I'm getting ready to go to Peru to make archaeological survey maps in locations that are far from internet/phone access. I need to have satellite maps visible in the field and to be able to create new missions without an internet connection.
I have spent a lot of time working with offline mapping apps and I haven't found a solution that works both adequately and consistently. Maybe someone has better suggestions. I know of three standalone apps that provide offline mapping. Here has been my experience with each:
Drone Deploy: Works wonderfully if you have internet access and it has an option to download maps for offsite flight. It seems to work fine if I don't turn my tablet off between creating mission and flying it, but I have not had a single successful mission, either with P4 or P3 when I used it the way I will actually need to in the field. The downloaded satellite maps show up now but the the mission either aborts and hovers, fails to take pictures or the app crashes. After one failure the app will not allow you to try again (seems to think you're trying to edit your mission and freezes because it can't find the internet)
Pix4Dcapture: This app works flawlessly every time EXCEPT for being able to consistently see the satellite maps when offline. I have used both the download satellite maps option and the import KML option. When I get out in the field there is about a 50% chance the satellite image actually shows up, or sometimes it is there but with large gaps. This would not be a huge problem except that I will need to tune missions in the field and create new ones based on on-the-ground observations.
Precision Flight: This is a bare bones app that seems to do the job, but with one BIG problem. If I create a mission at home it will fly offline but without satellite map visuals. There is an option to download a satellite map for the region of your mission, which is buggy but can be cajoled into working with multiple retries. BUT after you have downloaded a map, the app crashes immediately upon leaving Wifi access.
Any suggestions or observations?
I have spent a lot of time working with offline mapping apps and I haven't found a solution that works both adequately and consistently. Maybe someone has better suggestions. I know of three standalone apps that provide offline mapping. Here has been my experience with each:
Drone Deploy: Works wonderfully if you have internet access and it has an option to download maps for offsite flight. It seems to work fine if I don't turn my tablet off between creating mission and flying it, but I have not had a single successful mission, either with P4 or P3 when I used it the way I will actually need to in the field. The downloaded satellite maps show up now but the the mission either aborts and hovers, fails to take pictures or the app crashes. After one failure the app will not allow you to try again (seems to think you're trying to edit your mission and freezes because it can't find the internet)
Pix4Dcapture: This app works flawlessly every time EXCEPT for being able to consistently see the satellite maps when offline. I have used both the download satellite maps option and the import KML option. When I get out in the field there is about a 50% chance the satellite image actually shows up, or sometimes it is there but with large gaps. This would not be a huge problem except that I will need to tune missions in the field and create new ones based on on-the-ground observations.
Precision Flight: This is a bare bones app that seems to do the job, but with one BIG problem. If I create a mission at home it will fly offline but without satellite map visuals. There is an option to download a satellite map for the region of your mission, which is buggy but can be cajoled into working with multiple retries. BUT after you have downloaded a map, the app crashes immediately upon leaving Wifi access.
Any suggestions or observations?