Photogrammetry for Air 2s

[jojonono]

Hello

I just started freelancing recently in the Drone field since i have been practicing and polishing my skills for the past 4 years using 3 drones and managed to shoot 3 good cinematic videos,

it came to my attention however something am totally new to is:

Photogrammetry and mapping​

Currently am using my Air 2s and am happy with it, so i was wondering if I could use it professionally in such field if i get clients requesting so...

Could someone please recommend a good and reliable software, i just learned that the software will be running on my android phone as a replacement for the DJi Fly App, so any risk losing my drone or sudden app crashes, the dji fly app itself used to crash (only years ago) so how safe is this using a third aprty app ?

and finally, if i got the AIR3 with the RC2 controller, you can NOT install apps on that controller, how will i be still able to do this task ??

thanks,

 

[Meta4]

Hello

I just started freelancing recently in the Drone field since i have been practicing and polishing my skills for the past 4 years using 3 drones and managed to shoot 3 good cinematic videos,

it came to my attention however something am totally new to is:

Photogrammetry and mapping​

Currently am using my Air 2s and am happy with it, so i was wondering if I could use it professionally in such field if i get clients requesting so...

Could someone please recommend a good and reliable software, i just learned that the software will be running on my android phone as a replacement for the DJi Fly App, so any risk losing my drone or sudden app crashes, the dji fly app itself used to crash (only years ago) so how safe is this using a third aprty app ?

and finally, if i got the AIR3 with the RC2 controller, you can NOT install apps on that controller, how will i be still able to do this task ??

It's perfectly safe using non-DJI mapping apps.
The bad news for you is that DroneDeploy doesn't support the Air 2S except on iOS devices.

 

[Recoveryone]

Does the A2s have a mechanical shutter????

 

[Meta4]

Does the A2s have a mechanical shutter????

No
But a mechanical shutter isn't essential for photogrammetry.
The Mavic 2 pro didn't have one and it was a fine drone for mapping, back when DJI would release an SDK for consumer drones.

 

[Recoveryone]

No
But a mechanical shutter isn't essential for photogrammetry.
The Mavic 2 pro didn't have one and it was a fine drone for mapping, back when DJI would release an SDK for consumer drones.

Not sure where you learn that bit of information, having a mechanical is where photogrammetry starts. Everything else is just progress reporting. I would encourage to to check out companies that provide photogrammetry work and see which drones are listed, I'm sure the M2P nor any other non-mechanical shutter drone will be on the list. That is why the Phantom 4 Pro is still the industry standard to start with.

The DJI Phantom 4 RTK is a popular drone for photogrammetry and mapping. It provides highly accurate mapping and surveying results with up to +/- 0.1m horizontal and vertical positioning accuracy 12. The drone is equipped with an RTK positioning module that provides 1cm+1ppm (horizontal), 1.5cm+1ppm (vertical) positioning accuracy 1. It also has an advanced obstacle sensing system with 5-directional obstacle sensing and two forward-facing cameras for enhanced safety during mapping missions 2. The drone has a long transmission range of up to 7,000 meters 2. The DJI Phantom 4 RTK is compatible with the D-RTK 2 Mobile Station or Network RTK service, which ensures that the drone is connected to a reliable network 3. The drone’s purpose-built mapping app makes it easy to conduct photogrammetry or mapping missions 3.

There are several drones that are suitable for photogrammetry and surveying. According to a review by Droneller, the DJI Phantom 4 RTK is the best drone for photogrammetry and mapping in 2023. It has a 4K Ultra HD camera, a long battery life, a long flight time, and an obstacle avoidance mode that provides a good user experience overall 1. The drone is equipped with an RTK positioning module that provides 1cm+1ppm (horizontal), 1.5cm+1ppm (vertical) positioning accuracy 2. It also has an advanced obstacle sensing system with 5-directional obstacle sensing and two forward-facing cameras for enhanced safety during mapping missions 3. The DJI Phantom 4 RTK is compatible with the D-RTK 2 Mobile Station or Network RTK service, which ensures that the drone is connected to a reliable network 1. The drone’s purpose-built mapping app makes it easy to conduct photogrammetry or mapping missions 1.

