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DroneTM is currently in alpha testing. It is NOT complete, NOT safe for unsupervised use, and can NOT necessarily be used in the way it will once completed (we estimate that the safe, working, public-facing version should be ready before February 2025).
The only drone currently supported by the DroneTM is the DJI Mini 4 Pro. Many other drones, including several DJI models other than the Mini 4 Pro, are compatible with commercially available flight planning applications such as Pix4D Capture, DroneDeploy, DroneLink, Litchi, and others. We intend to support other drones in the future, but for now the Mini 4 Pro offers the best combination of low cost, high image quality, light weight (important for safety and compliance with laws), so it is our main testing/development platform. If you have a DJI Mini 4 Pro and wish to test/try the DroneTM, please contact our team for support.
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- For added safety and learning, you can also download the GeoJSON flight plan if you wish to inspect the flight in QGIS or other GIS software
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This assumes your DJI Mini 4 Pro is already working; you've unboxed it, put a compatible SD card in it, gone through DJI's registration/account process, and flown the drone manually at least once (if you're not at this stage yet, or if you can't yet do a basic manual flight, please stop now and get some help or training in basic drone operations, the DroneTM is not a tool for beginners.
- While flying the drone, enter Waypoint mode.
PHOTO OF CONTROLLER SCREEN SHOWING THE BUTTON FOR WAYPOINT MODE
- Record at least one waypoint before landing.
PHOTO OF THE BUTTON TO PUSH TO ADD A WAYPOINT
- Land the drone, and open the loading screen for the waypoint mode. Ensure that there is at least one waypoint mission visible and loadable.
PHOTO OF "LOAD WAYPOINTS" DIALOGUE ON CONTROLLER
Using a USB cable from your computer to the RC2 controller (or the Android phone connected to the RC-N2 controller). Make sure the controller is ON, and it should pop up as a USB device in the file manager of your computer.
Navigate to the directory /android/data/dji.go.v5/files/waypoints/, where you'll see a folder with a complicated alphanumeric name.
Inside this folder you'll find a KMZ file, with the same type of complicated alphanumeric name. Delete the KMZ file, and replace it with the flight plan from the DroneTM. Rename the flight plan from the DroneTM with the same name as the deleted file.
I find it easiest to do this in the following order:
- Copy/paste the flight plan from the Drone Tasking Manager (
flight_plan.kmz) into the folder, next to the KMZ file already present. - Right-click on the original KMZ file, choose "Rename" and copy the name (the long alphanumeric string) using Control-C.
- Delete the original KMZ file.
- Right click on the new file (which should still be named
flight_plan.kmz) and choose "Rename." Paste the name you copied in step 2 using Control-V. - The flight plan should now have replaced the original waypoint KMZ file, sitting in the same place with the same filename; only the contents (in this case, the flight plan) are different.
SEVERAL SCREENSHOTS, IDEALLY AN ANIMATED GIF, OF THE PROCESS OF REPLACING THE WAYPOINT FILE ON THE CONTROLLER
Reminder: this process is a temporary workaround and will be replaced with an automated file replacement in the production version of DroneTM!
- Move to as near to the center of the flight plan as you can.
- Turn on the drone and controller as usual. Wait for the drone to get a GPS position.
PHOTO OF THE CONTROLLER SHOWING THAT THE GPS HAS A LOCK
- Set the photo mode to timed, 2s.
PHOTO OR GIF OF THE PROCESS OF SETTING THE PHOTOS TO 2S TIMED
- Enter waypoint mode. Hit the load button, and select the flight plan. It should load up on the controller screen, with waypoints visible around your location.
PHOTO OF THE CONTROLLER WITH WAYPOINT MISSION LOADED
- Hit "Next"
PHOTO OF CONTROLLER AFTER HITTING NEXT BUTTON
- If there aren't any warnings, push "Fly." The drone should take off and head toward the first waypoint.
PHOTO OF THE CONTROLLER AS THE DRONE TAKES OFF
- When the drone approaches the first waypoint of the flight plan, press the "take photo" button on the front right shoulder of the controller. The camera should visibly start snapping photos every 2 seconds, and the controller should make a photo shutter sound every two seconds (at least a first, sometimes it slows down or stops as the connection between the drone and the controller gets weaker with distance and obstacles).
PHOTO OF THE CONTROLLER WITH AN ARROW INDICATING WHERE TO PUSH THE "TAKE PHOTO" BUTTON
- Don't press the "take photo button
- Keep an eye on the camera and map view. If possible (strongly, strongly recommended) have another person with you to keep the drone itself in sight at all times (this can be difficult; once you lose sight of the drone it can be tricky to find it in the sky again).
- If the drone seems to be going further than the edge of the flight plan, or if it seems to be coming near obstacles, or there's any other danger, abort the flight by pressing the "Return to Home" button on the controller.
- The drone should land quite precisely on the location it took off from. If not, or if that location is no longer safe, wait until you can see the drone very clearly, and move the control sticks to take manual control. Land in a safe place.
- Remove the SD card from the drone and put it into a card reader to access it from your computer
- Transfer the photos onto your computer
- (ADVANCED) You may need to remove some of the photos which aren't part of the flight plan (in case of wayline flights)
- Upload them for processing (ADD INSTRUCTIONS)