Waypoints - GE, Litchi & AutoPilot

[Anax]

Hello,
I have a client who gives me KML files of roads in local councils which they need photographed. Now these original lat n long files are from government local councils and their surveyors.
When I import this KML file into Google Earth Pro, it shows up perfectly where it should be and the correct chainage points and their location in sequence.
HOWEVER, when I use a UAV app to fly the waypoints like Litchi or AutoPilot the waypoints are completely out of sequence. Further to that Litchi doesn't have the waypoints equally apart (originally 10m) however AutoPilot does.
This example is 197 waypoints. Some of my clients files will be well over 300 and I'll be doing it all day.
I did notice however that for another example wher ethere was only 33 waypoints it imported perfectly to both Litchi and AutoPilot.
To vent even further, AutoPilot staff said that I have to manually set up an action for each waypoint to take a -90 degree photo of a certain section of the road...this means my pre planning will take hours. There should just be an 'apply all' to the waypoints option.
I've attached the GEPro, Litchi and AutoPilot screenshots to show you what I mean.

Any ideas or if you have the same problem would be great.

Thanks, Josh

 

[UAV_Mapper]

Why do you need the KML files at all? Can't you just recreate the area in the app and setup a speed and interval that produces about the same amount of data?

 

[Anax]

You bring up a good point. However, the points in the KML files are defined by my client. They are "chainage" points created by the council when they map out their road. They are all exactly 10m apart and have a set start and finish so I could manually create them (as I have been due to these silly apps not working!), however most are around 300 waypoints, some up near 500 and they need to be the exact GPS co-ordinates.

 

[UAV_Mapper]

They are "chainage" points created by the council when they map out their road.

Gotcha. Have you tried to export the KML into a CSV file, rearrange them, and import them again as a KML? I use this website for going back and forth as I often have to do it for projects: KML To CSV Converter

 

[Anax]

Hi, no I've never tried that. Will it be a long process though to rearrange them?
I tried that site you gave me, opened it in Excel but they didn't show much (197 waypoints). Screenshot attached.
Would you know why when I import into Google Earth Pro they seem to be all equal distance and in the right sequence but not the apps?

 

[UAV_Mapper]

Screenshot attached

Hmmm... that doesn't look right, there should be a lot more data than that. Not unless all of the data is squeezed into one really, really long cell. Also not sure why Lichi and AutoPilot are rearranging the waypoints, although there's likely something internal that is causing it. I can't tell, but do both of those apps have them rearranged the wrong way consistently? If you want, PM me and I'll give you an email address you can send the file to and I can take a stab at it.

 

[Anax]

Gotcha. Have you tried to export the KML into a CSV file, rearrange them, and import them again as a KML? I use this website for going back and forth as I often have to do it for projects: KML To CSV Converter

Further to that, I imported one of my clients KML files to Litchi Mission Hub (screen shot attached), and you can see the waypoints are all over the place. From Litchi I exported as Excel CSV file (screen shot). Can you notice anything strange in the CSV file?
Cheers

 

[Dave Pitman]

I did notice however that for another example wher ethere was only 33 waypoints it imported perfectly to both Litchi and AutoPilot.

I believe the DJI sdk limits the number of waypoints to 99 and there is nothing the apps can do about that. That is why Litchi works well with sets less than 99. Unlike Litchi, Auto Pilot relies on a connection to the smart device in order to use more. Litchi can run fully autonomous but is limited to 99.

A simple solution should be to break your larger sets into missions of 99 or less.

Curious how you would fly a 3000 m (300 x 10m) mission VLOS anyway. Perhaps it's legal where you operate?

 

[Meta4]

You bring up a good point. However, the points in the KML files are defined by my client. They are "chainage" points created by the council when they map out their road. They are all exactly 10m apart and have a set start and finish so I could manually create them (as I have been due to these silly apps not working!), however most are around 300 waypoints, some up near 500 and they need to be the exact GPS co-ordinates.

I'm wondering if the client really knows what they want.
It looks like you are planning to shoot from 30 metres which would make for overlapping 30 x 45 metre subject areas for each shot. (assuming a P4 pro is what you use)
If you are wanting to shoot at 10 metre intervals, that's a lot of overlap.
Do they need individual images for each 10 metres?
Wouldn't flying an orthophoto mission and creating one big georeferenced orthophoto map be a better solution?

 

[Anax]

I believe the DJI sdk limits the number of waypoints to 99 and there is nothing the apps can do about that. That is why Litchi works well with sets less than 99. Unlike Litchi, Auto Pilot relies on a connection to the smart device in order to use more. Litchi can run fully autonomous but is limited to 99.

A simple solution should be to break your larger sets into missions of 99 or less.

Curious how you would fly a 3000 m (300 x 10m) mission VLOS anyway. Perhaps it's legal where you operate?

Hi Dave,
Yes I have BVLOS approval. Not too hard to get in Australia with the right paperwork in.

 

[Anax]

I'm wondering if the client really knows what they want.
It looks like you are planning to shoot from 30 metres which would make for overlapping 30 x 45 metre subject areas for each shot. (assuming a P4 pro is what you use)
If you are wanting to shoot at 10 metre intervals, that's a lot of overlap.
Do they need individual images for each 10 metres?
Wouldn't flying an orthophoto mission and creating one big georeferenced orthophoto map be a better solution?

Hi Meta4,
The client is government council and every road has to be done has to be photographed up the East coast of Australia bascially, and we're conducting tirals now to iron out the problems. They have just sent me the KML file for each road. The 30m was not set by anyone, it seemed to be an automatic height when I imported into Litchi.
And yes the 10m is a lot of overlap, I stated this to them but they still want a photo as low altitude as possible (couldn't go much lower than 25m due to powerlines/tress) and every 10m point.
I advised them that one large ortho is an option, but each 10m waypoint is a certain reference for the council road maintenance team and they will only refer to a singular photo at that geo reference point when fixing or it's a point of interest. If that makes sense...