New alternative to Litchi for those that are into missions.

[parkgt]

I just started working with the recently released Beta of Dronelink. If you are looking for a flexible and powerful way to plan and fly autonomous missions then you should take a look at the free Beta version.




Dronelink

app.dronelink.com




It is a new take on Autopilot that was out several years ago, and is by the same creator.

So far I am still in the learning phase. It is flexible and powerful, and takes some studying to learn the ins and outs. It is in it's early days so there is not yet much documentation; they have a Tutorial video to get you started and some great examples of missions that really helped me figure some things out.

I have flown four different mission, two several times as I made adjustments on the fly. In each case the mission did exactly what the nifty Preview indicated it would. This very useful Preview is built right in, you don't have to go outside Dronelink like you have to with Litchi.

On the missions I flew it seemed that the framing was tighter than what I typically see from Litchi.

It is fun and useful, I have really enjoyed it so far. I expect that as I get used to it and it matures that it will become my go to mission tool.

 

[BigAl07]

I'm looking into it myself. I hope to try it out this evening after work or at least start "researching" how to use it etc.

Any links or tips?

 

[dronelink]

I'm looking into it myself. I hope to try it out this evening after work or at least start "researching" how to use it etc.

Any links or tips?

Al,

Start with this video if you can:

If your time is tight, watch this:

And then read some of the info at www.dronelink.com

Subscribe to the Youtube channel as we're going to roll out a series of basic videos to help people get started with the great things that the service provides.

Eric

 

[BigAl07]

Al,

Start with this video if you can:

If your time is tight, watch this:

And then read some of the info at www.dronelink.com

Subscribe to the Youtube channel as we're going to roll out a series of basic videos to help people get started with the great things that the service provides.

Eric

Thanks Eric. I have some specific questions that I'd like to run by you. I'll PM you as to not clutter this thread.

 

[Tom Gilmore]

Does dronelink only support DJI products? I watched the first part of the video and it appears to not allow camera control at each waypoint? Litchi seems to be the best for me so far to use.

 

[dronelink]

Does dronelink only support DJI products?

Currently yes, but there is nothing limiting it from other vendors since we wrote our own custom flight controller! If there are specific use cases that generate enough demand we are happen to talk about it.

it appears to not allow camera control at each waypoint?

Dronelink is not waypoint-centric. Having said that, full control of the camera and gimbal is possible through various mechanisms in the app, depending on what types of components you are using. It's actually more flexible than Litchi in that you can not only start / stop video/images/etc., but ensure all the settings are properly set. You can also define a mission or component and carry that from mission to mission.

Check out our full series of tutorials for more details.

 

[Avocet]

Thanks Eric. I have some specific questions that I'd like to run by you. I'll PM you as to not clutter this thread.

Ask publicly ... it might be of use to all of us, no?

Thanks ..

 

[Phaedrus]

Bobby Watts at Watts Innovation has starting using it with his large, heavy lift drones. He has good things to say about it.

 

[dronelink]

Ask publicly ... it might be of use to all of us, no?

Thanks ..

Ask away! May have Jim jump in, but feel free to ask questions..

 

[dronelink]

We will be presenting at the Austin Drone Meetup at 6p CT for those of you who can make it!
Event Details | Live Stream

 

[parkgt]

Sounds good, I will try to catch the Live Stream.

 

[dronelink]

Thank you to everyone who participated in the beta test! The beta is now complete and we have announced our pricing here.

Also, check out our new launch video:

 

[parkgt]

Thank you to everyone who participated in the beta test! The beta is now complete and we have announced our pricing here.

Also, check out our new launch video:

Neat video. I think Dronelink is going to be great for those needing more than the basics in mission planning and execution. I have found it to be very powerful and flexible.

 

[dronelink]

Did a quick video showing the new export to Google Earth option:

 

[parkgt]

Wow, very nice! You guys keep adding neat and useful features.

 

[dronelink]

We just updated the Explore plan to include the ability to create repositories (public and private), and create mission plans and components. You still need to upgrade to a paid account to actually fly missions with your plans, but we added a 30-day money back guarantee to the pricing page to take a step in the direction of offering a trial. More to come soon.

 

[dougcjohn]

We just updated the Explore plan to include the ability to create repositories (public and private), and create mission plans and components. You still need to upgrade to a paid account to actually fly missions with your plans, but we added a 30-day money back guarantee to the pricing page to take a step in the direction of offering a trial. More to come soon.

Just stumbled onto DroneLink via an email from DroneLogBook and their notice of working with DroneLink.
I'm not fully understanding the package yet, need to look into your tutorial & videos to grasp the difference to other Vendor's Apps (IE: Litchi, DroneHarmony, UgCS, etc).
Might add that I miss the AutoPilot App too! Had really hoped for a M2P update! LOL!

