forward to providing a professional result.

I actually use Copterus app on apple with my MA2.