Well, it depends how I'm configured, and what the "regular" mission is:
If you want to use the 3dr ground station, you've got to pop the shell and swap out the CoPilot for the 3dr module. If I'm flying a hard-mounted nadir facing camera, and want to shoot GoPro video, well then, I've got to swap the hardmount for the Tarot 2D gimbal and GoPro.
If I'm mapping in RGB with the GoPro on the gimbal already, and just want to pop-up and get a quick bird's-eye video of that particular field/area, then I wouldn't bother with the 3dr ground station. (Be sure to turn off WiFi on the GoPro first though, otherwise the interference can lead to short dropouts in the RC Tx... leading to a surprise RTL.)
You use the TELEM 1 port that the 3dr GCS radio is using. It's EITHER Tower or DroneDeploy. Not both.
I use a GoPro HERO4 silver sometimes. Best choice for mapping is a Sony QX1, which can be modified for IR or full spectral range.
Thanks for the run-down Rob. Popping the top hasn't been a pleasant experience. Learning while doing is fine but there is no maintenance manual..just YouTube vids and I'm more old school.
Is the product quality such that the dronedeploy maps are way better than I can do stitching with Adobe or Microsoft tools? This would be the deciding factor whether I spend the money on the dronedeploy setup.
The maps are very good. The quality is really dependent on the camera choice and altitude flown. It is certainly on par with Pix4d, and does the same type of things (Orthomosaic, DSM, Vegetation Index (NDVI) and 3d models).
For me, the advantage of DroneDeploy over other solutions is the automation of mission planning, hardware setup, image capture and transfer, stitching and processing, and the immediacy of data presentation. When I am in the field, I only worry about the drone and flying the missions. The data takes care of itself.
If that sounds like end-to-end, that is because it is. It's not cheap, but one assumes that if you are routinely creating these kinds of maps, there is a reason, and the data is valuable to someone.
All that said, DroneDeploy is young. It is certainly better than beta, but let's just say it is still under "aggressive" development. Nonetheless for me, its the best solution out there.
I think it's a great idea. I do all three types of work they offer. Would I have to pay $3000.00 per month to have access to the features? How are the GCP's that accurate? Am I providing them? While using the system is the TX still able to take over? Does this price cover the data going to the cloud or am I using my phone/tablets data plan? Granted I have not read the entire site yet but I have already spent a ton of dough on this and have questions.
I would suggest you call them and talk to them, Jimmy. They are pretty well organized for the individual farmer or construction company that wants to do his own thing. They are still figuring out how to deal with the small or medium sized operators like us. They do want us very much as customers though, or at least that's the impression that I get.
Yes, you can still use the Tx to take over during a mission. All I have experienced are momentary (~1sec) dropouts of the Tx connection (likely due to the WiFi being on). DroneDeploy set the parameter to "continue mission" when this happens while they have control (It also seems the parameters are back to where they were before the DroneDeploy mission when it is complete, still trying to figure all that out, though).
I don't use any kind of external GCP markers. That said, the maps overlay really well on Google maps. Close enough for my purposes, anyway.
If you use a DJI Phantom a copilot module is not required, and it uses your phone and data plan to transmit data.
With a Pixhawk based system, a copilot module is required (currently $300 + min 2 months service at $99/mo). However, there are no additional data charges. The way I see it, once better plans are in place, you should never average more than perhaps $0.20/acre for data transfer and cloud processing. maybe a lot less if you fly a lot of acres.
That little mini computer supplied by their partner company is not likely going to come cheap when half the cost of cell phones seems to be the radio-modem for cell network.
I like the concept... pushing stuff through a cloud in real time from a high resolution camera is fine as long as you have plenty of signal and available bandwidth capacity. Broadband nets with 4G/LTE can take data "bursts" like a photo as long as the file length isn't too ridiculously big. Seems it works fine in the SF Bay area.... would it also work well where there are clients willing to pay for these kinds of maps? You know... oil & gas projects and big farms? Think about it.
What would REALLY be cool is to relay the hi-res photos over 5.8 GHz directly to my Surface 3 running their processing software. I'm looking for a centimeter-size directional antenna on the Iris+ pointing at my dish antenna next to my GCS. (well, I can dream right?)
Hi David - Thought I would chime in on this. And thanks Rob!
You can actually run DroneDeploy with any pixhawk powered drone, just plug it in, and you can get going in just 1 minute. We're not entirely dependent on cellular, but it does work surprisingly well, just about everywhere. At 100ft+ you actually get better signal than on the ground! We've seen maps all over the country in pretty remote places.
The cellular connectivity does enable some pretty amazing capabilities: notably, real 1-click mapping (not photos on an sd-card - 1 click for an orthorectified map) in real-time (get the map made while your drone is still flying) - there's no better QA than actually seeing your data! And it's all controlled by a cell phone/tablet (no radios required)
If you're looking for more info, do send a mail to info@dronedeploy.com !
Replies
What camera do you use?
