Solo for mapping

[Ed Beck]

Ed, what lens on your GoPro are you using with this setup?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Peau Productions 3.97mm f/2.8

 

[Eric Sheehan]

I'm using trial of Drone2Map. Allows full production of ortho and DSM for 60 days. If you are flying a Solo, you should use the Pix4D capture program to run the mission. With some find/replace functions in Word, you can format the *.p4d file to georefererce the images to satisfaction of the ESRI product. Also, without control points, the accuracy of your ortho will be "Solo grade" GPS. Flying at 100 ft AGL, produced an ortho at 7cm pixel. Detailed as all hell, but +/- 10m horizontal accuracy

 

[TheBlueDog]

Yes. I've used it. It's kind of awesome if you're already a GIS person operating in the ArcGIS environment. It does use Pix4D. Esri has adapted it to be integrated with their GIS platform, which is pretty unrivalled if you're doing spatial analysis, modelling, urban planning, high-end cartography.

ESRI and 3DR are also partners. Drone2Map was developed with the Solo/GoPro platform as one of the testing platforms.

 

[Jonathan Miranda]

I'm using trial of Drone2Map. Allows full production of ortho and DSM for 60 days. If you are flying a Solo, you should use the Pix4D capture program to run the mission. With some find/replace functions in Word, you can format the *.p4d file to georefererce the images to satisfaction of the ESRI product. Also, without control points, the accuracy of your ortho will be "Solo grade" GPS. Flying at 100 ft AGL, produced an ortho at 7cm pixel. Detailed as all hell, but +/- 10m horizontal accuracy

Is there any specifics on what to change and where to make it work in ESRI?
Any details would be greatly appreciate it.
Also, what are your impressions on Pix4Dcapture? Is it as turn-key as using it with a phantom?

 

[Eric Sheehan]

Pix4D with Solo, on scale of 1-10, I'd give it a 7. Does not support circular flight, and the geotagging is somewhat a manual process.

I have not used with Phantom, but I'm sure that process is much more streamlined.

Drone2Map, I'd give it a 6 of 10. Much less control than Pix, more or less a black box approach to creating an ortho and DSM. A high cost as well, considering you need an organization ArcGIS Online account, which carries a significant amount of software purchase prerequisites.

I frankly don't see why they chained Drone2Map to the AGO platform. Operationally, it is acceptable, but ESRI's strategy for people to use it is cumbersome.

Thanks

 

[mecummings.cr]

I have about a 100 acre site that I am looking to fly using Solo to produce an orthomosaic in Pix4D. Looking at the logistics of the flight plans and the best way to split them up in Mission Planner. Does MP have an option to take a large area and break it up into multiple flights? The area is pretty flat. I'm using the upgraded gps module from mRobotics and I am planning to set ground targets for the project on a per flight basis. Any thoughts on splitting up the flights as right now I have one large survey mission that will take about 10 or so flights with Solo to fly. Fortunately the Best Buy discounts have resulted in me having an inventory of 9 batteries.

 

[Jonathan Miranda]

I have about a 100 acre site that I am looking to fly using Solo to produce an orthomosaic in Pix4D. Looking at the logistics of the flight plans and the best way to split them up in Mission Planner. Does MP have an option to take a large area and break it up into multiple flights? The area is pretty flat. I'm using the upgraded gps module from mRobotics and I am planning to set ground targets for the project on a per flight basis. Any thoughts on splitting up the flights as right now I have one large survey mission that will take about 10 or so flights with Solo to fly. Fortunately the Best Buy discounts have resulted in me having an inventory of 9 batteries.

That all sounds good, and I'm not an expert, but you have to be careful not to overheat your motors. Also what type of targets for ground control you are using or planning to use?

 

[mecummings.cr]

Targets are 3ft X's I made out of wood with a small bolt in the middle painted bright orange. In the photo they are sitting on the intersection of concrete pavement joint lines. In the case of the 100 acre project they will be mostly on the ground. The wood pieces are 1"x3" with the wider side laying flat. This was just a cheap quick way to come up with ground targets at Lowes. I was actually thinking of flying the mission using two Solos to prevent motor overheat as I think that is a real concern. My question is how to pull it all back together in mission planner with multiple missions and flight plans.

 

[Jonathan Miranda]

That's a great idea, plus super portable. +1

 

[mecummings.cr]

On a side note, that mRobotics gps is amazing and I did confirm the other day they are working on an RTK version as well. When Solo returns to land using Tower the copter now touches down in almost exactly the same location as it took off. I went from takeoff with the stock gps having about 8 sats in a very flat area to between 18 and 20. Next time I'll paint dots on the ground and see how far Solo's legs drift from the marks.

 

[Steve McMurray]

I'm working on designing a 3d printed mount for a Sony a5100 / a6000 currently. You can even get the live feed through the micro HDMI from the a6000. I will likely place the a6000 right under where the current camera/gimbal mount is in the forward bay, rather than put it over the accessory bay.

How did you go with mounting a Sony Alpha a6000 on the Solo ? I am interested in doing this too

 

[fenris]

How did you go with mounting a Sony Alpha a6000 on the Solo ? I am interested in doing this too

Still working on it, when I have the time - Need to print the mount and do some tests. Will post results here when I have some.

 

[ScottKarlins]

Great thread all! Looking at using Pix with my Solo with newly installed m.robotics GPS. Really wish Pix would finish the integration of Solo. Prob won't happen though. Anyone have experience using the Peau 3.97mm HERO4 with Pix4DCapture and Mapper Pro? How well does it register photos compared to stock HERO4 lens?

 

[Jonathan Miranda]

Still working on it, when I have the time - Need to print the mount and do some tests. Will post results here when I have some.

I recently bought the sony a5000, mid sharing the stl file?

 

[Dogman1973]

I'm working on doing the same with a Nex5 (which I assume very similar to a5/6000) on my 2nd solo... but likewise struggling to find reasonable mounting options, and time to do it this side of christmas :-(.
Going to give the pwm>IR trigger a go as well.

 

[escadrone]

Hello guys,

You probably know that we’ve developed the Mapper version of the SOLO which includes a Sony Qx1 (APS-C sensor, 20 Megapixels) and an automatic geotagging feature. Designed for technical work and compatible with mission planner / Tower (video below)

link to the webpage

Our next production starts on december 19 (two weeks left) so we wanted to share this information with you as there might not be any other opportunities to get them later.

Here is the video on how to use it with Tower (it’s as simple as this)

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FIY, we released the code that runs in the companion computer open source, you can find it here :
GitHub - Escadrone/Solo-Mapper and develop your own solutions

Clients will also be provided with this set of documents :

For All 3drpilots members we’ll include a 32GB memory card instead of an 8GB, just mention that you’re part of the community during your order (or send us an email afterwards)

[email protected]



The SOLO Mapper is already flying in different parts of the world including for clients such as the US Government, environmental agencies, archeological research centers, photographs and construction and architecture companies.

Get in touch !

Escadrone team