How fast to fly Tower mission

[LAK-USA]

Ok, flew survey mission at 5MPH. Painfully slow, lol..... However it cooked from WP1 to the first survey point. I changed speed just after WP1

It's usually better to err on the side of caution, lol. Glad it worked out. LAK

 

[nexxypoo]

The gopro has rolling-shutter issues at high speeds. I try to keep my surveys below 5m/s.
(Pix4DMapper has a tool for compensating for rolling-shutter.)

neX

 

[DattaGroover]

I haven't tried that. If it does change the gimbal that will probably be bad for my data collection and slow acquisition times to a crawl. I'll have to try it and see what happens to be sure.
Have you tried this? Thanks.

Yes, and it is pretty fast. I haven't noticed any slow-down at all.

 

[peppys]

Regarding speed: I was getting blurry images when using the default values (which was fast as hell)
What I do now is put an extra waypoint 'Change speed' before the mission

 

[LAK-USA]

Yes, and it is pretty fast. I haven't noticed any slow-down at all.

Cool DattaGroover, I'll try that. Thanks for the tip!

LAK

 

[DattaGroover]

Regarding speed: I was getting blurry images when using the default values (which was fast as hell)
What I do now is put an extra waypoint 'Change speed' before the mission

Ahh, great tip. I'll try that.

 

[5r49cfu]

Regarding speed: I was getting blurry images when using the default values (which was fast as hell)
What I do now is put an extra waypoint 'Change speed' before the mission

It seems that the Change Speed waypoint is not acted on until after the end of the current segment.

Let's say you have a 500m segment going from WP1 to WP3. If you had a WP2 in the middle and changed it to a Change Speed type, the entire segment is not affected by this new speed. However, all waypoints downstream of WP3 are at the new speed.

Do you find this behavior too?

 

[MillsapsPE]

I've run several mapping missions. I create the mission in MP first, upload to Solo, and then download to Tower for final inspection. I don't remember where I got it from, but 5 m/s (~11mph) is what I run the mission at. Word of caution, MP speed is in m/s while Tower is mph. So, if you follow my worflow, you need to verify the correct speed in Tower.

In my experience the speed change happens immediately after the prior waypoint. In the example 5r49cfu provided, I would see the speed change immediately after Solo hit WP1.

I use Geosetter to tag the images.

 

[MillsapsPE]

I can't find it on their website now, but Mapir suggested 1.5 m/s for every 20m in height, or 1 mph for every 20 ft in height.

 

[Pedals2Paddles]

I've never done a survey mission before, with solo or all my DIY stuff. But I think it's going to be my next obsession. How high should you be flying a survey mission when using a GoPro in a solo gimbal?

 

[MillsapsPE]

The lower the better, but... you have to watch:

• flight duration/battery life
• time between shots
• obstacles
• elevation change across desired target area

Obviously, the lower you fly, the higher the GSD will be but will translate into longer flights and possibly require you to break it up into multiple missions.

GoPro 4's can be set to 0.5 sec shot interval, so you are not as likely to have a time between shot issue. I also fly with a Canon S100 and it is only rated for a shot every 2 seconds.

I've mapped areas with noticeable elevation changes (>100'). A) if you don't account for the change, you can fly into the ground or other obstacle. This is why I initiate my "home" location at the high side when possible. B) If you don't modify the height of your waypoints, your GSD will be affected. One side of area you are flying 50m above ground and the other you could be flying at 80m above ground. Mission Planner can adjust for this when making the mission, though make sure to double check the flight elevations.

For whatever reason I can't explain, I generally don't fly below 40m AGL.

[Edit]
If using std GoPro, I would shoot for 65-70% overlap. Otherwise, I use a 60-65% overlap.