Terrain following can help you up your LiDAR game!
Take the time to review ROCK's recommendations for determining if you need terrain following for your site.
If you need to use terrain following for your survey area, ROCK recommends planning the mission BEFORE heading out to the survey area.
The DJI M300 and M350 drones are a powerful and versatile aircraft duo that can be used for a variety of applications. One of the key features of the drones is its ability to follow terrain, which allows it to automatically adjust its altitude to match the terrain below it. This can be a useful feature for a variety of applications, such as mapping & surveying.
To use terrain following on the drones, you will need to use the DJI Pilot 2 app, which is available for the included controllers.
Here's a step-by-step guide on how to enable and use this feature:
- First, make sure your drone is powered on and connected to your device via the DJI Pilot 2 app.
- Open the app and tap on the "Flight Route" icon, which is located on the left side of the screen. This will bring up the existing maps and allow for creation of a new Route. Please note that the terrain following option will only work for "mapping mission" types. You will also need to have your RTK connection enabled to use terrain following.
- In the new or existing Route click the pencil icon to change settings, you can adjust the height at which the M300 will maintain its altitude. You can also choose to turn on Terrain Following where the M300 will follow the terrain below it. Toggle the button on, it will turn blue.
- Once you have set terrain following mode, tap on the "Select DSM File" option to set the surface elevation the drone will follow. The M300 will automatically adjust its altitude to match the terrain below it.
- To get terrain data automatically from the internet, press the “+” icon. You can import your own file, or choose “Download from Internet”
- Download from Internet uses AsterGDEM data to give you terrain following data easily!
- To use your own terrain data in DEM format, simply get the file, reproject to EPSG 4326 (WGS84) in a program like QGIS, ensure your whole flight area is covered (and then some), and then upload the data via a USB or memory card.
- Check the data to ensure safe flight will occur based on the terrain provided. You should see a set of multicolor flight lines now, based on elevation!
That's it! With just a few simple steps, you can use terrain following on the M300 and M350 to automatically adjust the drone's altitude based on the terrain below it. This can be a useful feature for a variety of applications, and can help you get the most out of your drone.