Virtual Mission in Google Earth Pro has stopped working correctly

[Jeff A]

I was tweaking a Mission in the Litchi Hub today and wanted to see the result in a Google Earth Virtual Mission but the mission now plays at or below ground level. It may also be at the wrong coordinates. I tried a completed and successfully used Mission with the same results. I called a friend to ask him if he would try a Mission and he had been trying to get it to work as well. Is everyone having this problem?

 

[RonW]

I was tweaking a Mission in the Litchi Hub today and wanted to see the result in a Google Earth Virtual Mission but the mission now plays at or below ground level. It may also be at the wrong coordinates. I tried a completed and successfully used Mission with the same results. I called a friend to ask him if he would try a Mission and he had been trying to get it to work as well. Is everyone having this problem?

Mission Hub is working for me. I've completed a couple this week without any hitches.
Post or send link to online storage for your mission CSV file so's we can take a look for you and possibly answer your problem.

 

[Jeff A]

Mission Hub is working for me.<SNIP>

Mission Hub is working great for me as well. It's the Virtual Litchi Mission in Google Earth that is malfunctioning.

 

[Facherty]

Yes, I am definitely suffering the same difficulty - a mission that appeared to fly 40m in the air around 3D scenery in GoogleEarth now bumps along the ground, below the 3D scenery.

I am using:

• Chrome 81.0 for MacOS
• GoogleEarth 7.3.3.7699 for MacOS
• Virtual Litchi Mission for Chrome 0.2.1

I think we can eliminate GoogleEarth as the source of the problem because an examination of the file exported by VLM and Mission Hub shows the difference. Taking the first waypoint from a mission planned and trialled two weeks ago, the data sent to GoogleEarth via the .kml file looks like:
<Camera>
<latitude>55.860547168467484</latitude>
<longitude>-3.2336304161701634</longitude>
<altitude>315.6561584472656</altitude>
<heading>277.0</heading>
<tilt>87.0</tilt>
<roll>0</roll>
<altitudeMode>absolute</altitudeMode>
<gx:horizFov>77.22535435046767</gx:horizFov>
</Camera>

Taking the same waypoint from the same mission, but exported today, the data looks like:
<Camera>
<latitude>55.860547168467484</latitude>
<longitude>-3.2336304161701634</longitude>
<altitude>40.0</altitude>
<heading>277.0</heading>
<tilt>87.0</tilt>
<roll>0</roll>
<altitudeMode>absolute</altitudeMode>
<gx:horizFov>77.22535435046767</gx:horizFov>
</Camera>

The only difference is the <altitude> marker. (In Mission Hub the point is set at 40m above ground, and the ground point is 273.9m.)

In both files, the opening strings contain one identical line:
<altitudeMode>absolute</altitudeMode>

By my reasoning, since the the VLM extension has not been updated since June 2019, and that there has been no new version of GoogleEarthPro, the change must be in some aspect of the Mission Hub?

 

[RonW]

Yes, I am definitely suffering the same difficulty - a mission that appeared to fly 40m in the air around 3D scenery in GoogleEarth now bumps along the ground, below the 3D scenery.

I am using:

• Chrome 81.0 for MacOS
• GoogleEarth 7.3.3.7699 for MacOS
• Virtual Litchi Mission for Chrome 0.2.1

I think we can eliminate GoogleEarth as the source of the problem because an examination of the file exported by VLM and Mission Hub shows the difference. Taking the first waypoint from a mission planned and trialled two weeks ago, the data sent to GoogleEarth via the .kml file looks like:
<Camera>
<latitude>55.860547168467484</latitude>
<longitude>-3.2336304161701634</longitude>
<altitude>315.6561584472656</altitude>
<heading>277.0</heading>
<tilt>87.0</tilt>
<roll>0</roll>
<altitudeMode>absolute</altitudeMode>
<gx:horizFov>77.22535435046767</gx:horizFov>
</Camera>

Taking the same waypoint from the same mission, but exported today, the data looks like:
<Camera>
<latitude>55.860547168467484</latitude>
<longitude>-3.2336304161701634</longitude>
<altitude>40.0</altitude>
<heading>277.0</heading>
<tilt>87.0</tilt>
<roll>0</roll>
<altitudeMode>absolute</altitudeMode>
<gx:horizFov>77.22535435046767</gx:horizFov>
</Camera>

The only difference is the <altitude> marker. (In Mission Hub the point is set at 40m above ground, and the ground point is 273.9m.)

In both files, the opening strings contain one identical line:
<altitudeMode>absolute</altitudeMode>

By my reasoning, since the the VLM extension has not been updated since June 2019, and that there has been no new version of GoogleEarthPro, the change must be in some aspect of the Mission Hub?

I think I spoke too soon in my earlier reply, after reviewing film of mission I undertook recently, it appears that the actual camera view is now different from that shown in VLM/Google Earth. I have never experienced this problem previously; versions of G. Earth and VLM are same as I've used for last few months or more. Will drop email to Litchi support shortly and ask if they've altered anything on the Hub.

 

[DragonFly Aerials LLC]

I'm having the same problem, and the Litchi Forum on Facebook has multiple users with the same problem. Looking forward to the answer you get from Litchi, but maybe we all need drop them a line. I'm going to send them an email now.

 

[Jeff A]

I'm having the same problem, and the Litchi Forum on Facebook has multiple users with the same problem. Looking forward to the answer you get from Litchi, but maybe we all need drop them a line. I'm going to send them an email now.

I emailed Litchi Support and they are saying it has nothing to do with them. Who will be our Savior? I was using the VLM almost daily getting ready for a big Video Mission.

 

[Facherty]

I use it nearly every time I fly.

You will see my analysis above, and my conclusion that the problem probably lies with Litchi, and not with GoogleEarth or VLM. You may also note that whilst I love Litchi, I am unimpressed by Litchi's software team (see mavicpilots.com/threads/litchi-unloved-by-its-maker.88431/).

It would be helpful to have further confirmation of my conjecture... can anyone else look at the contents of previously successful VLM .kml mission files vs currently unsuccessful ones?

As I understand it, with Litchi saying it is not their problem, our only chance of resolving this is through the two non profit-making people involved in VLM:
@namirda
@bazuchan

I did post an update on the thread originally created by @bazuchan (see mavicpilots.com/threads/yet-another-virtual-litchi-mission-chrome-firefox-extension.45629), but there has been no response yet.

 

[namirda]

I think the issues with VLM should now be fixed - see posts #826 and #827 Virtual Litchi Mission

Also, please put any posts about VLM on the thread linked above - that will make sure I see them!

Thanks

N

 

[Facherty]

@namirda
[I will post this here and in the other thread]

Firstly, thank-you again for all the work that you do on this extension - it has made my drone experience far more enjoyable.

I did not have the difficulty with GoogleEarth messages that others have described in https://mavicpilots.com/threads/joe...on-google-earth-pro-error.66480/#post-1017349 or post #825 of Virtual Litchi Mission. The difficulty experienced in this thread concerned missions that bumped along the ground.

I have tried my VLM following your re-subscription to Google, and the results are the same - the virtual drone stays at ground level whilst attempting to become a mole (or a submarine) as it moves around the flight path.

The sole difference in the .kml document generated is as reported in #4 above - the setting of altitude for each waypoint is changed:
from a gradually varying <altitude>315.6561584472656</altitude> to a continuous <altitude>40.0</altitude> (since I have set all my waypoints at 40m AGL).

I can see how the GoogleEarth subscription has fixed the problem for others, but when I generate a .kml file today I am experiencing:


whereas the same mission exported last week, and rendered by GoogleEarth today, gave:


Most importantly: thank you.