Looking at the DroneLink pricing; the Free Explore is just explore the app and no ability to fly your own missions you create? Or, no ability to fly any missions... private or public? What is the concept behind the public, to fly other missions in the same location or apply some form of template to a mission you create? For a small 1 operator shop, is there anything lacking in the Pro vs Team version other than collaboration?

In a post above #5, @Tom Gilmore inquired about other platforms. Are you indicating the possibility of using DroneLink on Yuneec H520 platform too? Would that be through an App on the ST16 or PC similar to UgCS?

In post above #8, @Phaedrus mentioned an Owner using on "Large Heavy Lift Drones", is that on a Non-DJI platform or a M600Pro class platform? Based on previous question if existing on other platforms yet.

Off to examine the Tutorials & Videos...

 

[dronelink]

the Free Explore is just explore the app and no ability to fly your own missions you create?

Correct, currently you can create mission plans but if you want to fly a mission you have to upgrade to a paid account.

What is the concept behind the public, to fly other missions in the same location or apply some form of template to a mission you create?

Public repositories are discoverable by other Dronelink users. Creating public repositories increases your chance of connecting with other like-minded users who want to collaborate and share ideas. We have created several public repositories that have example mission plans and components that you can start from (such as the 360 Photo).

For a small 1 operator shop, is there anything lacking in the Pro vs Team version other than collaboration?

Teams allow more seamless collaboration in addition to allowing a single user to pay for multiple members of a team (one billing account).

In a post above #5, @Tom Gilmore inquired about other platforms. Are you indicating the possibility of using DroneLink on Yuneec H520 platform too? Would that be through an App on the ST16 or PC similar to UgCS?

While the core of the custom flight controller (the mission kernel) is proprietary, we do not consider the run-times that we have created proprietary. Currently we have run-times for iOS and Android that support the DJI SDK. Our goal is to open-source these run-times and allow other developers to use them as reference implementations for other platforms (both operating systems and drone hardware vendors).

In post above #8, @Phaedrus mentioned an Owner using on "Large Heavy Lift Drones", is that on a Non-DJI platform or a M600Pro class platform? Based on previous question if existing on other platforms yet.

Dronelink only supports DJI drones at this time, but that does include the 200 and 600 series.

 

[dougcjohn]

@dronelink the explorer & pro specify 4 app installs. If installed, can it be removed / deactivated to use on other device? Any specific procedure to release and move activation to new device?

Watched the lengthy Beta Intro, has a lot flexibility & power to adapt. May have missed it, are you adding components for specific tasks: mapping (row & grid), tower inspections, SAR searches (grid, increasing circle, etc).

The ability to combine camera actions or new tasks within 1 mission or multiple missions flown as 1 mission is very unique and adds a lot of potential.

This is all based a google map, similar to other autonomous programs... and that at times isn’t accurate in map view to actual coordinate positioning... simulation flight won’t indicate, but actual flight may show coordinates slightly different. If adjusted in app while flying mission, will that save in main mission file to be used again without reapplying adjustments?

Regarding Map used in mission development, Any plans to allow aerial photos captured or surveyed prior to mission planning to be overlaid onto PC browser’s mission designer to provide accurate ground view of new structures or development? Would be helpful to utilize the all the component features in product when in an area that has drastically changed since map was last updated, especially in areas where map isn’t updated often... my area, the maps are over 1 year old of city structures. Challenging to fly a developing mall site or housing, when map shows open corn field or forest... no roads or structures to base mission design placement.

 

[dronelink]

@dronelink the explorer & pro specify 4 app installs. If installed, can it be removed / deactivated to use on other device? Any specific procedure to release and move activation to new device?

The explore plan does not include any app installs since you have to have a paid account to fly missions. The other plans are limited to 4, but we are not enforcing this in the code at the moment since there is no way to deactivate an old device yet. Until then it is on the honor system.

Watched the lengthy Beta Intro, has a lot flexibility & power to adapt. May have missed it, are you adding components for specific tasks: mapping (row & grid), tower inspections, SAR searches (grid, increasing circle, etc).

We have a public product roadmap here that you can vote on. Maps got upvoted early on and we rolled out Map components a few weeks ago already!

If adjusted in app while flying mission, will that save in main mission file to be used again without reapplying adjustments?

To be clear, the native app does not allow editing mission plans directly. You can open the web app on your phone or tablet and make changes, but if you have a mission in progress, it will continue to execute against the copy of the plan that it made when you started the mission. The native app will warn you about resuming a mission that is using an outdated plan, and give you the option to abort and reload it if you want to fly with the updates.

Any plans to allow aerial photos captured or surveyed prior to mission planning to be overlaid onto PC browser’s mission designer to provide accurate ground view of new structures or development?

This is on the roadmap (linked above) under the heading Improved 2D Maps. We already partially implemented this feature by allowing you to select HERE maps as a base layer, but the custom tile server option is still in the future.