Well, it depends how I'm configured, and what the "regular" mission is:
If you want to use the 3dr ground station, you've got to pop the shell and swap out the CoPilot for the 3dr module. If I'm flying a hard-mounted nadir facing camera, and want to shoot GoPro video, well then, I've got to swap the hardmount for the Tarot 2D gimbal and GoPro.
If I'm mapping in RGB with the GoPro on the gimbal already, and just want to pop-up and get a quick bird's-eye video of that particular field/area, then I wouldn't bother with the 3dr ground station. (Be sure to turn off WiFi on the GoPro first though, otherwise the interference can lead to short dropouts in the RC Tx... leading to a surprise RTL.)
You use the TELEM 1 port that the 3dr GCS radio is using. It's EITHER Tower or DroneDeploy. Not both.
I use a GoPro HERO4 silver sometimes. Best choice for mapping is a Sony QX1, which can be modified for IR or full spectral range.
Thanks for the run-down Rob. Popping the top hasn't been a pleasant experience. Learning while doing is fine but there is no maintenance manual..just YouTube vids and I'm more old school.
Is the product quality such that the dronedeploy maps are way better than I can do stitching with Adobe or Microsoft tools? This would be the deciding factor whether I spend the money on the dronedeploy setup.
The maps are very good. The quality is really dependent on the camera choice and altitude flown. It is certainly on par with Pix4d, and does the same type of things (Orthomosaic, DSM, Vegetation Index (NDVI) and 3d models).
For me, the advantage of DroneDeploy over other solutions is the automation of mission planning, hardware setup, image capture and transfer, stitching and processing, and the immediacy of data presentation. When I am in the field, I only worry about the drone and flying the missions. The data takes care of itself.
If that sounds like end-to-end, that is because it is. It's not cheap, but one assumes that if you are routinely creating these kinds of maps, there is a reason, and the data is valuable to someone.
All that said, DroneDeploy is young. It is certainly better than beta, but let's just say it is still under "aggressive" development. Nonetheless for me, its the best solution out there.
I think it's a great idea. I do all three types of work they offer. Would I have to pay $3000.00 per month to have access to the features? How are the GCP's that accurate? Am I providing them? While using the system is the TX still able to take over? Does this price cover the data going to the cloud or am I using my phone/tablets data plan? Granted I have not read the entire site yet but I have already spent a ton of dough on this and have questions.
I would suggest you call them and talk to them, Jimmy. They are pretty well organized for the individual farmer or construction company that wants to do his own thing. They are still figuring out how to deal with the small or medium sized operators like us. They do want us very much as customers though, or at least that's the impression that I get.
Yes, you can still use the Tx to take over during a mission. All I have experienced are momentary (~1sec) dropouts of the Tx connection (likely due to the WiFi being on). DroneDeploy set the parameter to "continue mission" when this happens while they have control (It also seems the parameters are back to where they were before the DroneDeploy mission when it is complete, still trying to figure all that out, though).
I don't use any kind of external GCP markers. That said, the maps overlay really well on Google maps. Close enough for my purposes, anyway.
If you use a DJI Phantom a copilot module is not required, and it uses your phone and data plan to transmit data.
With a Pixhawk based system, a copilot module is required (currently $300 + min 2 months service at $99/mo). However, there are no additional data charges. The way I see it, once better plans are in place, you should never average more than perhaps $0.20/acre for data transfer and cloud processing. maybe a lot less if you fly a lot of acres.
I have... 3DR pointed me to this site a couple weeks ago when I asked about using this product with the Iris+:
https://pix4d.com/pix4dmapper-app/
That little mini computer supplied by their partner company is not likely going to come cheap when half the cost of cell phones seems to be the radio-modem for cell network.
I like the concept... pushing stuff through a cloud in real time from a high resolution camera is fine as long as you have plenty of signal and available bandwidth capacity. Broadband nets with 4G/LTE can take data "bursts" like a photo as long as the file length isn't too ridiculously big. Seems it works fine in the SF Bay area.... would it also work well where there are clients willing to pay for these kinds of maps? You know... oil & gas projects and big farms? Think about it.
What would REALLY be cool is to relay the hi-res photos over 5.8 GHz directly to my Surface 3 running their processing software. I'm looking for a centimeter-size directional antenna on the Iris+ pointing at my dish antenna next to my GCS. (well, I can dream right?)
Let's try that again.
Hi David - Thought I would chime in on this. And thanks Rob!
You can actually run DroneDeploy with any pixhawk powered drone, just plug it in, and you can get going in just 1 minute. We're not entirely dependent on cellular, but it does work surprisingly well, just about everywhere. At 100ft+ you actually get better signal than on the ground! We've seen maps all over the country in pretty remote places.
The cellular connectivity does enable some pretty amazing capabilities: notably, real 1-click mapping (not photos on an sd-card - 1 click for an orthorectified map) in real-time (get the map made while your drone is still flying) - there's no better QA than actually seeing your data! And it's all controlled by a cell phone/tablet (no radios required)
If you're looking for more info, do send a mail to info@dronedeploy.com !
Mike
Hi David Thought I would chime in on this. The
Missing your message Mike
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