Other drones that are suitable for photogrammetry and surveying include the DJI Matrice 300 RTK, Autel Robotics EVO 2, Parrot Anafi, DJI Inspire 2, FreeFly Alta X, and DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise

 

[Meta4]

Not sure where you learn that bit of information, having a mechanical is where photogrammetry starts. Everything else is just progress reporting. I would encourage to to check out companies that provide photogrammetry work and see which drones are listed, I'm sure the M2P nor any other non-mechanical shutter drone will be on the list. That is why the Phantom 4 Pro is still the industry standard to start with.

I used the Phantom 4 pro whenever I was doing photogrammetry, but many others did quite good work with the Mavic 2 pro, proving that the mechanical shutter wasn't essential.

 

[mavictk]

If I programmed Litch to stop the Air 2S for each photo would it perform well without a mechanical shutter?

Also, I believe webODM has a setting where you tell it that the drone doesn't have a mechanical shutter. Does that compensate well enough?

 

[Meta4]

If I programmed Litch to stop the Air 2S for each photo would it perform well without a mechanical shutter?

Also, I believe webODM has a setting where you tell it that the drone doesn't have a mechanical shutter. Does that compensate well enough?

You don't need a mechanical shutter and you don't need to stop to capture images.
If you had to stop to capture images you'd only ever be able to map very small sites.

Litchi isn't a mapping program.
If you want to map with the Air 2S you would need an iOS device and run a proper mapping app.

 

[mavictk]

Meta4, have seen the Grid Mission Designer mapping tool for Litchi? There is a good discussion about the tool on Grid Waypoint Tool

 

[Recoveryone]

You don't need a mechanical shutter and you don't need to stop to capture images.
If you had to stop to capture images you'd only ever be able to map very small sites.

Litchi isn't a mapping program.
If you want to map with the Air 2S you would need an iOS device and run a proper mapping app.

The problem I see here is verbiage, Photogrammetry; The use of photography in surveying and mapping to measure distances between objects. With that said is why I keep pointing out any non-mechanical shutter/Global shutter lens is required to produce survey level maps. Any thing less would be simply progress reporting, not meeting the level of survey grade.

 

[Meta4]

Meta4, have seen the Grid Mission Designer mapping tool for Litchi? There is a good discussion about the tool on Grid Waypoint Tool

To run Litchi, your drone needs to have an SDK, released, and if it does you can run a proper mapping app such as DroneDeploy.
And if you can run DroneDeploy there's no need to mess around with Litchi.

 

[mavictk]

To run Litchi, your drone needs to have an SDK, released, and if it does you can run a proper mapping app such as DroneDeploy.
And if you can run DroneDeploy there's no need to mess around with Litchi.

DroneDeploy is not free capture when using an Air 2S so I cannot play with it long enough to be comfortable. It is Litchi for me for now. I use webODM for processing.

 

[Codyb]

Hey op. Check out Drone Link. I recently purchased an elite license and it works well with my Air2 on my android phone. I use it in conjunction with webodm. The results seem pretty good for the few times I've used it.

 

[ssb73q]

Hi, I use my Air 2s for mapping application using the free Map Pilot Pro app. While that app can also do the mapping, I use WebODM to create my 2D & 3D maps.

 

[Parkerjh]

Hey op. Check out Drone Link. I recently purchased an elite license and it works well with my Air2 on my android phone. I use it in conjunction with webodm. The results seem pretty good for the few times I've used it.

Yes, Drone Link works fine with Air2s. As does Map Pilot Pro. You can't map with Air 3

Be aware though that the Elite plan (which you will need to get both Mapping and the ability to use oblique angles) is a Hobbyist plan only. If you only are doing a handful of jobs, you will probably get away with it but you will be breaking their terms of service. If you use it a lot, they will ban your account and force an upgrade to a professional plan at about $250/year verse $99 one-time.

I've done hundreds of jobs for clients with the Air2s and clients have always been perfectly happy with results so don't let anyone tell you that you need a mechanical shutter or need to stop at every point. If its a sunny day, I can cruise along at 10-12 MPH with good results.

Would an Air2s be the appropriate choice for EVERY mapping need? No, of course not, but for many needs it is a great solution. I use it regularly for:

• Stockpile measurements (quarry managers)
• Cut & Fill reports for construction progress
• Roof inspections for solar installation planning (Distribution centers, large warehouses, etc)
• Parking lot mapping/inspection for restriping and resurfacing planning
• Solar farm planning

I would really try to get an iPad (I use the Air with a bracket) verse Android mobile device. The user experience is just far superior with more screen real estate and tends to be more stable.

Ping me with any questions, happy to help

 

[Codyb]

Yes, Drone Link works fine with Air2s. As does Map Pilot Pro. You can't map with Air 3

Be aware though that the Elite plan (which you will need to get both Mapping and the ability to use oblique angles) is a Hobbyist plan only. If you only are doing a handful of jobs, you will probably get away with it but you will be breaking their terms of service. If you use it a lot, they will ban your account and force an upgrade to a professional plan at about $250/year verse $99 one-time.

I've done hundreds of jobs for clients with the Air2s and clients have always been perfectly happy with results so don't let anyone tell you that you need a mechanical shutter or need to stop at every point. If its a sunny day, I can cruise along at 10-12 MPH with good results.

Would an Air2s be the appropriate choice for EVERY mapping need? No, of course not, but for many needs it is a great solution. I use it regularly for:

• Stockpile measurements (quarry managers)
• Cut & Fill reports for construction progress
• Roof inspections for solar installation planning (Distribution centers, large warehouses, etc)
• Parking lot mapping/inspection for restriping and resurfacing planning
• Solar farm planning

I would really try to get an iPad (I use the Air with a bracket) verse Android mobile device. The user experience is just far superior with more screen real estate and tends to be more stable.

Ping me with any questions, happy to help

Good to know. I just use it for my own personal use so elite plan is fine for my use. Didn't realize the professional plans were so reasonable.

 

[TrabSeyn]

Is the A2S the optimal mapping drone? Not really. Can it map? Yes it can. The precision of your maps will require ground control points and to get "accurate" GCP placement you'll need a GNSS receiver/rover to get precision location/altitude measurements. GCP workflow with WebODM will accommodate this.

Map Pilot Pro will fly mapping missions although its implementation can be a bit kludgy with a VSC DJI drone. Do get a trial of Drone Deploy so you can test the software as their implementation is MUCH better. It's rare but I've seen Dronebase jobs come through requiring use of DD and the A2S is fine for those jobs (they supply the DD account to fly the mission). With MPP I've found that if I check "Inherit Camera Settings" I'll set the ISO on the camera to 200/400 and ramp shutter up to 1000/1250 in DJI Fly first. Still the Air 2 drones will max out at 22 mph with MPP so have some spare batteries on hand if you need to map anything over ~60 acres. It takes a A2S 42 minutes to map 170 acres with 2 battery swaps. M2P/M2Z takes 28 minutes, sometimes 1 battery if winds are light. Not optimal but capable.

Do you need a Mavic Enterprise/P4 with RTK to offer mapping as a service? No. Does a ME or P4 make mapping more efficient with higher accuracy? Oh yeah. Subscribe to Rami Tamimi's YouTube. Lots of great info there. Rich Charpentier (AZ Drones) has been mapping with a new M3E and the speeds he is getting absolutely smoke, one advantage of the mechanical shutter, and the drone of course.

 

[Sam36401]

The process you use will depend on your customer's needs.

If they require something survey grade, then you will need a more sophisticated hardware/software combination. $$$!

If they only want a really big picture, made up of a bunch of smaller images, then you can get by with a lesser consumer level drone and you can even use Litchi to capture and ICE to process the images. A much less expensive option

 

[Meta4]

DroneDeploy is not free capture when using an Air 2S so I cannot play with it long enough to be comfortable. It is Litchi for me for now.

Are you certain of this?
DD has always been free to use for flying but you pay for their processing if you use that.

 

[Parkerjh]

Are you certain of this?

Yes, the Air2s can not be used on a free plan and must be used as part of a paid subscription plan. I think that's the case because they are licensing the Air2s development from Dronelink and don't want to just give it away.