Use 3DR Solo for advanced mapping

[IrishmanPDX]

Hey buddy,
Thanks for the reply. So I think Solex is matching for my requirements.
And about the upgrades, nothing much. I have a non gropro camera and also these days looking for a mount for camera. And i have 2 extra batteries.

Then just a piece of advice, look into upgrading the GPS on your drone. The reason I say this is that if you do want to do surveys, you'll want your GPS location and data to be as accurate as possible. So slap a HERE GPS on that bird, it's a very simple upgrade and well worth doing. Jestersdrones sells the complete kit.

 

[Perspective]

Then just a piece of advice, look into upgrading the GPS on your drone. The reason I say this is that if you do want to do surveys, you'll want your GPS location and data to be as accurate as possible. So slap a HERE GPS on that bird, it's a very simple upgrade and well worth doing. Jestersdrones sells the complete kit.

Hey Irishman, I'm going to politely disagree with the idea that upgrading to HERE will increase accuracy. It your Solo is holding its position with the stock GPS you will not increase your accuracy. Be aware that the GPS on the drone if used to get a the images only records where each photo is taken not each pixel and that is from a location above the earth. This leaves a lot of room for error in location of each pixel when images are corrected and stitched together using the photogrammetry software of choice.

To truly get accurate data you will need to use survey grade equipment to record several ground points spread over the area being mapped that can be identified in the images. Once the images are stitched together then the images can be georeferenced using the ground points by entering the collected coordinates to the pixel that holds the ground point.

In the US you may be required to actually be a registered surveyor in some situations. For hobby use the stock GPS and the HERE will not make a significant difference in accuracy.

There are three different fields of expertise in mapping using drones. 1. Drones (obviously), 2. Photogrammetry, 3. GIS. This can be restated as 1. Collecting, 2. Processing, 3. Displaying/Analyzing respectively.

Hope I explained that well.

 

[IrishmanPDX]

In the US you may be required to actually be a registered surveyor in some situations.

Hope I explained that well.

Actually you explained it quite well, thank you! Although with a stock GPS (and some birds are still selling with a Rev A board) you may not even get off the ground.

I think the part about having to be a registered surveyor may not be something everyone knows. (I certainly didn't, but now that you mention it, it seems like a good point, I know the same is true of surveys regarding traffic patterns and the like).

One question I'd like answered (today at least, got 100 more for the other days) is that I've heard again and again people complaining that the GoPro is a terrible camera for doing Surveys. Is this simply because of the fisheye distortion? In which case, isn't it more accurate to say that the lens on the gopro is the issue and that a swap is needed? Or is there another reason isn't not suited to surveying?

I know some people are doing survey's with a stock gopro using a 70% overlap which does seem like it would add up in flight time depending on the size of the area, height it's been done at etc. So thinking that using a flatter profile lens would cut down on the overlap required. (make that a statement so it's not another question).

 

[Perspective]

Actually you explained it quite well, thank you! Although with a stock GPS (and some birds are still selling with a Rev A board) you may not even get off the ground.

I think the part about having to be a registered surveyor may not be something everyone knows. (I certainly didn't, but now that you mention it, it seems like a good point, I know the same is true of surveys regarding traffic patterns and the like).

One question I'd like answered (today at least, got 100 more for the other days) is that I've heard again and again people complaining that the GoPro is a terrible camera for doing Surveys. Is this simply because of the fisheye distortion? In which case, isn't it more accurate to say that the lens on the gopro is the issue and that a swap is needed? Or is there another reason isn't not suited to surveying?

I know some people are doing survey's with a stock gopro using a 70% overlap which does seem like it would add up in flight time depending on the size of the area, height it's been done at etc. So thinking that using a flatter profile lens would cut down on the overlap required. (make that a statement so it's not another question).

Yes the GoPro lens is the issue although some of the photogrammetry software used to process the images can take this into consideration. The question is do you want to spend the money on an action camera designed for cool video and then modify it to take good "aerial imagery" or just buy a MAPIR camera or Canon mount from IMP Concepts and Canon camera? When I say aerial imagery, I am referring to straight down air photos.

Try just taking some aerial pictures straight down with whatever you have. Then take one photo and see if you can georeference that photo in QGIS or another GIS program and compare how it lines up as you go out from the center with the free access imagery. Multiple ground points will help stretch the photo properly.

As far as overlap, you should be overlapping quite a bit no matter what you are using. The reason is because the farther you go out from the point where the camera is located, you will get distortion anyway, even with a flat lens. The difference is it will be distorted in the distance rather than lens. The more overlap you have the better. The same happens if your Solo is completely level when in windy conditions. Most of the time this is not a big deal though.

Going back to being a registered surveyor this would only apply in situations where the final product must be signed by a surveyor. Situations might include land surveying, landfill volume measurements, wetland delineation, mine volume, etc.

 

[Mike Holfield]

There's another thread that talks about alternative gimbal solutions where someone has a Sony camera (I think) at a specified angle. He and another guy talk about some of these things.

What I've noticed with a LOT of forums,is some people would rather bust your balls for not asking, rather than point you in the right direction...which is pointless, because we're all here to learn anyway.

I"m not sure how good it is, but Precisionhawk offers their software for free, and has started offering a la cart choices for more advanced functions. Seems to make more sense to me, if you're just getting started, learn the software, offer upgrades to customers, and charge accordingly.

 

[Saijin_Naib]

I've been able to get near-perfect georegistration(seriously, check my crop rows) using my RevA birds (with stacked OEM and V2 GPS shields, tweaked/updated GPS firmware) with very high overlap (92%), moderate sidelap (78%) with 400ft AGL and 35mph survey speed with my GoPro Hero4Black with Peau 3.97 on the 3DR Solo gimbal. I even stopped using manual GCPs, because I tweak the offset/timings in Geosetter using the footprint/image preview function, so I know when the Solo is passing over a landmark in the landscape, allowing me to correct for clock drift and the offsets between Solo GPS time and GoPro image EXIF time.

What would be the ultimate silver-bullet would be us being able to write the EXIF timestamp on the GoPro images directly through the gimbal using the Solo's GPS time. I also wouldn't mind a slightly sharper lens with a touch less barrel distortion, and I really believe the lens profile replacement via Peau will help, especially with spectral data at the far edges of the frames.

 

[Jammer]

Have a look at the MAPIR camera.
Survey3 Cameras