The low down on drone mapping apps - LinkedIn

OpenSky - Available via a browser, iOS, and Android, and no apparent limitations outside of Australia. The interface is simple to use, a map ... PhotobyRobHampsononUnsplash Yes,appscanmakeourliveseasier,butdowereallyneedsomanyofthem?!Let'scheckoutsomeofthefree(orfreemium)optionsinthemissionplanningphaseofdronemapping,whatthey'reusedfor,andsomeoftheprosandconsofeach.Thiswillhopefullyhelpyounarrowdownthemostappropriateapp/sforyoutouseforyourspecificneeds.Therearetwomaincategoriesinmyapp-stackfordronemapping.Thereareappsthatcontrolthedroneitself,thenthereareappsthatprovideaperipheralbutequallyimportantservice.ThelatterhelpmeensurethatIamoperatingsafelyandlegally.Solet'sstartwiththeperipheralapps,astheyarethefirstthatIconsultasIdevelopadronemappingmission.PeripheraldronemappingappsThereareaplethoraofappsavailabletohelpusmakegooddecisionsaboutwhenandwherewefly.Herearesometoconsider:SafetyandregulationsNotethatthefollowingappsonlyprovideguidelinesanditisstillthepilot'sresponsibilitytocheckwithlocalauthoritiesandregulations.TheyhavehoweverbeenverifiedinAustraliabyCASA.OpenSky-Availableviaabrowser,iOS,andAndroid,andnoapparentlimitationsoutsideofAustralia.Theinterfaceissimpletouse,amaplegendisavailabletodescribethecategoryofeachrestriction,andthedetailedinformationfora'clicked'locationisthoroughthoughsimple.Thereisanoptiontochangethetypeofpilot(e.g.recreational,commercialexcluded,orREOCholder),aswellastosettheplannedflightdateandtime.Nationalparkwarningsareincluded.AirMap-Availableviaabrowser,iOS,andAndroid,thoughoutsideofAustraliait'srecommendedonlytousethebrowserversion.Thereislimitedfunctionalityorcustomisationavailablewithoutcreatinganaccount,anditdoesn'tappeartocovermarine/nationalparkboundariesaspartoftherestrictions.Thereisalsolimitedinformationrelatedtotherestrictionsthatapplyinanyoftheannotatedareas,excepttoshowthattheyexist.Forexample,intheapproachanddeparturepathsofanairstripbutoutsideofthethreenauticalmileradius,itnotesthatthereisarestrictionbutthedetailsoftherestrictionitselfisunclear.OK2Fly-Asawebbrowseronlyoption,andonlyavailableoverAustralia,thisisreallyonlyjustOK.Itprovidestheoptiontochangebetweenthepilottype(e.g.recreational,commercialexcluded,orREOCholder)andcontainsinformationabouttheairspaceaswellasthataboutmarine/nationalparksetc.Unfortunately,I'veneverbeenabletofindalegendforallthecoloursandpatternsthataredepictedonthemap(hugecartographicno-no!),sogettinganoverviewatfirstglanceisn'tsoeasywithoutclickingonspecificlocations.Epicollect5-Thisappdoesn'treallyhaveanythingtodowithdronemapping,butthatdoesn'tstopmeusingitforthatpurpose!It'safreeappwhereyoucancreateyourownformsfordatacollection.I'veusedittocreatemyon-sitedronesafetychecklist,andalsotocaptureotheron-sitemetadatarelatedtothemission.WeatherUAVForecast-Ilovethisappforcuratingallrelevantweatherinformationonanhourlybasisinasimpleinterface(rain,sunrise/sunset,temperature,windspeed,gusts,winddirection,visiblesatellites,cloudcover).Thefreeversiongives24hrforecaststhoughyoucanupgradetothepaidoptiontogetaseven-dayforecast.WillyWeather-ThisisareallycomprehensiveweatherappthatprovidessimilarinformationtothatcontainedinUAVForecast,howeverhastheaddedbonusofincludingtideswhichisreallyimportantformymarineandcoastaldronemissions.Ialsolikethegraphicalrepresentationoftheinformationandtheforecastisavailableforuptooneweekinadvance.Vaavud-IusethisapptogivemethewindspeedwhenI'moutinthefield.Itwasdesignedforsurfers,butIfinditusefulfordroning!Itonlymeasuresthewindspeedanddirectionatthelocationofmyphonethough,andobviously,thismaynotbethesameaswhatthedronewillexperienceataltitude.Theappisfree,thoughyoudoneedtopurchasetheattachmentforyourphone/tablet.Withmoreexperience,itbecomeseasiertoestimatethewindspeedwithoutusingthistool,butit'sdefinitelygreatforbeginners.DronemappingmissionplanningappsTheseareappsthatallowuserstosetanautonomousgridflightplanforthepurposeofcreatinganorthomosaicand3Dmodelinphotogrammetrysoftware.Pix4DCapture-worksoniOSandAndroidandforarangeofdifferentdronesintheDJI,Parrot,andYuneecranges.Ialsolikethatitworksonmyphone-someoftheotherappsneedtablets,butIwishithadadesktopapp.DJIGSPro-iOSonlyandneedsatleasta7"screen.Asidefromthat,thisismyfavouriteforuser-friendlinessforDJIdrones.Italsoallowsthedronetoflybackwardsthusalwayskeepingphotosinthesameorientation,whichissuperhelpfulforcuttingoutsunglintonwaterbodies.TherearesomepaidoptionsinthisappthoughIhaveneverinvestigatedthem,andIalwaysusetheFreeversion.DroneDeploy-iOS,Android,anddesktop,andalsoworksonmysmallphone.DJImodelsonly.Ireallyliketheabilitytoplanonmydesktop.Thepaidversionofthisappalsoprocessesyourdataintoanorthomosaicand3Dmodel,thoughtobehonest,Iprefertodothislevelofprocessingmyself.IjustusetheFreeversion.MissionPlanner-Windowsdesktopapponly,butthisisthemostcomprehensivemissionplannerI'veeverused.Infact,itdoeswaymorethanjustmissionplanningandisa'full-featuredgroundcontrolstation'.It'salsoopensourceandsupportedbythecommunityBUTitislimitedtodronesonArduPilotopensourcesoftware(e.g.Pixhawk).Iusedtouseitonmy3DRdronesandcustombuildsbutalasit'snotcompatiblewithmyDJIs.QGroundControl-RunsonWindows,Mac,Linux,iOS,andAndroidsoisthemostflexibleappavailable,butaswithMissionPlanneritislimitedtodronesrunningArduPilotopensourcesoftware.Itisalsofull-featuredandprovidesmanymoreoptionsforpilotstoplanandmonitorflightsthanjustcreatingasurveygrid.AutelExplorer-iOS,Androidandalsoworksonmyphone.ThisoneisonlyfortheAutelseriesofdronesbutIreallylikeit!Thebestthingaboutitisthatitintegratesthebasicflightappwiththemappingcomponent,soyoudon'thavetouseaseparateapp(bycontrastifyouhaveaDJIdroneyouwillneedtousetheDJIbasicapp(e.g.DJIGo4,andthenoneofthemissionplannerappsseparately).Ialsolikethatithassomeoftheairportrestrictionsmarked,however,thosemarkingsareincompletesoIwouldn'trecommendrelyingonthemwithoutcheckingformorecomprehensiveinformationinoneoftheappsinthefirstsectionabove.IknowthattherearemanyotherappsoutthereandIhaveonlyfocusedonthefreeonesorthosewithafreecomponentthat'ssufficientforthetasksIundertakewhenmapping.DidImissyourfavourite?Letmeknowyourthoughtsinthecommentsbelow.DrKarenJoyce,Co-Founder,ChiefScientist&DataFeminist@GeoNadirIamabiographerforMotherEarth,usingsatellitesanddronesasmyscientificillustrators.Isharemyexperiencesdrawnfrommorethan20yearsasageospatialscientistinacademia,military,industry,andsmallbusinesstohelppeoplediscoversciencebeyondlabcoatsandtesttubes.ButIhaveanulteriormotive.Iampassionateabouthowwecanusedronesandgeospatialtechnologytowatchoverourenvironmentanditschanges.SothemorepeopleIcaninspiretojoinme,thefasterwecanputplansinplacetohelpkeepourenvironmenthealthyintothefuture.ConnectwithDrKarenJoyceon Twitter and LinkedIn#drone #dronedata #dronesforgood #dronepilots#dronemapper#UAV #citizenscience#environment#spatialdata #geospatial #datascience #mapping #maps#remotesensing #data #environment #citizenscience #datajustice#openscience#feministmapping#datafeminism#genderequality#datajusticePlanyourflight,processyourimages,publishandshareyourdataon GeoNadir 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