AGL / MSL altitudes - Terrain follow difference
Good night and happy new year,
I was comparing the elite and business version from Dronelink and I dont understand very well the difference between the AGL/MSL altitudes and Terrain follow options. The Elite version only has AGL / MSL altitudes and the Bussiness version has both options.
Can you explain to me properly the differences between the two options? I am truly interested in configuring flight plans considering the terrain elevation.
Regards.
Comments
12 comments
Terrain Follow: Map is the only component that does "terrain follow" automatically. So if wanting to map with Terrain Follow you can purchase a Hobbyist plan. If wanting Terrain Follow as part of a path then I’m fairly sure you would need a Business plan.
AGL: If you want to get something similar to terrain follow like out of path, you need to add as many AGL markers as necessary along the path to accomplish the same. This works great and I use AGL markers a fair amount of the time.
Dronelink will calculate the AGL based on those markers and keep the altitude relatively the same. As a note, The ESRI data used is for every 30m along the path, not at every point. So markers should be placed anywhere which the altitude increases or decrease. You don’t need a ton of them, just enough at locations where elevation changes.
Here is a link to a Dronelink tutorial which should help.
https://youtu.be/Hley9DDEDdw
Hope this helps. Enjoy.
Mike…..
Thanks for answering Mike,
I had already seen the tutorial, but after watching it I wasn't sure at all about the difference between the two options. Now, I can understand the difference perfectly.
In relation to this I would also like to know if there are future plans which allow the inclusion of DEM files (.geotiff .xyz, .asc, etc) by the user, far beyond The ESRI data because the geometric resolution of this isn't too high.
Regards.
https://trello.com/c/wDKFvCxF/103-dem-import
Hi again,
Just one more doubt that I didn't notice before.
If I decide to create a Map mission using the ground height as altitude reference, can I also use AGL markers like on a Path Mission or I only have the Terrain Follow option available?
Thanks for your time.
Regards.
Markers have their own reference, which you select
You are free to use AGL on markers, but it is not terrain follow, it just means that the drone will fly at that altiude above the ground at that marker only. If you don’t change the altitude after that marker (with another marker for example), the drone will remain at the same altitude for the rest of the path. Terrain follow in other compenents besides maps is an open feature request. For now you are required to put as many markers down as you want granularity, if you are using Path.
Thanks for your answers,
I understand how AGL works using markers and the difference that exists with Terrain Follow option, but on the videotutorial they were only explained on a Path mission.
I should had explained better my doubt on the previous message. I only wanted to know if I could use markers on a Map mission like on Path missions.
Regards.
No
Hi Jim,
The guidance is still not that clear. I've just signed up for an elite account to do some mapping and cannot use the AGL altitude which is a bit useless as the area I want to map is quite hilly. Is this feature coming to non-commercial plans, or do I need to request a refund and sign up for a business plan (not ideal).
Cheers.
Our pricing comparison page always has the latest and best information:
Terrain follow is a different feature from AGL altitudes.
I've seen that but then some people have posted conflicting advice here too, and the tutorial videos don't mention the limitations. Partly on me but I think it needs to be made clearer that you cannot use the hobbyist plans for effective mapping where the terrain is not flat.
Can you please cancel my elite plan and refund so I can sign up for a business plan?
It is impossible to keep every single tutorial video up to date, and clearly we cannot control what other people say. The best bet is always just look at the official pricing page. You can email support@dronelink.com for refunds.
Please sign in to leave a comment.