Which Mapping Plan Is Going to Work?
While I've been trying to decide on which drone to buy, I've also been trying to find which flight planning mapping (Android) app to use. Having conducted extensive tests several years ago (read more about those tests in The Vetting of Phodar) using the excellent Pix4Dcapture app, I thought that it would still be a viable choice. Unfortunately, Pix4D appears to have abandoned development of that app as most of the drones that it supports have been discontinued and newer sUAVs haven't been added to their list.
In my retirement from land surveying, I've been working on a research project on Maine's Meridians which has spilled over into researching the life and times of Noah Barker and the early settling of Exeter, Penobscot County, Maine. As part of that research, I'd like to map the cemeteries of Exeter using a sUAV. For a while, the (discontinued) Anafi looked like an affordable choice (my only income is Social Security and I'm living below the poverty line); however, Parrot has totally abandoned its support. The Mavic Air 2 (which will certainly soon be discontinued by DJI in favor of the Mavic Air 2s), looks like the next most affordable choice.
What's confusing to me at the moment is which Dronelink Mapping Plan is going to work for mapping these (9) cemeteries using the Mavic Air 2? This isn't a commercial venture, so the Hobbyist Plan seems appropriate, but then there are $25, $50, and $100 one-time charges.
Below is what I consider to be the basic minimum mapping criteria and include the following:
- Define an area to be flown
- Define the direction(s) of the flight path; e.g., single grid, double grid
- Define a fixed altitude for the mission
- Define forward and side overlap
- Provide some reflection of anticipated ground sample distance; e.g., 2 cm / px based on camera and altitude
- Allow for interruptions; e.g., battery issue, return to home, and resumption of flight
- I'd also like to be able to choose fixed exposure and fixed white balance
Does the above criteria imply the $100 plan?
Then there's the explicit mention of certain DJI-centric airframes for each of the three plans, i.e., $25, $50, and $100, none of which include the soon to be discontinued Mavic Air 2. It looks like the Dronelink mapping app is being developed only for DJI airframes - is that correct?
Thank you very much for your helpful thoughts and suggestions!
Kind regards,
Kelly
Comments
2 comments
The Mavic Air series is supported in all plans as shown in our pricing comparison table. Based on what you need, Elite should work for your use case.
Excellent! Thank you very much Jim for your reply.
Please sign in to leave a comment.