visual inspections of railway viaducts
I need to perform visual inspections of railway viaducts using drones.
My equipment includes a DJI Matrice 300 RTK with the Zenmuse H20T, a DJI Mavic 2 Pro, and a DJI Mavic 3 Multispectral (Mavic 3M).
The goal is to capture video footage only (no still photos) of piers, abutments, and spans for structural assessment.
Can DroneLink automate this type of mission — for example, flying along or around the structure while recording video — with any of these drones?
If not, are there plans to add support for the Matrice 300 RTK with H20T or the Mavic 3M in future updates?
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The short answer is - yes. And it should work fine with any of those drones, although the Matrice is unofficially supported.
The longer answer depends on your definition of "automate".
You will have to program a mission to follow the path. I helped someone automate a regular flight over a 20 mile span of road that is being improved and that they run every month or so. It took a while to get the flights exactly right, particularly as it was mountainous and so there were a log of altitude changes in that area (possibly less of an issue for you). But they are happy with the results.
Many thanks for the quick answer.
What I’m trying to find out is whether DroneLink can automatically fly around a pier or column (like an orbit mission) and also follow the span of a viaduct along its length — without having to control every movement manually.
Basically, I’d like to know if there’s any mission type that allows automated circular or linear paths close to a structure, while still letting me manually control the camera (zoom, gimbal pitch, start/stop video) during the flight.
Thanks again
Again, it depends on your definition of automatic.
You can set up a mission that you program to fly any path you like automatically. It will then automatically fly the drone while you control the camera, etc. For example, this video shows how to do an automated orbit around something while you control the camera https://youtu.be/KtG86mrSO0o
You cannot point it to an object and have it automatically fly around that with no programming by you.
Hopefully that makes sense.
Thank you for your explanation.
Just to clarify, I’m not referring to an orbit around a generic object, but to an inspection flight around bridge elements such as piers, abutments, or spans.
Is there any way in Dronelink to plan or automate these types of close inspection paths (for example, following the surface of a pier or along the underside of a span) without having to fly manually?
You can create a mission that will follow a path and the drone will automatically follow that path, but it will not automatically fly along an object staying a set distance away from it if that is what you are after.
If it's still not clear give me a call on +1 201 540 9485 and leave a message and I'll get back to you when I have a moment.
Hi Barry, could we talk via whatssapp?
Send me an email to barry@aviosaerialmedia.com and I'll send details.
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