Trying to understand DJIFlightPlanner and Litchi

[RickBlacker]

Hi all
Please be kind, I'm just now ramping up on the drone world and have an upcoming project that I need to do here at work involving drones and photogrammetry.

As I'm trying to find out what I need, I've come across things like Drone Deploy and others. While those seem to be pretty nice looking tools, they also seem to have a lot of extra features I don't need. I just want to be able to do a flight plan and have my pictures taken as necessary.

I stumbled across an app called DJIFlightPlanner. However, while reading up on it, their website says that Litchi needs to be used.

As I understand it, DJIFlightPlanner works on the PC and is for creating a flight plan? If that is the case, then what is Litchi used for?

 

[Fly Dawg]

Never heard of DJI Flight Planner, however, Litchi has it's own flight planner, both on the device and the PC. You can plan your missions on the mission hub and transfer those to your device for Litchi.
Here is the link for the mission hub: Mission Hub - Litchi

 

[RickBlacker]

Hi Fly Dawg!
Thanks, I'm still trying to fully understand what DJIFlightPlanner offers up. From what I can gather, it has extra flight planning and camera control that maybe Litchi does not offer up?
DJIFlightPlanner

 

[Fly Dawg]

Yes, I looked it up. A bit more than what I need, but may be additionally usable for your uses. Litchi does have customizeable camera controls for a mission. If it were me, I would try Litchi first, it's relatively inexpensive and you could modify your missions on the fly if need be. Not literally in flight of coarse. Plus you would need it anyway for Flight Planner. Welcome Aboard!

 

[RickBlacker]

Litchi sounds like it's a requirement either way.
This may seem like a VERY dumb question and if it is, I'm sorry... If I buy the Phantom 4 Pro with the standard controller, do I have the ability to decide when I want to take a snapshot.
There could be times where I need full control of the drone, perhaps I'm trying to photogrammetry a complex shape, area or whatever and I can't rely on a flight plan and I need to manually maneuver the drone,

 

[RodPad]

@RickBlacker
Welcome to the forum!

Here is very basic one I have set up, house's going in this area next to my dads house which is the Start and Finish.
Mission Hub - Litchi

Three year project, every once in a while, when time and weather permits.

I run the same mission, play with the mission all you want, what you do to it has no effect on the saved one.

Rod

 

[Fly Dawg]

This may seem like a VERY dumb question and if it is, I'm sorry... If I buy the Phantom 4 Pro with the standard controller, do I have the ability to decide when I want to take a snapshot.

Not a dumb question at all. You have the option of taking snapshots or video while flying manually, however during a planned mission you do not. If you stop the mission before it completes, you cannot restart it from the point you stopped it. Basically its one or the other and not both.

 

[RickBlacker]

Hey Rod... You're not too far away. I'm in the Portland area.

 

[RodPad]

Hey Rod... You're not too far away. I'm in the Portland area.

Oh, no, I'm sorry

WP# 2


WP# 8


WP# 14


Notice the actions, in the waypoint properties.

Rod

 

[RickBlacker]

Not a dumb question at all. You have the option of taking snapshots or video while flying manually, however during a planned mission you do not. If you stop the mission before it completes, you cannot restart it from the point you stopped it. Basically its one or the other and not both.

Thanks Fly Dawg, that makes since.

 

[RickBlacker]

Oh, no, I'm sorry

Notice the actions, in the waypoint properties.

Rod

Hey Rod... I was in Hood River not too long ago. I was blown away at how expensive the housing market is there. I thought it would be less expensive than Portland. Nope, not so much!

You mentioned, notice the waypoint properties. Are you referring to them in the Mission Hub app? Or am I wanting to look at something in the images themselves?

 

[RodPad]

Yeah, the housing is very expensive, In one way were to close to Portland.

So you would have to look at the mission in the hub.

Rod

Added: In waypoint properties look at actions.

 

[Meta4]

As I'm trying to find out what I need, I've come across things like Drone Deploy and others. While those seem to be pretty nice looking tools, they also seem to have a lot of extra features I don't need. I just want to be able to do a flight plan and have my pictures taken as necessary.
I stumbled across an app called DJIFlightPlanner. However, while reading up on it, their website says that Litchi needs to be used.

As I understand it, DJIFlightPlanner works on the PC and is for creating a flight plan? If that is the case, then what is Litchi used for?

Litchi on its own is not something you can cunfigure to fly a photogrammetric survey.
Reading their website, it looks like DJI Flight Planner is used to create the mission which is exported to Litchi to do the actual flying and photographing.

I can't see the advantage that would make that worth paying for over the older photogrammetry apps like DroneDeploy which are free to use.

 

[RickBlacker]

Hi Meta4
From my understanding Drone Deploy is a pay service.
Pricing & Plans for Pro Business and Enterprise | DroneDeploy

Unless what you are suggesting is that I use the flight plan only, do the image processing elsewhere is other software? I don't have a drone yet to test this out, but, is just using their flight plan without everything else even an option?

Sorry, I really am new to all this and I'm just trying to ramp up and educate myself on all the possibilities.

 

[Meta4]

From my understanding Drone Deploy is a pay service.

The service you pay for is processing the images.
To use the flight planning and control app is free.
But they also have a free trial period which you can use to try out what they offer.
Most DD users also use their full service because processing software is expensive.

 

[RickBlacker]

Thanks Meta for the clarification. I may just use their flight software then. Have you experimented with different processing software? Have you tried any open source software that provides a SDK?

 

[Meta4]

Thanks Meta for the clarification. I may just use their flight software then. Have you experimented with different processing software? Have you tried any open source software that provides a SDK?

Not sure what you mean about software providing an SDK.
The SDK (Software Development Kit) is something DJI make available to software developers to be able to work with the functions of the Phantom.
I've used Photoscan to create orthophotos, contour plots etc.